Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (Clean Version) [Clean]

Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (Clean Version) [Clean]

Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (Clean Version) [Clean]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
British techno wizard and crossover superstar Norman Cook's (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars is uneven as heck and nowhere near as frat boy-friendly as his previous releases. But if you're up for a ride, this eclectic, 68-minute roller-coaster trip contains tunes airier and more house-savvy and gospel-flavored than what you've heard from him before. Not needing to create another "Rockafeller Skank" has left Cook free to experiment. There are lovely, slowly building tunes: "Talking 'bout My Baby" sounds like a collaboration between Play-era Moby and the Chemical Brothers circa Surrender, while "Sunset (Bird of Prey)" is an ethereal track that samples a rare a capella vocal by Jim Morrison and does not suck. Breakbeats do eventually kick in on that tune, the album's first single, but they're almost an afterthought, not the music's guiding force.

This is not to say that because Fatboy embraces the pop song he can't kick it down and dirty with the best of them. "Ya Mama" is crazy-ass handbag big beat with super-distorted breaks and loud squealing synths that will severely disturb any authority figure or small dog within earshot. There are at least a few super stupid songs--like "Star 69," which seems to exist solely to facilitate a daft sample of a man using a bad word--but these make the good ones just sound even better. The pure party tunes, like the deep house-inspired "Retox" and the super-bad disco-funky "Weapon of Choice" (a collaboration with Bootsy Collins), are the meat of the album, and it's top sirloin stuff. In a year with dozens of attempts at crossover success built on watered-down dance pop and well-known guests, Fatboy Slim shows how it's really done, sacrificing no artistic integrity in the process. The two tracks on which Macy Gray sing are worth the price of admission alone. Cook continues to skirt the line between innovation and accessibility with mad-scientist glee. --James Conde

Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (Clean Version),Fatboy Slim,Astralwerks / Emd,Big Beat,Club/Dance,Dance Music,Electronica,Funky Breaks,House,Pop,Rock/Pop,Trip-Hop
Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Don't Expect Hip Hop & You'll Be Fine...
  • The best fatboy slim!
  • Bird of Prey track
  • Get It For Weapon Of Choice
  • Fatboy Slim's worst!
 Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
Fatboy Slim
Manufacturer: Astralwerks
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
ElectronicaElectronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Big BeatBig Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Trip-HopTrip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
HouseHouse | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:
  1. You've Come A Long Way, Baby
  2. Better Living Through Chemistry
  3. On the Floor at the Boutique
  4. Fatboy Slim/Norman Cook Collection
  5. Palookaville [Limited Edition with Free Astralwerks Sampler]

ASIN: B00004Z30Z
Release Date: 2000-11-07

Tracks:

  1. Talking 'Bout My Baby
  2. Star 69
  3. Sunset (Bird of Prey)
  4. Love Life (feat. Macy Gray)
  5. Ya Mama
  6. Mad Flava
  7. Retox
  8. Weapon of Choice (feat. Bootsy Collins)
  9. Drop The Hate
  10. Star 69
  11. Demons (feat. Macy Gray)
  12. Song For Shelter (feat. Roland Clark)

Amazon.com's Best of 2000

Featuring house-music savvy and gospel-tinged samples among the big beats, Fatboy Slim's first record of the new millennium strays into meatier territory than the more pop-oriented material for which he's known. Importing help from the likes of Macy Gray and Bootsy Collins, as well as an irresistible, posthumous turn from Jim Morrison, Slim burns his colossal stamp on the dance/DJ landscape once again. --Matthew Cooke

Amazon.com

British techno wizard and crossover superstar Norman Cook's (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars is uneven as heck and nowhere near as frat boy-friendly as his previous releases. But if you're up for a ride, this eclectic, 68-minute roller-coaster trip contains tunes airier and more house-savvy and gospel-flavored than what you've heard from him before. Not needing to create another "Rockafeller Skank" has left Cook free to experiment. There are lovely, slowly building tunes: "Talking 'bout My Baby" sounds like a collaboration between Play-era Moby and the Chemical Brothers circa Surrender, while "Sunset (Bird of Prey)" is an ethereal track that samples a rare a capella vocal by Jim Morrison and does not suck. Breakbeats do eventually kick in on that tune, the album's first single, but they're almost an afterthought, not the music's guiding force.

