Better Living Through Chemistry
Fatboy Slim (also known as Norman Cook, formally of the Housemartins) has composed a collection of tracks so dependent on samples that they'll keep "Name That Tune" fans busy for hours. The single "Going out of My Head" is crafted with funky beats thrown down on top of the guitar riff from the Who's classic "I Can't Explain." Mr. Slim borrows, begs, and steals from some of the best. You'll hear obvious influences from every genre from industrial to house. But these songs do not mimic; rather, Cook takes the established and reinvents it, mixes it up, rearranges it. The result is an energized, motivating, even endearing big-beat album that feels, grooves, and moves from beginning to end.--Beth Bessmer