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Rating: Here they are again, the Prodigy: 7 years after the success of "The Fat Of The Land," an album that marked the last decade and definitively put an end to any barrier between rock and electronic music, reaching the masses simultaneously.
Those Prodigy were a phenomenon that, although short-lived but of high intensity, made everything that was listened to before seem obsolete, a bit like punk in 1977.
With britpop dead and grunge eclipsed, it was Keith Flint's terrifying face dominating the charts with the pounding sound of big hits like "Firestarter," "Breathe," and the "scandalous" "Smack my bitch up."
But those were the '90s, and since then many things have changed, and so have the Prodigy, lost in solo projects that didn't always succeed and temporarily resurrected for a forgettable single ("Baby's got a temper").
This comeback album is actually a record by Liam Howlett, the "brain" behind the whole project: even in the past, Keith and Maxim were more like frontmen, but in this much-delayed "Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned," their presence, which in any case provided a crucial element for the band's personality, is not felt in any of the 12 tracks. Perhaps Howlett wanted to "refresh" the image of "his" group, but I'm not sure the old fans appreciated the "novelty": the result is that, while the two showmen are absent, guest stars abound instead, from Kool Keith to actress Juliette Lewis, up to Liam Gallagher, Howlett's brother-in-law.
The opening "Spitfire" starts a bit quietly between a powerful vocalization by Lewis, a keyboard sample that closely resembles Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You," and a dry drum that sounds very White Stripes, etc., etc.
"Girls," the most convincing piece of the record and rightly extracted as the first single, shines with its own light. It really rocks. It emanates power, lust, pornography: in a few words, what one should expect from Prodigy's sounds.
The remaining tracks do not always maintain this positive tension, although there are adrenaline peaks, like in "Memphis Belle," a sort of refined garage enriched by sharp percussion and a disorienting sequence of bells.
In "You will be under my wheels," Howlett plays a bit like Fatboy Slim, while the hard "Wake Up Call" is the track closest to previous Prodigy albums, with reminiscences of "Serial Thrilla" and the rock sounds of "Music for the Jilted Generation."
"Medusas Path," with a really curious intro, is a metropolitan tribal dance that never dissipates the tension it accumulates; "Get Up Get Off" aims to raise adrenaline to the max but ends up a bit weak; "The Way It" presents a very fun sample from Michael Jackson's "Thriller," but otherwise, it's certainly not unforgettable.
"Phoenix," on the other hand, is one of the best tracks, the one closest to the traditional definition of a "song," without betraying the band's sound. "Hotride" will be the next single, with good reason: Juliette Lewis's voice is exceptionally catchy, and the track is a perfectly played rock 'n' roll with an overly catchy refrain.
In "Action Radar," there's the scent of the '80s, of Gary Numan, of Devo, perhaps a tribute to Howlett's influences; the album closes with the epic "Shoot Down" featuring Liam Gallagher as a vocalist, fully comfortable in a powerful psychedelic rock almost à la Black Rebel Motorcycle Club where you really wouldn't recognize Prodigy's hand.
An album to listen to with 3-4 great tracks and some others at least interesting and curious: but where are Keith and Maxim?
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Spitfire (05:08)
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spitfire
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spitfire
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spitfire
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spit. Fire
Fire
Fire
Fire
Cause you know that I can
Cause you know that I can
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spitfire
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spitfire
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spitfire
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spit. Fire
Fire
Fire
Fire
Cause you know that I can
Fire
Cause you know that I can
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spitfire
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spitfire
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spitfire
If I was in World War Two they'd call me spit. Fire
Fire
Cause you know that I can
Fire
Fire
02 Girls (04:07)
Imagine how it would be, to be at the top making cash money,
Go on tour all around the world, tell stories about all the young girls.
Imagine how it would be, to be at the top making cash money,
Go on tour all around the world, tell stories about all the young --
Imagine how it would be, to be at the top making cash money,
Go on tour all around the world, tell stories about all the young girls.
x2
{girls speaking}
Imagine how it would be, to be at the top making cash money,
Go on tour all around the world, tell stories about all the young girls.
x2
Imagine how it would be, to be at the top making cash money,
Go on tour all around the world, tell stories about all the young --
Imagine how it would be, to be at the top making cash money,
Go on tour all around the world, tell stories about all the young girls.
Imagine how it would be, to be at the top making cash money.
girls
Travel fast Have a blast
Travel fast Make it last
Have a blast
Travel fast Make it last
Have a blast
Girls Girls Around the world
Around the world
Imagine how it would be, to be at the top making cash money,
Go on tour all around the world, tell stories about all the young girls.