This is not to say that because Fatboy embraces the pop song he can't kick it down and dirty with the best of them. "Ya Mama" is crazy-ass handbag big beat with super-distorted breaks and loud squealing synths that will severely disturb any authority figure or small dog within earshot. There are at least a few super stupid songs--like "Star 69," which seems to exist solely to facilitate a daft sample of a man using a bad word--but these make the good ones just sound even better. The pure party tunes, like the deep house-inspired "Retox" and the super-bad disco-funky "Weapon of Choice" (a collaboration with Bootsy Collins), are the meat of the album, and it's top sirloin stuff. In a year with dozens of attempts at crossover success built on watered-down dance pop and well-known guests, Fatboy Slim shows how it's really done, sacrificing no artistic integrity in the process. The two tracks on which Macy Gray sing are worth the price of admission alone. Cook continues to skirt the line between innovation and accessibility with mad-scientist glee. --James Conde

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Don't Expect Hip Hop & You'll Be Fine..........2006-06-27

Reading all these reviews, you've got a whole buncha people bashing on this CD because it's a dance album. Well, to all you that don't know Norman Cook, AKA Fatboy Slim is in fact a dance artist who produces dance music, don't go into this album expecting anything different. Mr. Cook is a genious and his singles time & time again are proven not only to be sucessful, but also timeless(aside from the tracks that the top 40 radio DJs get ahold of and cram down our throats a zillion times until we never wanna hear 'em again... Thanks for that by the way, you're doing the world a great service). As far as not understanding "Star 69",; what is there to understand. "Star 69" was made for one reason & one reason only, to make you shake your butt. If you're looking for meaning in music, go listen to Yanni, or Enya, or Celine Dion, only listen to Fatboy if you wanna boogie to the MFin' oogie. As far as the guy bashin' "Bird Of Prey", it's Jim Morrison dude; what more do you need. For those of you who don't know musicians outside of the Backseat Boys, Jim's the lead singer from The Doors, & one of the few truely brilliant musicians of ours any other generation... ever. Basically I'll put it like this, don't bash on the man because you're to sheltered to understand good music unless it's played for you twice every hour on the hour on the radio or MTV. Cook's music'll be around alot longer than any one of your 1 hit wonder's out there. Just because Norman makes his own music, & not from some mold given to him by some slimey record executive doesn't mean his music is bad. If you don't get it fine, but don't bash on something just because you're to shallow or close minded to understand. Open your ears and give it a shot, your brain will thank you.

5 out of 5 stars The best fatboy slim!.......2006-03-05

I reckon this is the BEST fatboy slim cd, mainly because it has weapon of choice! It's a great dance track, infact, most of them are! (the video clip to weapon of choice is great too!) five stars!

5 out of 5 stars Bird of Prey track.......2005-12-07

While reading reviews for this album, I read one reviewer who commented that "Bird of Prey" is a song that "crys loudly and pretentiously for attention (and airplay)."

The lyrics were actually written in 1969 by Jim Morrison, lead singer for The Doors, and the vocals in the FatBoy Slim version are Jim's vocals dubbed in... The track was never released by The Doors (until their recent box set). It was written by Jim himself (with no help from the band) and included acapella on his underground "Rock is Dead" opera album, which was released in very limited quality overseas and is practically impossible to find in its original version today.

The "Rock is Dead" album criticized the very foundation of modern commercial radio and "pop rock music," at least in the way Jim saw it in the late 1960s... It is ironic that the reviewer perceived the lyrics to "Bird of Prey" as an attempt to sellout, when actually the roots of the track were rooted in self-awareness, philosophy and Jim's perception of big record labels/execs killing rock and roll by stifling musicians' creativity.

To my knowledge, no attempt was ever made at releasing this track to any studio.

The reviewer also writes, "Pretending to be cerebral is a very bad thing." Indeed.

