The Fat of the Land [Vinyl]

The Prodigy: Keith Flint, Maxim Reality (vocals); Liam Howlett (various instruments); Leeroy Thornhill. Additional personnel: Shahin Bada, Kool Keith, Crispin Mills (vocals); Jim Davies (guitar); Saffron (background vocals). FAT OF THE LAND was nominated for a 1998 Grammy for Best Rock Album. Among the most anticipated releases of 1997, The Prodigy's third full-length album is a bulldozing rock-techno hybrid. But while the guitar/samples/hyper-beats mosaic that made "Firestarter" an MTV breakout are found in every nook and cranny of this album, the overall building blocks are far more diverse, making it a tangible melting pot of pre-millennium pop styles. There's a definite hip-hop element here. "Diesel Power," which features quality mic control by Kool Keith (of Ultramagnetic MCs and Dr. Octagon fame), is new-style hip-hop sculpture, applying techno and acid-house textures to apocalyptic ends. Both "Funky Shit" and "Smack My Bitch Up" are throbbing dance-floor ejaculations wrapped around, respectively, Beastie Boys and De La Soul refrains. Kula Shaker's Crispin Mills adds vocals to an Eastern-influenced trance workout called "Narayan." All this adds up to proof positive that THE FAT OF THE LAND is just the tip of the iceberg.

Few albums were as eagerly anticipated as The Fat of the Land, the Prodigy's long-awaited follow-up to Music for the Jilted Generation. The Fat of the Land was touted as the album that would bring electronica/techno to a wide American audience; and indeed it went on to sell 2.8 million copies in the US.

• Format: Vinyl
• Label: XL Recordings
• Genre: Dance & Electronic