The Prodigy - Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned

Not 100% but still ok

After the successful Fat Of The Land, this new album just doesn't really have anywhere near the interest. Fat Of The Land had trippy songs that pushed music to its highest boundaries. Always Outnumbered... on the other hand still has a handful of well developed songs. The best song without a doubt is 'You'll Be Under My Wheels' which reminds me alot of 'One Man Army' off the Spawn Soundtrack. This song is energetic and true to the Prodigy sound and vocals. Also check out the Smokin' Aces Soundtrack for a new Prodigy song called 'First Warning', it is an excellent track and I hope their next album is all in that style.
Another song on Always Outnumbered that is worth mentioning is 'Medusa's Path', now this song is very much like the song 'Narayan' from Fat Of The Land, with its ambient atmosphere that just takes you on a journey into another world. It's impossible to stop this track before it finishes, it's like a nice dream.
Hopefully the next Prodigy album won't have songs like 'Get Up Get Off', that song is not The Prodigy! It sounds like The Black Eyed Peas, and they p!ss me off. 'Pheonix' is a good song though, but there's this one sample in it that p!sses me off a bit (it's a chic saying lalala in a whispering tone). 'Spitfire' is a good song aswell but a bit too long (3 minutes would have been enough. 5 mins is just a bit too much). But one thing's for sure this album is not an epic one like The Fat Of The Land.

I would change the order of the songs aswell as remove some. It would look like this:

1.Spitfire
2.Pheonix
3.Action Radar
4.You'll Be Under My Wheels
5.Wake Up Call
6.Girls
7.Memphis Bells
8.Medusa's Path
9.The Way It Is
10.Shoot Down

Now with Hotride and Get Up Get Off out of the way and the songs in a more listenable order I think this album is almost an epic.
Seriously though, try listening to the songs in this order. April 1, 2007

Outjerk

Prodigy has a style of their own they share with no one, and it comes shining out here more than ever. Someone may think, "Phah, a style of their own? What distortion and electro drums?". No, beyond bandwagon dismissal there is a style, an aesthetic little seen elsewhere. When first i heard "Action radar" it immediately caught my attention. I thought "What is this? It sounds strange, it's dissonant and ominous yet structured and melodic. It's almost mocking and luring me in sound." Fo sho. The thing is, i didn't actually think this, but FELT it, forming it into words only later. The same was with the first singles off fat of the land before peer pressure jerkwashed me into resigning it as pulp. That palpable strange abstract emotion and imagery in sound, shared possibly only with some works of Aphex Twin, but reigned-in and directed with an ambiguously vile intent is why i'll never write prodigy off again. February 6, 2007

Awesome Noise!!!! A Must Listen.

Spitfire - crushing beat and blitzkrieg samples.
Girls - propulsive pounding bass and cool hook.
Memphis Bells - sinister. its 2nd half has this absolutely ethereal synth.
Get up Get off - ruff n tuff. makes you wana wear a big jacket, pants 4 sizes too big and beat the [...] outta somethin.
Hotride - Psychobilly with an accessible twist.
Wake Up Call - un unapolagetic cut n paste bomb. i love it.
Action Radar - ahhhhhh!. vocals by a banshee...cool punker for the computer age.
Medusas Path - very relaxing interlude with what sounds like an electric current over the beat.
YWBUMW - cool bass driven filler, great for evading the police.
The Way it Is - samples thriller but manages to make it funkier than ever.
Shoot down - Rocky and Heavy, nice track with cool distorted vocals.


October 31, 2006

Worst album so far

Who wants to know why The Prodigy are regarded as one of the most important electronic acts of the 90s? Actually, most of you probably already know, but I'll tell you anyway. Their music was always good enough to achieve mainstream success, yet they never milked it seeing as they didn't need to. They released a completely different sounding album each time, all three of them being symbolic of the culture from which they spawned; Experience is the epitome of early 90s rave, Jilted Generation showcases rave's move towards darker and harder sounds while Fat Of The Land answered the call for something new, combining rock and electronic music in previously unheard ways. This, combined with their (im)famously intense live shows (I'm yet to experience one myself though) garnered them a lot of respect and quite the fanbase.

When I initially got into Prodigy as a 12 year old kid back in 1997, I fell in love with all their albums despite them sounding so drastically different and despite having no knowledge of the culture behind them. Why? Because the songs just screamed out to be loved. It didn't matter to me that Experience sounded nothing like Fat Of The Land (which is what I was expecting and hoping it would sound like). Instead of being disappointed, I just listened. The music was just really well made. I listened to that album the other day and forgot just how good it was. It was well written, full of energy and feeling. That was nine years ago and while The Prodigy are far from my favourite band the way they were back then, they've still gotten play from me since then to this day.

So, seven years after arguably their best album, The Prodigy brought us Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned in 2004. Is it bad? By no means. Crunchy drums, cathy vocal lines, some cool samples here and there and some memorable riffs and melodies certainly doesn't make a bad album. Where does it fall short then? Well, for starters it's really nothing new. Nothing on this album makes you sit up and take notice like they did on previous albums. Secondly, it doesn't feel connected to anything. The other three albums all said something about their culture. By contrast, this one seems to stand alone like a lost sheep. The songs are simply to bland and repetitive for me to feel like this album is truly something special. This album just doesn't feel like it's saying anything or that it means anything.

After seven years, I'd have thought there'd be something a little more remarkable than this. July 19, 2006

Now this is what I'm talking about!

Starting off strong with the indian beats that make anything cool, 'Spitfire' is a brilliant single and an excelent way to sell this album. It sounds like a track that could have been on 'Fat of the Land' and since that is their BEST album it only makes sense that any likeness to it would sell a record. But it doesn't end there. Another favorite is 'Memphis Bells' which uses the 'bells' perfectly to create a masterpiece gone arry. The guest stars are a perfect choice, from Juliette Lewis on 'Hot Ride' and Twista (my personal favorite) spitting fury on 'Get Up Get Off'. The ode to Michael Jacksons 'Thriller' is apparent on 'The Way it Is' but Prodigy manages to make something new and different out of it, not just recycling it but acually reimagining it. 'Phoenix' is another standout track that takes advantage of the indian vibe and 'Action Radar's "a little action is all i need" will get the mood right (and is it just me or does she sound like Shirley Manson? I mean, this sounds like a track that could have come out on Garbage's 2.0) ANyways, buy this album, it's that good! April 4, 2006

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