3 out of 5 stars Get It For Weapon Of Choice.......2004-06-17

The best song on this album is 'Weapon Of Choice'. In fact, it's the only song that's really good. The others are okay, but nothing to go nuts over. Weapon Of Choice is the real great song that makes you want to dance and do stuff. Also the music video for it is simply hilarious.

3 out of 5 stars Fatboy Slim's worst!.......2004-02-12

On this album, Norman Cook decided that he should go for a change of style, thus he worked with Macy Gray and Bootsy Collins, to give the album a more experimental feel. The result is Norman's worst album. His unique style gets lost on many of the tracks on this album, but still a few carry the energy that "you've come a long way, baby" had. Thus, it's nice to go through this track by track:

1. Talking 'Bout My Baby - starts off originally, but it is an average track, very strange too (3/5)
2. Star 69 - easily my favourite, keeping the fatboy vibe created by the presceding album (5/5)
3. Sunset (Bird of Prey) - first single, great video, enjoyable track, but still it could have been better (4/5)
4. Love Life (feat. Macy Gray)- this is what ruined Norman on this one, macy gray is great, but she spoils his stuff (1/5)
5. Ya Mama - fourth single off the album, a great track, very catchy, very fatboy-like (4.5/5)
6. Mad Flava - another great track, fatboy keeps his style on this one (4.5/5)
7. Retox - this track is similar in quality to the above, a bit more weird though (4.5)
8. Weapon of Choice (feat. Bootsy Collins) - third single off the album, incredible video, the song however, does not represent fatboy, it is experimental and pretty bad (2/5)
9. Drop The Hate - a dissapointing track, very hard to listen to it, very strange, boring and lame (1/5)
10. Demons (feat. Macy Gray) - second single, again a great video, but a terrible track, same comment as the above macy collab, she and norman do not fit together (1/5)
11. Song For Shelter (feat. Roland Clark)- a very long and awful track (1/5)
Thus, it is worth buying if you are a Fatboy Slim fan, but if you want to get an album, representative of Norman Cook to sort of get into his music, get any other album but this.
Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (Clean Version)
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Instant Used CD Bin Fodder
  • norman has never let me down
  • Different Style but still fantastic Fat Boy
 Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (Clean Version)
Fatboy Slim
Manufacturer: Astralwerks
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
ElectronicaElectronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Big BeatBig Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Trip-HopTrip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
HouseHouse | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00004Z310
Release Date: 2000-11-07

Tracks:

  1. Sunset (Bird of Prey)
  2. Ya Mama
  3. Talking Bout My Baby
  4. Demons (feat. Macy Gray)
  5. Song For Shelter (feat. Roland Clark)
  6. Retox
  7. Weapon of Choice (feat. Bootsy Collins)
  8. Drop The Hate
  9. Star 69
  10. Love Life (feat. Macy Gray)
  11. Mad Flava

Amazon.com

British techno wizard and crossover superstar Norman Cook's (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars is uneven as heck and nowhere near as frat boy-friendly as his previous releases. But if you're up for a ride, this eclectic, 68-minute roller-coaster trip contains tunes airier and more house-savvy and gospel-flavored than what you've heard from him before. Not needing to create another "Rockafeller Skank" has left Cook free to experiment. There are lovely, slowly building tunes: "Talking 'bout My Baby" sounds like a collaboration between Play-era Moby and the Chemical Brothers circa Surrender, while "Sunset (Bird of Prey)" is an ethereal track that samples a rare a capella vocal by Jim Morrison and does not suck. Breakbeats do eventually kick in on that tune, the album's first single, but they're almost an afterthought, not the music's guiding force.

