The Prodigy Albums (6)
'Invaders Must Die'
Release Date 2/20/2009
Tracks 11
Label Vertigo Berlin
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Twenty years after England's Summer of Love, rave had made a comeback -- at least in indie circles -- and Liam Howlett's Prodigy, the only original rave group still going (anyone remember Altern-8?), could hardly have done worse than jump aboard. Invaders Must Die is a curious nu-rave record, as though the sound of 1991 (such as their Top Ten hit "Charly") has been filtered through the sound of 1996 (such as their number one, "Firestarter") to emerge as, simply, uptempo dance music with extroverted beats and grimy basslines. If that sounds basically like your average electronica record circa the turn of the millennium (albeit produced by one of its greatest heroes), then you're a long way towards understanding what this nu-rave record from the Prodigy sounds like. Add a few period-appropriate cues -- unfiltered synth or keyboard runs, ring-the-alarm effects, samples of divas or ragga chatters (sped-up and slowed-down, respectively) -- and you get a strange album indeed. The single "Omen" is a good example, while the other two tracks with the most rave signals are "Take Me to the Hospital" and "Warrior's Dance," which both sound like follow-ups to "Charly" or "Out of Space" filtered through the darkside strains of latter-day hardcore techno (aka 4Hero's "Mr. Kirk's Nightmare"). And as usual with the Prodigy -- going back to Music for the Jilted Generation -- there's plenty of polemics and struggle, most of it delivered in sloganeering fashion by Keith Flint and Maxim (who are both back in the fold after being absent from the previous Prodigy record, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned). ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'
Release Date 8/23/2004
Tracks 13
Label XL
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The Prodigy's main man, Liam Howlett, said in an interview that usual bandmembers Keith Flint and Maxim weren't on the new album because this is a back-to-the-core record, one to find the soul of the Prodigy (dancer Leeroy Thornhill left the band years ago -- losing your dancer, always crippling). For anyone rooting for the band, it sounded like a good deal. Howlett came off as a mad beat scientist of great genius on his goin'-it-alone CD The Dirtchamber Sessions, Vol. 1, rockin' the beats with mad style and blowing the dust off Babe Ruth's "The Mexican" just to prove how he was cooler than you. It was a sweet mix, but then nothing -- and then it got worse. But at least Howlett himself called 2002's dull "Baby's Got a Temper" single an F'n piece of S. Seems like he was well aware things were going wrong and has gotten himself back on the right track, so let's all go nuts for Prodigy again. There's an inspired list of guest stars on the album -- Princess Superstar, Kool Keith, Liam Gallagher, Twista, Juliette Lewis -- and Howlett is working hard throughout, twiddling the knobs and making noises fly every which way. "Girls" is a good electro roller, the surprisingly different and slinky "Phoenix" is proof Howlett hasn't lost it, and you're bound to fall for at least one of the generic fist pumpers, as they do have that whipping sting in the tail of which Howlett is the master. Unfortunately, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned isn't the success 1997's Fat of the Land was. It's steps ahead of the "Baby's Got a Temper" single and worth it for the faithful, but not up to the old standards. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'The Dirtchamber Sessions, Vol. 1'
Release Date 4/6/1999
Tracks 8
Label XL/Beggars Banquet
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
As though he wasn't the feature player on each of the three Prodigy albums preceding it, The Dirtchamber Sessions presents Liam Howlett in a solo setting. But here, instead of showing off his production wizardry, his long history as a DJ and mixing abilities are on display. They're proved more than up to the task, as Howlett plays mix and match with over 50 records from his hip-hop and funk past. While the Chemical Brothers' mix album (released the year before) showcased the duo digging deep in their record crates for a set of soul chestnuts and rare finds, Howlett's selection and feel for the flow of a mix is superior. Including tracks by the JB's, Herbie Hancock, the 45 King, L.L. Cool J, the Sex Pistols, and Jane's Addiction, Howlett chooses grooves familiar to all and improvises around them (as any old-school DJ would think obvious) instead of mixing between two tracks few have ever heard. The result is an enlightening, practically flawless mix album. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'The Fat of the Land'
Release Date 6/27/1997
Tracks 10
Label XL/Beggars Group
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Few albums were as eagerly anticipated as The Fat of the Land, the Prodigy's long-awaited follow-up to Music for the Jilted Generation. By the time of its release, the group had two number one British singles with "Firestarter" and "Breathe" and had begun to make inroads in America. The Fat of the Land was touted as the album that would bring electronica/techno to a wide American audience; in Britain, the group already had a staggeringly large following that was breathlessly awaiting the album. The Fat of the Land falls short of masterpiece status, but that isn't because it doesn't deliver. Instead, it delivers exactly what anyone would expect: intense hip-hop-derived rhythms, imaginatively reconstructed samples, and meaningless shouted lyrics from Keith Flint and Maxim. Half of the album does sound quite similar to "Firestarter," especially when Flint is singing. Still, Liam Howlett is an inventive producer, and he can make empty songs like "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Serial Thrilla" kick with a visceral power, but he is at his best on the funky hip-hop of "Diesel Power" (which is driven by an excellent Kool Keith rap) and "Funky Shit," as well as the mind-bending neo-psychedelia of "Narayan" (featuring guest vocals by Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker) and the blood-curdling cover of L7's "Fuel My Fire," which features vocals by Republica's Saffron. All those guest vocalists mean something -- Howlett is at his best when he's writing for himself or others, not his group's own vocalists. "Firestarter" and all of its rewrites capture the fire of the Prodigy at their peak, and the remaining songs have imagination that give the album weight. The Fat of the Land doesn't have quite enough depth or variety to qualify as a flat-out masterpiece, but what it does have to offer is damn good. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Music for the Jilted Generation'
Release Date 7/4/1994
Tracks 13
Label XL
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The Prodigy's response to the sweeping legislation and crackdown on raves contained in 1994's Criminal Justice Bill is an effective statement of intent. Pure sonic terrorism, Music for the Jilted Generation employs the same rave energy that charged their debut, Experience, up the charts in Britain, but yokes it to a cause other than massive drug intake. Compared to their previous work, the sound is grubbier and less reliant on samples; the effect moved the Prodigy away from the American-influenced rave and acid house of the past and toward a uniquely British vision of breakbeat techno that was increasingly allied to the limey invention of drum'n'bass. As on Experience, there are so many great songs here that first-time listeners would be forgiven for thinking of a greatest-hits compilation instead of a proper studio album. After a short intro, the shattering of panes of glass on "Break & Enter" catapults the album ahead with a propulsive flair. Each of the four singles -- "Voodoo People," "Poison," "No Good (Start the Dance)," and "One Love" -- are excellent, though album tracks like "Speedway" and "Their Law" (with help from Pop Will Eat Itself) don't slip up either. If Experience seemed like an excellent fluke, Music for the Jilted Generation is the album that announced the Prodigy were on the charts to stay. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
One of the few noncompilation rave albums of any worth, Experience balances a supply of top-this siren whistles and chipmunk divas with Liam Howlett's surprising flair for constructing track after track of intense breakbeat techno. Almost every song sounds like a potential chart-topper (circa 1992, of course) while the true singles "Your Love," "Charly," "Music Reach," and "Out of Space" add that extra bit of energy to the fray. More than just a relic of the rave experience, Experience shows the Prodigy near the peak of their game from the get-go. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
