Fatboy Slim is one of DJ
Norman Cook's many aliases, and has proven to be his most popular and successful yet. Although he consistently racks up dance hits in his native England (each under a different surname), he didn't achieve global success until the re-release of
Better Living Through Chemistry in 1997. On the insistence of his friends
the Chemical Brothers,
Cook released the track "Going out of My Head" as the album's first single. Due to its popular video and instantly catchy sample from the
Who classic "I Can't Explain,"
Cook earned his first U.S. hit. Another unlikely sample used to great effect was featured in the track "Michael Jackson," which used a snippet of
Negativland's "Negativland." "The Weekend Starts Here" is similar to
the Beastie Boys' funk instrumentals, featuring distant organ and lazy harmonica blowing (which sounds an awful lot like the harmonica phrase at the beginning of
Black Sabbath's "The Wizard"). Recommended to those who can't get enough of the popular technoid-sampled alternative dance style of the late '90s. ~ Greg Prato