This is not to say that because Fatboy embraces the pop song he can't kick it down and dirty with the best of them. "Ya Mama" is crazy-ass handbag big beat with super-distorted breaks and loud squealing synths that will severely disturb any authority figure or small dog within earshot. There are at least a few super stupid songs--like "Star 69," which seems to exist solely to facilitate a daft sample of a man using a bad word--but these make the good ones just sound even better. The pure party tunes, like the deep house-inspired "Retox" and the super-bad disco-funky "Weapon of Choice" (a collaboration with Bootsy Collins), are the meat of the album, and it's top sirloin stuff. In a year with dozens of attempts at crossover success built on watered-down dance pop and well-known guests, Fatboy Slim shows how it's really done, sacrificing no artistic integrity in the process. The two tracks on which Macy Gray sing are worth the price of admission alone. Cook continues to skirt the line between innovation and accessibility with mad-scientist glee. --James Conde

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Instant Used CD Bin Fodder.......2002-05-18

Fatboy goes lame on this album. His desired style shift might be a personal preferance, but it's not listenable like his last two efforts. There's the exception...mainly track 8--Drop the Hate. Burn that song to an MP3 and sell it used, use it as a frisbee, or a coaster. Very disappointing.

5 out of 5 stars norman has never let me down.......2000-12-16

as always i never experience someting new expecting any thing. i take it for what it is. normans mixing style in this album is so different from his two previos albums. it has a more of a chemical bros. feel to it, and is some what familiar to his big beat boutique album, with all the scratching and drums. i enjoy the soul feeling and increased level of drum breaks that he played with in this album. what tipped me to buy this album (the clean version) over the dirty version was the song "star 69" (not on the clean version). although it is some what of a good track, the profane sample repeated can be found in "song for shelter" and is actually tied into the song. but of course it is slightly edited, it's the kiddie clean version. besides, it just didn't have a quality beat like "in heaven" off the album "you've come a long way baby." if you like moby, the chemical brothers, or just norman cook's wonderful mixing, you will probably enjoy this album. i did. and i just can't wait to see moby chemical bros. and norman produce an album together. that would be very nice. (sorry about the spelling amd grammatical errors, i am sleepy)

4 out of 5 stars Different Style but still fantastic Fat Boy.......2000-11-14

Let me start by saying that if you are expecting this latest Fatboy Slim to be similiar in fashion to the heavy house flavor of "You've come a long way baby", you won't find it but I promise you won't be disappointed either.

"Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars" is so diverse in style from beginning to end that I think it's hard for any fan of Slim to be disappointed. There are a couple of songs on the CD that are reminiscent of the previous album, carrying the house/club beat with awesome sampling. At the same time, there are some more "trance-style" tunes on the CD that are Moby-influenced no doubt.

Personally, I liked the diversity of this CD. If you don't have a narrow taste for this genre and aren't looking for a "remake" of "You've come a long way baby" then there is a good chance you will enjoy this album. The pace of this CD is slower overall but the composition of the music is second to none of Slim's other albums.
Halfway Between the Gutter & the Stars
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Still got it but i think the end is in sight
  • This is a great record old norman put out..............!
 Halfway Between the Gutter & the Stars
Fatboy Slim
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
ElectronicaElectronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Big BeatBig Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Trip-HopTrip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
HouseHouse | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
Dance & DJDance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
RockRock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000542OT
Release Date: 2000-11-01

Tracks:

  1. Talking Bout My Baby
  2. Star 69
  3. Sunset (Bird Of Prey)
  4. Love Life
  5. Ya Mama
  6. Mad Flava
  7. Retox
  8. Weapon Of Choice
  9. Drop The Hate
  10. Demons
  11. Song For Shelter
  12. Sunset (Bird Of Prey)(Darren Emerson Remix)

Album Description

Japanese pressing of the highly anticipated third album from Norman Cook. Includes one bonus track, 'Sunset (Bird Of Prey)' (Darren Emerson Remix). 12 tracks in all. Full title 'Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars'. 12 tracks in all. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Album Details

As Usual, the Japanese Version features a Bonus Track: 'sunset' (Darren Emerson Remix).

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Still got it but i think the end is in sight.......2000-12-09

Let's face it, it ain't YCALWB, but it still smokes. I'm partial to the bigger beats such as Ya Mama, Mad Flava, and Weapon of Choice(which sneaks in a sample from what I consider fatboy's best track, Don't Forget Your Teeth - on CD EP only). This is probably ironic as I think this CD may just herald the start of the end for the big beat sound. I mean it seems to have had a good long run but there are times on this CD that seem a little hackneyed, like it's time to move on. Don't get me wrong, I'd still fight off the chap who tries to take this CD from me but, as much as I love the heavy stuff, I hope the other tracks on this disc point the way to the future(and that fatboy can find inspiration in less obvious ways[Moby] when he get there). BTW, the bonus track is a much needed remix of the somewhat tedious but lovely Sunset track - worth every penny in my book.

