Pop stars seem to come and go as quickly as dusk changes to dawn, so if a star can
keep their star shining for 15 years in the business they can do whatever they please. Normally this entails living
a posh life in a big house with fancy cars. Never does it mean becoming one of the world's most sought after
DJs and the forerunner of a movement called Big Beat. Well, almost never.
You see, Norman Cook is not a typical pop star. He could be, he definitely has every right to be, but he chooses
instead to be Norman Cook, the DJ and multi-purpose party guy. Hailing from Brighton, England, Norman Cook
has made a name for himself under a slew of aliases and guises over the past 15 years.
He began his career as the bassist for the 80's socialist brit-pop band, The Housemartins. Following their
break-up, Norman went a new direction and formed the fun, dub heavy band Beats International. Following his
tenure with those bands, Norman leapt into the dance world, releasing a slew of singles under the names
Freakpower, Mighty Dub Katz, Pizzaman, Norman Cook Presents Wildski, and Fried Funk Food. He has had
Top 40 singles in the UK under six different names including two number one singles: "Caravan of Love" with
The Housemartins and "Dub Be Good To Me" with Beats International. He almost had three, but Freakpower's
"Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out" peaked out at number two.
Then came a new alias, Fatboy Slim, and a new album, Better Living Through Chemistry. Better Living Through
Chemistry was recorded over the course of a week in early 1996, in the attic of Norman's home, which is
affectionately termed "The House of Love."
The album's title refers to a slogan in America from the 1950s, advocating that hyperactive children should be
quieted down with large doses of valium. The title is also a nod to his pals, The Chemical Brothers, who helped
to convince him to put the album together. Better Living Through Chemistry is the soundtrack for a new
generation. It is the sound of the world getting out of its' collective head, waking up the neighbors and scooping
its brain out of the chemical toilet. The album is 12 fat slabs of funk, soul, slamming techno, and all the best jazzy
bits of the 60's and 70's combined into one vibrant piece of work. Better Living Through Chemistry is 100% fun,
fusing club cool with bell-bottom flares and afro wigs.
In 1998, "The Rockafeller Skank" was the warning shot. THAT Lord Finesse vocal sample combined with THAT
twangy surf guitar have sent crowds into disco oblivion since Norman first premiered the track way back in
March. A track that still refuses to move its way to the back of the record box and the first single from the new
album, You've Come A Long Way, Baby.
You've Come A Long Way, Baby is Fatboy Slim personified. More than just a collection of disco dynamite, this
is a real long-player. Eleven tracks with their feet firmly on the dancefloor but with enough depth, width and mirth
to make things a hell of a lot more interesting. From the momentous backward strings of "Right Here Right
Now" and the hilarious radio intro to "The Rockafeller Skank" (no joke- this is a live radio recording from WBCN
in Boston!) this is Fatboy Slim at his peak. Whether it's the tongue-in-cheek vocoder nirvana of "Kalifornia" and
"You're Not From Brighton" (Norman Cook's home town where he has just received a star on their "Walk of
Fame"), or the wonderous piano highs of "Praise You" and the acid wig-out that is "Acid 8000," You've Come A
Long Way, Baby is an unbelievable album. Norman Cook and his little studio at his Brighton home producing
the tracks that have helped put Big Beat on the global musical map. Tracks that have been forged from
Norman's momentous DJing sessions at the Big Beat Boutique and around the world. Right about now, one of
the albums of the year...
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