•
Rating:
Few artists, throughout the history of music, have managed to produce a debut album as impactful and mature as "Experience", the first album by The Prodigy and, according to many, their true masterpiece.
The group, led by keyboard guru Liam Howlett, formed in England in the first half of the '90s, riding the wave of the burgeoning rave party phenomenon. It was at a rave party, in fact, that Liam met Keith Flint, a renowned DJ from the Techno and Hardcore scene of the time. It only took adding the wild and hallucinated MC Maxim Reality and the flexible dancer Leeroy Thornhill to the lineup, and the stage was set: The Prodigy was born, a name borrowed from the first model of keyboard Liam bought (a Moog Prodigy, indeed).
After signing a contract with XL Recordings and releasing a 12", "When Evil Lurks", which soon became a true anthem in clubs all over the world, the band churns out its first album, "Experience" (XL, 1992), an explosive concentrate of adrenaline compressed into twelve explosive tracks, a genuine manifesto of the rave scene and a new way of producing "dance" music.
"Experience" is a gigantic sound cauldron where Jungle, Hardcore, Acid-Techno, Reggae, and Hip-Hop influences become one, a unity sustained by a single objective: the loss of senses and any bodily perception through music.
The opening track, "Jericho", immediately introduces us to a dark and unsettling dimension, followed by the historic "Music Reach 1/2/3/4", dragging the listener into a chaotic whirlpool of suggestive vocal samples, frantic rhythms, and keyboard delirium, and the result is astonishing (in every sense possible). If tracks like "Wind It Up" and "Your Love (Remix)" seem to wink at the more "Happy" component of The Prodigy’s sound, with captivating piano riffs and well-blended Reggae and Soul samples, "Hyperspeed (G-Force Pt. 2)", from its title, picks up where "Jericho" left off: a drumbeat that strikes like a jackhammer and atmospheres dark as pitch, almost urging the intake of "weird" ECSTASY-like pills. The journey continues with the seminal "Charly (Trip Into Drum And Bass Version)", almost heralding the future evolution of the Jungle genre, the epic "Out Of Space", brilliantly revisiting Max Romeo’s "Chase The Devil", a milestone of '70s Roots Reggae turned into a great anthem for mass euphoria, finally reaching the obsessive "Ruff In The Jungle Bizness", a highlight in the entire discography of Liam and his companions. The album ends with "Death Of The Prodigy Dancers", a live track that underscores the band's immense capabilities in live performances (Keith Flint and Maxim are truly stage animals).
A record that marked an era, thus, "Experience", genuine, immediate, and devoid of that alternative-trendy lacquer that made "The Fat Of The Land" the most acclaimed and overrated work of the English quartet. A must-buy with eyes closed.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Jericho (03:43)
The horns of Jericho.
The horns of Jericho.
The horns of Jericho.
Eaaaaw!
Eaaaaw!
Eaaaaw!
Feel the base come down on me.
(The sample "bounces". Sounds like "Baby")
Feel the base come down on me.
(The sample "bounces")
(You want a favor, find a favor)?
Keep on dancing
(yeah)
Keep on dancing
(baby)
...
The horns of Jericho
The horns of Jericho
The horns of Jericho
02 Music Reach (1/2/3/4) (04:12)
1234
1111234
The music reach
make me bought a shirt
come on
03 Wind It Up (04:33)
Wind it up, wind it up
Equal rights and justice in this time
Equal rights and justice in this time
Go around, go around
Wind it up, go around
07 Out of Space (04:58)
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
I'm gone sent into outer space
to find another race.
I'm gone sent into outer space,
to find another race. [Repeat 3x]
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
Hold it, Pay close attention. [Repeat 2x]
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
Hold it, Pay close attention.
I'm gonna send him to outer space,
to find another race.
I'm gonna send him to outer space,
to find another race. [Repeat 3x]
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
I'll take your brain to another dimension.
Hold it, Pay close attention. [Repeat 2x]
Heh...
Pay close attention. [Repeat 3x]
I'll take your brain to another dimension. [Repeat 2x]
Pay close attention. [Repeat 3x]
10 Fire (Sunrise version) (04:59)
I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you... fire
I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you... fire
I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you... fire
Fire, fire, fire, fire!
When I was a youth I used to burn cali weed in a rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a
When I was a youth I used to burn cali weed in a rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a
When I was a youth I used to burn cali weed in a rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a
I am rocking!
When I was a youth I used to burn cali weed in a rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a
Fire - When I was a youth I used to burn cali weed in a - fire -
rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a
Fire - When I was a youth I used to burn cali weed in a - fire -
rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a-rizzler-a
Fire, fire, fire, fire
I am rocking!
Fire!
I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you... fire!
I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you... fire!
I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you... fire!
I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you... fire!
I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you... fire, fire, fire!
I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you... fire, fire, fire, fire, fire!
11 Ruff in the Jungle Bizness (05:07)
Ruff in the jungle, in the jungle, in the jungle, in the-in the jungle
In the jungle, in the jungle, in the in the jungle
Ruff in the jungle, in the jungle, in the jungle, in the-in the jungle
In the jungle, in the jungle, in the in the jungle
Now hear this all, bad boy
Ruff
Feel the jungle vibe, baby
Feel the jungle vibe, baby
Ruff in the jungle, in the in the jungle
Feel the jungle vibe, baby
Feel the jungle vibe, baby
Ruff in the jungle, in the in the jungle
Now hear this all, bad boy
Ruff, ruff, ruff
12 Death of the Prodigy Dancers (live) (03:46)
This is where I kill the dancer
Watch the MC - kill the dancer
Death of the Prodigy dancer
Come on
?, Corrupt your, to move your, to move your, come on
Let it rock, let move, let it move you, let it move you
Let it move you, let it move you
???
Come on out
Let it rock, let it rock
Pump it up, rock it up, don't stop, let it rock, come on
That's the real ?
Let it rock you, let it rock you
Let it move you, let it move you
Let it rock you, let it rock you
Where's the response?
Where's the response?
Death of the Prodigy dancer
Come on
???
Let it rock, let it roll, let it move you, let it move you
Let it rock you ...
Get ready
Goin' too slow, ridicule, ?, let it rock you, let it rock you
You'll fail, we fool round, let it rock you, let it rock you
Oh no
13 Crazy Man (04:06)
This one is for those who are crazy!
Crazy cra-cra-crazy
Crazy cra-cra-crazy
Crazy cra-cra-crazy
Crazy man (whispered in a low voice)
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By GATTINATOR
Back then, all four had different roles in the band: Keith Flint was just a dancer (and what a dancer!), and Maxim Reality a decent MC.
The album is a little gem of its time. A musical testament that even today the band members carry with them on tour.
