Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder

Fatboy Slim | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 20, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Astralwerks
• ASIN: B000FC2GBE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,493 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #2 in Music > Dance & DJ > Big Beat
  • #14 in Music > Dance & DJ > Trip-Hop
  • #54 in Music > Dance & DJ > Electronica

Editorial Reviews

The Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder brings together all the songs that made Fatboy Slim the biggest dance artist and DJ on the planet. This collection includes two brand new tracks "That Old Pair of Jeans" featuring vocalist Lateef of Blackalicious, and "Champion Sound," plus Fatboy Slim's two biggest selling remixes, Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha" and Groove Armada's "I See You Baby." The CD has every essential Fatboy Slim hit, featuring vocal contributions from Macy Gray, Bootsy Collins, Jim Morrison, Yvonne Elliman, and Five Man Electrical Band.

Also available on July 18, 2006: "The Greatest Hits: Why Make Videos" DVD with all of Fatboy's genre defining and hilarious award winning videos.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Try Harder?, June 28, 2006

By 

Matthew B. Blissmer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder (Audio CD)

If you like Fatboy Slim, even if you have all his albums, this is still worth a purchase. The two bonus tracks are pretty good, and its nice having a good solid compilation of these tracks without the blending into the next songs, etc. Not all the tracks are the radio edits, as Wonderful Night still drops the F-bomb, but Gangster Tripping cuts out the S-word. It's good to put on with a group of friends who don't want to hear the 7 minute extended mix of every song, you know?

Anyways, this is a fantastic compilation, and a good intro to the Fatboy, if you're new. The DVD is perfect as well.

Norman Cook, you're my heeeeero.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fairly well selected compilation of songs from the best DJ around, July 15, 2006

By 

Blue Gardener - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder (Audio CD)

Fatboy Slim is by far my favorite musical artist, because I've never heard a song he's mixed that I haven't completely loved. Although there are only three tracks on this CD that I've actually heard on the radio (Praise You, The Rockafeller Skank, Wonderful Night), all of the songs on here are incredibly good and worthy of airplay. Extreme Fatboy Slim fans like me will likely already have purchased his four main albums and have most of these tunes, but this CD also offers a few songs that can't be found on any of them. Neither of the remixes are on his albums, and both are equally decent (very danceable too). "Sho Nuff" originally comes from a single for "Praise You", and has a rather catchy organ rhythm as well as some abrupt vocal excerpts for an overall nifty track. "Everybody Loves a Carnival" is one of the best non-album tracks on this CD, and it incorporates a humorous timpani beat with parts of Fatboy Slim's already existent songs "Everybody Needs a 303" from Better Living Through Chemistry and "Tweaker's Delight" from The Rockafeller Skank EP. Then there are the two brand new songs "Champion Sound" and "That Old Pair of Jeans", the better of the two being "Champion Sound". Both of them feature Lateef (I think), who sang for two songs on Fatboy Slim's Palookaville album, and his voice goes well with the sampled beats. "Champion Sound" mixes an unbelievably catchy chorus with a simple synthesized chord progression in the background, and leans more towards the rap genre than most of Fatboy Slim's mixes. "That Old Pair of Jeans" is not one of Fatboy Slim's stronger songs, but is sort of cool for its somewhat old-sounding samples blended with vocals from Lateef. The only problem I have with this compilation is its lack of my two favorite Fatboy Slim tunes "Jin Go Lo Ba", which has the best techno beat I've ever heard, and "Mad Flava", which is simply a spectacular mix. A few other real good tracks aren't hear either; Push & Shove, Illin in Heaven, You're Not From Brighton, and Talkin' Bout My Baby. Fanatics of this DJ will probably want to find this CD for cheap since the majority of it is songs from albums, but be aware that once you hear "Champion Sound" it's hard to keep away from it for long. For people just checking out Fatboy Slim now, it would be advisable to try this compilation first to see if you dig his sound before going onward to his albums, live performances, singles and such. Especially make sure you hear his CD "Halfway Between the Gutter & Stars", which is my favorite album of all time. "Palookaville" is also vital to own. Anyway, I'd give this compilation as well as every item Fatboy Slim has produced five stars! All hail the king of music!
P.S. If you like this style of music make sure you check out The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, and The Crystal Method also. They're quite good too.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for a casual listener, July 28, 2006

By 

Adam Felker (Everett, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder (Audio CD)

I'll admit this freely: I'm not an obsessive Fatboy Slim fan who wants to own every single FBS song. I'm a casual fan, and I bought this disc for a good overview of FBS's most popular hits.

If that's the type of audience this disc is aimed toward, it definitely succeeds. The first six or so tracks are the ones that everybody's heard (and most people seem to like!), and the remaining twelve tracks lead the listener into songs that he or she hasn't likely heard on the ratio.