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Album Review
by Scott Sterling-Wilder
23-8-2004
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| Prodigy LP or a solo album with guests? |
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The Prodigy: 'Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'
(XL Recordings)
The Prodigy: after seven years of slacking...
One album’s worth of material discarded, seven years after and… the result is patchy. Still smarting raw energy, colossal beats and vocals that have defined the Prodigy sound, there is an evolution but it all amounts to - a tad-too-redundant… The Prodigy have taken too long for a supplant to 'The Fat of The Land' as well as there having been too many changes, musically, socially, politically. economically...
‘Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned’ is an album that starts promisingly, drops few brilliant tunes but there are several tracks that simply fail to reach the level of standard Liam Howlett set in the past. On the opening cut 'Spitfire' Liam lays down his manifesto with Juliette Lewis [yes, the actress] leading the band and then reappearing on ‘Hot Ride’.
Shahin Bada [better known as the spine tingling vox of ‘Smack My Bitch Up’] makes a return to feature on ‘Get Up Get Off’; the album’s closer, ‘ is headed by his common-law brother-in-law Liam Gallagher: ‘Shoot Down’ also features bro Noel on bass guitar.
‘Medusa’s Path’ that combines cinematic atmo with an Arabic electro feel; funk has started to feature more prominently – ‘Get Up Get Off’, ‘The Way It Is’ – although this is something Basement Jaxx and Death In Vegas have been doing for a while. But there are no anthemic, menacing, overwhelming cuts like ‘Firestarter’ and ‘Breathe’.
It feels like a gap has developed between Howlett and his ‘jilted generation’: Liam's just turned 33, on the 21st inst, and is married musician living in a respectful comfort. The Prodge-man can easily preserve his ‘kidult’ mindset and recall ‘infant-in-himself’ whenever his artistry requires it.
Fans don’t have that luxury but are faced with harsher reality: having sworn by the band seven years ago, they are now in their mid-to-late 20s and burdened by job [they probably hate], mortgage, children out of control and escalating debt.
Although Prodigy’s discs have always been solo projects-like, regular ‘members’ contributed to the finished product, wheres the band's fourth LP is without either Keith Flint or Maxim Reality - who has just rejoined for touring purposes - to make this sound more like an individualistic vision… It’ll be very interesting to see how the fans react to a boast the CD title is - 'Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'...
It somehow reminds me of Korn's 'Follow The Leader' that few heeded... Jon Davis of Korn once claimed that the long-overdue Guns N'Roses' LP 'Chinese Democracy' has so far cost $12 million [roughly 8 million quid] and there is something in common here: alike Axl Rose’s GN’R finding out for over a decade, The Prodigy now know that - the longer you leave it the harder it is while it matters less. All-round...
7/10
Scott Sterling-Wilder
4-12-2004
The Prodigy's album 'Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned' is released 23 August 2004 by XL Recordings
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