- Mini-Disc (4 Dec 1998)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Import
- Label: Skint
- ASIN: B00004ZWJK
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette | Vinyl | Mini-Disc | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 452,052 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
Jubilee Offer: Patriotic Classics for £2.50 |
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Biographers of Norman Cook should look no further than the title of this--his second album under the pseudonym Fatboy Slim. From humble beginnings as the bass player in prole rock band The Housemartins, through chart-topping fame with Beats International, and even a spell scraping a meagre living from writing computer game soundtracks in the early 90s, Norman Cook has done it all. You've Come A Long Way, Baby, though, is the Fatboy's culmination; the quintessential, and utterly essential big-beat album. "The Rockafeller Skank" is a manic collage of surf-guitar looped into ever-tightening spirals; utterly simplistic, but a work of devilish genius. "Gangster Tripping" and "Fucking In Heaven" are in a similar celebratory mood, but to prove that the Fatboy doesn't always work by a formula, try the purloined gospel of "Praise You", or the rave nostalgia of "Acid 8000". It's seldom poetry, but dumb dance music doesn't get much better. --Louis Pattison
Review
Twelve years on from the release of this second album, some things have inevitably changed. A lifetime away from hard-partying origins, Norman Cook’s raised two kids, celebrated a celebrity marriage, reconciled a celebrity marriage, hit the bottle, beat the bottle and, when he had the time, released heady collections of genre-defining anthems. At times, Cook’s life has played out replete with typical DJ clichés. But his place in the dance music annals as Fatboy Slim has long been confirmed.
You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby set the quintessential tone for Fatboy’s future; an album rich with the booming, easy-on-the-ear potential that would soundtrack dancefloors for over a decade. Packing in rave reminiscences, loops, breaks and an endless array of choice samples, the formula wasn’t a complicated one, but it was one used to superlative effect.
Take the rabid commercial success of The Rockafeller Skank, the uplifting gospel-tinged Praise You and the explosive Gangster Trippin’ (each ably supported by memorable videos), and the Fatboy blueprint is clear. And the holy trinity can be seen as the catalyst for a career of stellar success. By hook (and it was often an incessantly catchy one) or design, this was also an album that lit the torch paper for Cook’s biggest criticism: that he was merely a musical magpie, pilfering the shiniest, choice cuts to make his own creations glisten.
Attempts to relegate Cook to a petty music thief was always a disrespectful low blow, and one that looked to undermine, instead of celebrate, a penchant for recycling and absorbing a glut of disparate styles under the inimitable (at the time) Fatboy banner. But with the benefit of retrospect, it’s clear You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby wasn’t an album in the collective sense, more of a sparkling showcase; a flattering production line of instant, accessible songs that delivered almost every time.
It’s easy to overlook the hedonistic energy of Love Island; the expletive-ridden simplicity of F***ing in Heaven – which delighted a generation of potty-mouthed teenagers – and the bristling, adrenalin drip of Right Here, Right Now, simply because there was always the potential and intent for each track to usurp what preceded.
Undeniably this is an album that’s aged, but it reflects the buoyant excitement of pre-millennial times. Whether it’s held up as a contemporary guilty pleasure or an increasingly fond classic, or whatever the context, You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby has never failed to immediately delight.
--Reef Younis
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Sometimes it's hard to like an album so much once it has been mangled through the charts and media to an extent where you're absolutely sick of it. But credit where it's due, this harmless album of quirky big beat opened so many doors on both sides of the Atlantic...how often can you go out and not hear Praise you or the Rockafella skank?
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mini-Disc
This is a really good album by Fatboy Slim. There is an excellent mix of raw Big Beat tracks and softer, more relaxing ones. A lot of the tracks on this CD have been released as singles (and they have all deserved it), and therefore this album is a great way of listening to all of them. Fatboy Slim is one of the best Big Beat artists around, and this is one of his best albums.
Format:Audio CD
I remember seeing a music video with Christopher Walken in it and I thought it was impressive and the music pretty catchy so thought I would give it a try.
In all honesty it was a move away from my usual taste in music, but I listened to it with an open mind.
My biggest grumble with most of the songs were that they were good but they went on just too long, so I found myself listening for each song for about 3-4 minutes then getting bored and skipping to the next track. Also whilst not offended by foul language I felt the swearing on this album totally unnecessary and not fitting with the songs.
If you were into the dj scene of the nineties you'll love it, but for me it is a case of "will you finish the song?!".
In all honesty it was a move away from my usual taste in music, but I listened to it with an open mind.
My biggest grumble with most of the songs were that they were good but they went on just too long, so I found myself listening for each song for about 3-4 minutes then getting bored and skipping to the next track. Also whilst not offended by foul language I felt the swearing on this album totally unnecessary and not fitting with the songs.
If you were into the dj scene of the nineties you'll love it, but for me it is a case of "will you finish the song?!".
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Classic CD
It's been around for years but the tunes are aging well. Fat Boy Sllim is doing okay. Well done Brighton Boy
Published 7 months ago by Mike Pearson
The Best Tape Ever
this is possibly the best music album ever. I bought it for my friends birthday as his car has no CD player and its so good. it plays songs with no hiccups etc. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Ben
CD-used
CD arrived in good time and was in excellent condition-as new really, and therefore fulfilled its condition description as 'very good'. Read more
Published 14 months ago by jojo
big beat master
Fatboy Slim looks like a normal bloke, but really he's a freak of nature. He has this mad scientist mentality that creates these classic dance tracks. Read more
Published on 21 July 2006 by Paul Smithson
Fatboy slim was made in heaven
Top album just dont listen to it to often coz like all good albums you play it to death and end up hating it. Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2002
some quality bonus tracks, euphoric to any fatboy fan!
if you've not heard this album yet or have heard it and have yet to acquire it for yourself, this imported version beats it's uk twin hands down. Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2001
THE GREATEST ALBUM IN THE WORLD
This truly is one of those albums you pick up and will continue listening to for years. It is beautifully enginnered with classics like PRAISE YOU and Gangster trippin coupled with... Read more
Published on 17 April 2001
Good for the first few listens
Is it me or did this album get far too much press coverage? Better Living through Chemistry was a great album that came from no-where. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2000
Overrated Student Pap
Sorry to fly in the face of popular opinion, but this really is NOT the essential big beat album, nor the best place to start with Norman Cook. Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2000
This rocks!
This CD rocks! It uses sounds wicked and it has been mixed by the greatest dj of all time. Featuring plenty of top 10 hits such as 'Praise You', 'Gangster Trippin' and 'The... Read more
Published on 22 July 2000
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