5 out of 5 stars This is a great record old norman put out..............!.......2000-11-30

I have been following fatboy a very long time now....The album is great....It has macy gray, to roland clark......If you love house music, and like the big beat style....this is definitely one to buy.......This is also very much fun to mix....I'm also a dj, and love to mix all of fatboy slims records......I have 2 words for everyone............."purchase this"
Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars
    Fatboy Slim
    Manufacturer: Skint
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
    Big BeatBig Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
    ASIN: B000LYN1BA
    Halfway Between the Gutter and Stars
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		Halfway Between the Gutter and Stars
      Fatboy Slim
      Manufacturer: Phantom Sound & Vision
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
      Big BeatBig Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
      ASIN: B0000DERUC
      Release Date: 2001-02-12
      Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
        Fatboy Slim
        Manufacturer: Import [Generic]
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

        GeneralGeneral | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
        ElectronicaElectronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
        Big BeatBig Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
        Trip-HopTrip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
        HouseHouse | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
        Dance & DJDance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
        RockRock | Imports | Stores | Music
        ASIN: B00005UJBJ
        Release Date: 2001-12-04

        Tracks:

        1. Talking Bout My Baby
        2. Star 69
        3. Sunset (Bird of Prey)
        4. Love Life
        5. Ya Mama
        6. Mad Flava
        7. Retox
        8. Weapon of Choice
        9. Drop the Hate
        10. Demons
        11. Song for Shelter

        Tracks:

        1. Talking Bout My Baby (Reprise) [Bonus VCD]

        Album Description

        Exclusive Asian pressing of his 2000 album now includes a bonus 3 track VCD (viewable on most DVD players) which features three videos, 'Weapon Of Choice' (starring Christopher Walken), 'Sunset (Bird Of Prey)' & 'Ya Mama'. The first CD features 11 tracks (same as the US edition).
        Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
        Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
        • Don't Expect Hip Hop & You'll Be Fine...
        • The best fatboy slim!
        • Bird of Prey track
        • Get It For Weapon Of Choice
        • Fatboy Slim's worst!
        		 Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
        Fatboy Slim
        Manufacturer: Astralwerks
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

        GeneralGeneral | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
        ElectronicaElectronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
        Big BeatBig Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
        Trip-HopTrip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
        HouseHouse | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music
        ElectronicaElectronica | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music
        Techno-HouseTechno-House | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
        Similar Items:
        1. You've Come A Long Way, Baby
        2. Better Living Through Chemistry
        3. On the Floor at the Boutique
        4. Fatboy Slim/Norman Cook Collection
        5. Palookaville [Limited Edition with Free Astralwerks Sampler]

        ASIN: B0000516ZI
        Release Date: 2000-11-14

        Tracks:

        1. Talking Bout My Baby
        2. Star 69
        3. Sunset (Bird of Prey)
        4. Love Life - Fatboy Slim, Macy Gray
        5. Ya Mama
        6. Mad Flava
        7. Retox - Fatboy Slim, Ashley Slater
        8. Weapon of Choice - Bootsy Collins, Fatboy Slim
        9. Drop the Hate
        10. Demons - Fatboy Slim, Macy Gray
        11. Song for Shelter - Roland Clark, Fatboy Slim, Roger Sanchez

        Amazon.com's Best of 2000

        Featuring house-music savvy and gospel-tinged samples among the big beats, Fatboy Slim's first record of the new millennium strays into meatier territory than the more pop-oriented material for which he's known. Importing help from the likes of Macy Gray and Bootsy Collins, as well as an irresistible, posthumous turn from Jim Morrison, Slim burns his colossal stamp on the dance/DJ landscape once again. --Matthew Cooke

