Norman Cook is a man who might be unknown to most of his audience, but his music has nevertheless found a wide range of listeners. Many who wouldn't call themselves fans of electronica found something to their liking on Fatboy Slim's multiplatinum You've Come A Long Way, Baby in 1998, without knowing the man behind the name. Songs like "Praise You" and "The Rockafeller Skank" found audiences through both radio play and exposure in films like Cruel Intentions and Go.
Unfortunately, this sort of popularity does not sit well with the typical fans of underground and electronic music. Cook's success with the "frat boy" market and his work on a major label like Astralwerks have made him a bit of a persona non grata to the electronica community. Vocal hooks - like those that proliferated on You've Come A Long Way, Baby - are said to cheapen his work as well, making it more approachable by that same "frat boy" set.
What's both odd and promising about Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars is that it will satisfy at once both groups and neither one. Vocals still feature prominently, with radio darling Macy Gray putting in an appearance on two tracks - predictably the two most likely to reach the radio themselves. However, the album isn't tailored for modern radio broadcast at all. Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars doesn't have the same dance-party punch as the last Fatboy Slim album, and those frat boys that are hoping for the same big beat lines might be disappointed.
It is, however, an album that grows on you considerably. Cook may have found popular appeal with his last album as Fatboy, but he proves that popularity does not have to mean uninventive work. The beats, melodies, and samples used here are just as carefully chosen as ever. Every track is so precisely constructed that every moment has something unexpected and distinct that's worth listening for. This isn't music you listen to expecting other people to come in and start dancing. This is music you listen to for yourself.
However, the same can be said for both previous Fatboy Slim albums, You've Come A Long Way, Baby and Better Living Through Chemistry, both of which benefited from a more consistent, listener-happy tone. It's great to know that Cook is expanding his horizons, but the continuity of the album suffers for it - especially surprising considering the consistent tone of his previous albums and of typical live electronic performances. There aren't many tracks here that are tailored to blow the listener away on their own (Macy Gray's "Demons" being an obvious exception), but neither does the album play smoothly, uninterrupted, from beginning to end. Each track is a unique branch of Cook's sound, but few of them seem to touch on each other.
This could be especially problematic for an artist who must rely so heavily on album sales rather than airplay. With such a diverse selection of sounds, Cook hits many notes both high and low, but seems unlikely to hit the listener's mark with every song. The stylistic gap between "Sunset (Bird of Prey)" and "Demons" is remarkable, but fans of one are unlikely to rave about the other.
The pieces not to miss: the last four tracks of the album. These include the cut- and scat- filled "Weapon of Choice" and the clever "Drop the Hate," in which Cook reworks a sermon so that the preacher seems to be singing. "Demons" has been long pointed at as the most likely single for the album, but that should be considered a mark in its favor, not against it. The lengthy "Song For Shelter," an 11-minute mix of the best features of album's first two tracks, is a worthy wrap-up that makes the rest of the album feel almost worth it.
Cook continues to pull inspiration and samples from interesting and original sources - the three-line Jim Morrison sample in "Sunset (Bird of Prey)" versus the Baptist sermon in "Drop the Hate" - but it's not necessary. The talent that shines through in his work is what drives the records, not the cleverness of a 30-year-old sample. It's almost as though Cook feels that he must prove his ingenuity by delving into recording history - especially odd when some of his best work is done with original vocals.
People who loved what bits of Fatboy Slim they heard on the radio in the past two years may not find what they're looking for in Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars. This is Norman Cook growing up, expanding, and using his newfound popularity as a chance to take some risks - resulting in some high points and a surprising lack of continuity. Those who hated him for "selling out," however, deserve to get over themselves and come back to the fold: this is what they should have been hoping for.
