Dance music can be a hit and miss affair.Some artists (if you want to call them that) release bucket loads of crappy 80's cover and stick semi-naked models in the video to get the attention of 12 year old boys.Then there's the acts who bleed with passion and energy and push the boundaries of the genre.The Prodigy are the latter.Formed in Braintree,England in early 1990,The Prodigy are recongnize as Britain's finest Dance band.Even though their sound often skip from genre to genre,mixing Rock,Punk and Rap elements to their Techno sound.
The Prodigy are:
Keith Flint - Dancer, Vocalist
Keith Palmer - MC
Liam Howlett - Music Composer
Leeroy Thornhill - Dancer
Label:
XL Recordings UK
Their Law:The Singles 1990-2005 is unshameful The Prodigy's greatest hits.It charts the band's progess from underground favourites to saviors of Dance music.Everything worth mentioning about The Prodigy can be found on this 15 track compilation.From the fiery battle cry of
Firestarter,the trashy
Spitfire to the recent reworking of
Voodoo People.There's something here for everyone to enjoy.
Opening track
Firestarter was the song that pushed The Prodigy out of the clubs and into the arenas.The track still sounds as fresh and rebellious as it did 8 years ago.Filnt's vocals could make John Lydon weep with envy.
''I'm a firestarter,a twisted firestarter'',screams Filnt over some stadium-sized beats.Pure jaw dropping genius.
Just as hard-hitting and angry as
Firestarter is the excellent
Breathe.Using the same formula of big beats and Punky vocals.It's not a big departure from
Firestarter and it can leave disappointed after a few listens.Thankfully,things take a change of pace with fourth track 'Out Of Space' even through it sounds like a cheesy novelty record with it's high-pitched vocals and rapid keyboards,it stills get you out of your sit and dancing.
After this comes the album's (if not The Prodigy's) finest track.
Smack my bitch up is the most heavy,dirty,shambolic and unstoppable Dance record ever recorded.It is largly instrumental apart from some Indian-style melodys in the middle and slowed down vocals which repeats the line
''Smack my bitch up'' throughout the song.
This is followed by cult favourite
Poison.One of the band's earliest hits and a live favourite among fans.It's nothing special,it's alien-like keyboard effects have been used a million times before.But it's worth a listen if your into old school dance music.
Another of the band's early hits is the fantasic
Voodoo People.Starting off with some distored guitar chords,the song soon swells into a incredible speedy techno monster.Synths echo over pounding drums before been mixed in with random vocals and mutterings.
The only thing that lets the album is the poor new material.
Hotride and
Spitfire both from last year's poor
Always Outnumbered,Never Outgunned are ruined by dreadful vocal performances from Juliette Lewis.The other new material included on here is the punky
Their Law,which is basically everything the band recorded between 1994-1997 compacked into 4 minutes.
Girls from last year's.
Always Outnumbered,Never Outgunned puts the pace back up.Featuring vocals from The Ping Pong Bitches,who added a slutty feel to whole track.The music itself is nothing special.It's still the tired and tested mix of big beats and wacky synths.
Overall
Their Law:The Singles 1990-2005 is basically your average Greastst Hits complition.Some classics oldies and some piss poor new material.Fan boys will love it but newcomers may wanna settle for 1997's
The Fat Of The Land.
Pros:
+Old songs still sound fresh today
+Great mixture of genres
+Brilliant vocals from Flint
Cons
-Music can get repeative
-Early material is pretty dull
-Terrible new material
Download:
Firestarter
Smack my bitch up
Breathe
Voodoo People
Ps.This will be my last review for a few months as I need to study for upcoming exams at school and finish coursework as well as getting my band back on track.
Thanks for reading!