        Amazon.com

        British techno wizard and crossover superstar Norman Cook's (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars is uneven as heck and nowhere near as frat boy-friendly as his previous releases. But if you're up for a ride, this eclectic, 68-minute roller-coaster trip contains tunes airier and more house-savvy and gospel-flavored than what you've heard from him before. Not needing to create another "Rockafeller Skank" has left Cook free to experiment. There are lovely, slowly building tunes: "Talking 'bout My Baby" sounds like a collaboration between Play-era Moby and the Chemical Brothers circa Surrender, while "Sunset (Bird of Prey)" is an ethereal track that samples a rare a capella vocal by Jim Morrison and does not suck. Breakbeats do eventually kick in on that tune, the album's first single, but they're almost an afterthought, not the music's guiding force.

        This is not to say that because Fatboy embraces the pop song he can't kick it down and dirty with the best of them. "Ya Mama" is crazy-ass handbag big beat with super-distorted breaks and loud squealing synths that will severely disturb any authority figure or small dog within earshot. There are at least a few super stupid songs--like "Star 69," which seems to exist solely to facilitate a daft sample of a man using a bad word--but these make the good ones just sound even better. The pure party tunes, like the deep house-inspired "Retox" and the super-bad disco-funky "Weapon of Choice" (a collaboration with Bootsy Collins), are the meat of the album, and it's top sirloin stuff. In a year with dozens of attempts at crossover success built on watered-down dance pop and well-known guests, Fatboy Slim shows how it's really done, sacrificing no artistic integrity in the process. The two tracks on which Macy Gray sing are worth the price of admission alone. Cook continues to skirt the line between innovation and accessibility with mad-scientist glee. --James Conde

        Customer Reviews:

        4 out of 5 stars Don't Expect Hip Hop & You'll Be Fine..........2006-06-27

        Reading all these reviews, you've got a whole buncha people bashing on this CD because it's a dance album. Well, to all you that don't know Norman Cook, AKA Fatboy Slim is in fact a dance artist who produces dance music, don't go into this album expecting anything different. Mr. Cook is a genious and his singles time & time again are proven not only to be sucessful, but also timeless(aside from the tracks that the top 40 radio DJs get ahold of and cram down our throats a zillion times until we never wanna hear 'em again... Thanks for that by the way, you're doing the world a great service). As far as not understanding "Star 69",; what is there to understand. "Star 69" was made for one reason & one reason only, to make you shake your butt. If you're looking for meaning in music, go listen to Yanni, or Enya, or Celine Dion, only listen to Fatboy if you wanna boogie to the MFin' oogie. As far as the guy bashin' "Bird Of Prey", it's Jim Morrison dude; what more do you need. For those of you who don't know musicians outside of the Backseat Boys, Jim's the lead singer from The Doors, & one of the few truely brilliant musicians of ours any other generation... ever. Basically I'll put it like this, don't bash on the man because you're to sheltered to understand good music unless it's played for you twice every hour on the hour on the radio or MTV. Cook's music'll be around alot longer than any one of your 1 hit wonder's out there. Just because Norman makes his own music, & not from some mold given to him by some slimey record executive doesn't mean his music is bad. If you don't get it fine, but don't bash on something just because you're to shallow or close minded to understand. Open your ears and give it a shot, your brain will thank you.

        5 out of 5 stars The best fatboy slim!.......2006-03-05

        I reckon this is the BEST fatboy slim cd, mainly because it has weapon of choice! It's a great dance track, infact, most of them are! (the video clip to weapon of choice is great too!) five stars!

        5 out of 5 stars Bird of Prey track.......2005-12-07

        While reading reviews for this album, I read one reviewer who commented that "Bird of Prey" is a song that "crys loudly and pretentiously for attention (and airplay)."

        The lyrics were actually written in 1969 by Jim Morrison, lead singer for The Doors, and the vocals in the FatBoy Slim version are Jim's vocals dubbed in... The track was never released by The Doors (until their recent box set). It was written by Jim himself (with no help from the band) and included acapella on his underground "Rock is Dead" opera album, which was released in very limited quality overseas and is practically impossible to find in its original version today.