x3
girls (until end)
03 Memphis Bells (04:29)
Lick it once
Lick it twice
C'mon put that shit on ice
C'mon, C'mon
Lick it once
Gonna lick it-twice
C'mon put that shit on ice
04 Get Up Get Off (04:20)
You gotta get up
Gotta get up
You gotta get up
Gotta get up
If you wanna get-
I hate people that ain't movin� their shoes
and I hate everybody that I see not feelin� my groove
...we be takin� the bar
but I hate everybody that don't like electric guitars and I
hate people who think they can dose up their medicine fuckin� with venom... and I
twista... show them the force I'd like to see somebody talkin shit get turned up a corpse
only model with the ones that got the wickedest drawers... kick it with ya�ll but
Hate phony ass people
and I hate having no droll
and I hate ...-ass clubs that don't be havin no bitches that bring 'em down to the floor
and I hate when I can't hurt somebody
and I hate when I ain't got dough
and I hate everyone ... twista and prodigy... rockin�... control
You gotta get up
If you wanna get off
You gotta get up
If you wanna get off
You gotta get up
If you wanna get off
You gotta get up
Gotta get up
You gotta get up
Gotta get up
If you wanna get-
Hate phony ass people
and I hate having no droll
and I hate ...-ass clubs that don't be havin no bitches that bring 'em down to the floor
and I hate when I can't hurt somebody
and I hate when I ain't got dough
and I hate everyone ... twista and prodigy... rockin�... control
You gotta get up
If you wanna get off
You gotta get up
If you wanna get off
You gotta get up
If you wanna get off
Keep your eyes open... so I can stop you from blinkin
Make you feel... try to see what you're thinkin
Through the hole... while I'm holding my own
Get so cold in the zone I'll just... my clone
I can fill the fuckin� room up with torture and pain
... is coursing my veins
It's the trilogy of terror... from my era
... agility that I scare ya because I hate ya�ll
Phony ass people
and I hate having no droll
and I hate ...-ass clubs that don't be havin no bitches that bring 'em down to the floor
and I hate when I can't hurt somebody
and I hate when I ain't got dough
and I hate everyone ... twista and prodigy... rockin�... control
You gotta get up
If you wanna get off
You gotta get up
If you wanna get off
You gotta get up
If you wanna get off
05 Hot Ride (04:36)
You hear me [x3]
Up, up and away in my beautiful my beautiful
Up, up and away in my beautiful my beautiful balloon [x2]
Now get out!
Gimme [x20]
Give me a ride!
Hot ride in my air balloon
Skippin fast right around the moon
On a bullet train out of town
Walking talkie, one hand down!
You hear me [x2]
Up, up and away in my beautiful, my beautiful
Up, up and away in my beautiful, my beautiful balloon [x2]
I'll put you out!
Gimme [x20]
Give me a ride!
Gimme [x20]
Give me a ride!
Hot ride in my air balloon
Skippin fast right around the moon
On a bullet train out of town
Walkie talkie, one hand down
Hot ride in my air balloon
Skipping fast right around the moon
Minds made up, theres no luck when time leaves you
Hot ride in my air balloon
Skipping fast right around the moon
Times made up, theres no luck when time leaves you
You gotta...
PUSH IT!
PUSH IT!
You gotta...
PUSH IT!
PUSH IT!
You gotta...
PUSH IT!
PUSH IT!
You gotta...
PUSH IT!
PUSH IT!
06 Wake Up Call (04:56)
It's been a long time
But I just can't wake up
Back on tour
1, 2, 3
We all back on 4
You better wake up
You gotta feel me
Back on tour
1, 2, 3
We all back on 4
You better wake up
07 Action Radar (05:33)
Give 'em what you got
Go give 'em all your action baby (3x)
I don't see 'bout that radar but I don't see that i'm wrong
'cuz its a will-fire action-seeking radar baby
I don't see 'bout that radar but I don't see that i'm wrong
'cuz it's a sure-fire action-seeking radar baby (2x)
A little action is all I need (8x)
'cuz its a will-fire action-seeking radar baby
Live it up, don’t wanna give it up (2x)
Give 'em what you got
Go give 'em all your action baby (2x)
I don't see 'bout that radar but I don't see that i'm wrong
'cuz its a will-fire action-seeking radar baby
I don't see 'bout that radar but I don't see that i'm wrong
'cuz it's a sure-fire action-seeking radar baby
A little action is all I need (8x)
Radar...
Got a fire action-seeking radar baby
Live it up, don’t wanna give it up
'cuz it's a sure-fire action-seeking radar baby
Live it up, don’t wanna give it up
Give 'em what you got
Go give 'em all your action baby (2x)
I don't see 'bout that radar but I don't see that i'm wrong
'cuz its a will-fire action-seeking radar baby
I don't see 'bout that radar but I don't see that i'm wrong
'cuz it's a sure-fire action-seeking radar baby
I don't see 'bout that radar but I don't see that i'm wrong
'cuz its a will-fire action-seeking radar baby
I don't see 'bout that radar but I don't see that i'm wrong
'cuz it's a sure-fire action-seeking radar baby
'cuz it's a sure-fire action-seeking radar baby
A little action is all I need (4x)
09 Phoenix (04:39)
Won't you believe me when I tell you you're the king of my heart
Can't you heal my love burns?
Can't you heal my love burns?
12 Shoot Down (04:28)
Shot the gun
Shot the gun to the bang, bang, bang
Too many tied to the...
Too many tied to the bang, bang, bang
Your time is running out
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Other reviews
By CoolOras
"It will not disappoint their fans, even if it seems a bit different from the previous one."
"Instead, it just made me want to dance (after all, that’s what the genre requires)."
By GATTINATOR
Definitely a mediocre work and the weakest series of unreleased tracks they’ve ever made!
The best songs are the ones sung by the ladies... but overall it still remains a sort of techno and electroclash jam.
