Fatboy Slim
Palookaville

THE REVIEW

I was waiting for this album.
I'm one of those who played the legendary "You've Come A Long Way, Baby" to exhaustion. I remember a summer night on vacation overseas with the magician; as soon as we enter this super cool bar thousands of miles from home, like a sign, the DJ puts on Fucking In Heaven: ECSTASY!!! It was the start of a wonderful evening.

And how could you not get excited with that album? Repetitive, sure, but full of inventiveness, dancey and with the most shameless dance music, so what? When things are done well, they're just well done, there's nothing more to say.
You can understand why I was eagerly waiting for Palookaville.
Moreover, considering that Mr. Cook recently had personal problems and that the previous work did not meet expectations, this should be sort of the comeback album... it's also more instrumental than in the past, as it seems Norman has dusted off the instrument of his musical origins, the bass.
I finally got it.

Reaction after listening: meh.
Flat.

Undoubtedly it's well-packaged – the guy knows his job – but that’s not enough to erase the déjà vu impression.
The introductory track Don't Let The Man Get You Down is too close to the vibes of Praise You, Slash Dot Slash is built on the now usual obsessive repetition of three words and mimics the model of the unmatched Rockafella Skank, of which it manages to be just a pale re-edition.
The only "novelties" – because they fit the song form in the most classic sense – are Wonderful Night and Long Way From Home, tracks that work, as does Put It Back Together, in which we have the pleasure of hearing Damon Albarn in a sort of overdue extension of the strange and fun Gorillaz experience.
Mi Bebe Masoquista is little more than an excuse to have some fun playing with a very simple theme and enriching it with elaborate beats, vaguely DJ Shadow-esque (but only vaguely, I reiterate). One of the more successful tracks, undoubtedly. Even Push And Shove is overall a good track: a bit too Chemical Brothers, perhaps.

No need to describe the album as a whole: ultimately it's nice, but... there's not much substance. And a cute video with kittens isn’t enough to save it.

What’s the problem, you may ask.
Have you ever experienced, in a romantic relationship, reaching the end of the story and making one last attempt to see if you can recover something that's no longer there, and while you're there, bored out of your mind, you say to yourself: "What on earth made me do this?".
Listening to this album will project you into the same state of mind.

Save the money for this CD for something better.
Maybe for a dinner with a special someone.