        The "Rock is Dead" album criticized the very foundation of modern commercial radio and "pop rock music," at least in the way Jim saw it in the late 1960s... It is ironic that the reviewer perceived the lyrics to "Bird of Prey" as an attempt to sellout, when actually the roots of the track were rooted in self-awareness, philosophy and Jim's perception of big record labels/execs killing rock and roll by stifling musicians' creativity.

        To my knowledge, no attempt was ever made at releasing this track to any studio.

        The reviewer also writes, "Pretending to be cerebral is a very bad thing." Indeed.

        3 out of 5 stars Get It For Weapon Of Choice.......2004-06-17

        The best song on this album is 'Weapon Of Choice'. In fact, it's the only song that's really good. The others are okay, but nothing to go nuts over. Weapon Of Choice is the real great song that makes you want to dance and do stuff. Also the music video for it is simply hilarious.

        3 out of 5 stars Fatboy Slim's worst!.......2004-02-12

        On this album, Norman Cook decided that he should go for a change of style, thus he worked with Macy Gray and Bootsy Collins, to give the album a more experimental feel. The result is Norman's worst album. His unique style gets lost on many of the tracks on this album, but still a few carry the energy that "you've come a long way, baby" had. Thus, it's nice to go through this track by track:

        1. Talking 'Bout My Baby - starts off originally, but it is an average track, very strange too (3/5)
        2. Star 69 - easily my favourite, keeping the fatboy vibe created by the presceding album (5/5)
        3. Sunset (Bird of Prey) - first single, great video, enjoyable track, but still it could have been better (4/5)
        4. Love Life (feat. Macy Gray)- this is what ruined Norman on this one, macy gray is great, but she spoils his stuff (1/5)
        5. Ya Mama - fourth single off the album, a great track, very catchy, very fatboy-like (4.5/5)
        6. Mad Flava - another great track, fatboy keeps his style on this one (4.5/5)
        7. Retox - this track is similar in quality to the above, a bit more weird though (4.5)
        8. Weapon of Choice (feat. Bootsy Collins) - third single off the album, incredible video, the song however, does not represent fatboy, it is experimental and pretty bad (2/5)
        9. Drop The Hate - a dissapointing track, very hard to listen to it, very strange, boring and lame (1/5)
        10. Demons (feat. Macy Gray) - second single, again a great video, but a terrible track, same comment as the above macy collab, she and norman do not fit together (1/5)
        11. Song For Shelter (feat. Roland Clark)- a very long and awful track (1/5)
        Thus, it is worth buying if you are a Fatboy Slim fan, but if you want to get an album, representative of Norman Cook to sort of get into his music, get any other album but this.
        Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          		Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
          Fatboy Slim
          Manufacturer: Astralwerks
          ProductGroup: Music
          Binding: Audio CD

          GeneralGeneral | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
          ElectronicaElectronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
          Big BeatBig Beat | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
          Trip-HopTrip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
          HouseHouse | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
          Dance & DJDance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
          RockRock | Imports | Stores | Music
          ASIN: B00004YU1K
          Release Date: 2000-11-07

          Tracks:

          1. Talking Bout My Baby
          2. Star 69
          3. Sunset (Bird of Prey)
          4. Love Life - Fatboy Slim, Macy Gray
          5. Ya Mama
          6. Mad Flava
          7. Retox - Fatboy Slim, Ashley Slater
          8. Weapon of Choice - Bootsy Collins, Fatboy Slim
          9. Drop the Hate
          10. Demons - Fatboy Slim, Macy Gray
          11. Song for Shelter - Roland Clark, Fatboy Slim, Roger Sanchez

          Album Details

          Big Beat. In the Wake of the Monstrous Success of his Last Album, the Illustrious Norman Cook is Joined this Time Out by Macy Gray, Space Bass Master Bootsy Collins and Roland Clarke from Urban Soul. Jim Morrison Has Been Reconjoured from the Other Side on the New Single 'sunset (Bird of Prey).'

          Music Review:

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          6. Italian Renaissance: 18 Saifam NRG Classics [Import]
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          8. Love Boat [Import]
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