On the Floor at the Boutique
Finally, the U.S. sees a domestic release of Fatboy Slim'sOn the Floor at the Boutique, hands down one of the most thrilling, addictive DJ mix albums ever released. Recorded live in 1998 at the Big Beat Boutique (epicenter of the mid- to late-'90s big-beat movement), Norman Cook, a.k.a. Fatboy Slim, takes the listener on a fascinating, diverse tour of four-on-the-floor sounds. What's always made Cook so great is the way that he seamlessly blends seemingly incongruous sounds to create righteously cool, shiny new beats; he truly is the trainspotting vinyl freak with an uncanny talent for creating accessible dance-floor shakers built of weird components. Take track 4--who'd have thought a spry blue-beat ska sample, anELOriff, phat beats, a few stray horn riffs, and a sped-upJungle Brothersvocal track would be one of the coolest things heard all year?--Mike McGonigal