October 06, 2024

Fatboy Slim - Palookaville (2004) (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (2024)


Palookaville is the fourth and final studio album by English electronic music producer Fatboy Slim. 
It was first released on 4 October 2004 in the United Kingdom by Skint Records and a day later in the United States by Astralwerks. 

Looking back on Fatboy Slim's discography, Palookaville is up against some stiff competition, which makes it the low point only because it isn't another beginning-to-end stunner. 
The Fatboy himself -- Norman Cook -- had given plenty of hints in the press before the album's release that this was going to be different. 
He went through marriage problems and declared a renewed interest in hip-hop over dance music, dance being a genre he sees as going through another dry period. 
Still, this isn't a "forget everything you know about..." album since the jittery "Slash Dot Dash" and "Jin Go Lo Ba" sound like old outtakes. 
They're the lesser tracks on an album that could have been tighter had Cook not played it safe by including them. 
There's so much more heart in the non-club numbers, with each one sounding inspired and full of that quirky Fatboy flair. A cover of Steve Miller's "The Joker" with Bootsy Collins on vocals is brilliant fun and the most direct example of the rolling along despite the nasty weather, naked hippy feel of the album. 
When Cook brings it down, he brings to mind the best of Tranquility Bass, just a lot more fun and approachable. For its hook, "Don't Let the Man Get You Down" uses the "long-haired freaky people" line from Five Man Electrical Band's "Signs" and guest singer Lateef's two appearances are nothing short of frolicsome. 
They offer the trippy ying to the marriage problem yang of "Put It Back Together" with Damon Albarn, and the intentionally maudlin "North West Three" (the first address where the recently patched-it-up Cook and Zoe Ball lived together). 
That "North West Three" samples from a husband-and-wife's record (John and Beverley Martyn's "Primrose Hill") is just one of Palookaville's deeper-than-before ideas. 
There are scars here, but with only hints of the specifics, you can apply Cook's heartbreak to any hurt of your own. 
Palookaville could stand one more trimming pass, but it gives Cook's canon the needed depth. Now there's a Fatboy Slim record for that rainy day and one the long-haired freaky people can enjoy. [Palookaville Review by David Jeffries]


Track listing

CD1
1.  Don't Let the Man Get You Down - 4:01 
2.  Slash Dot Dash - 2:53 
3.  Wonderful Night  (featuring Lateef) - 4:46 
4.  Long Way from Home (featuring Jonny Quality) - 4:44 
5.  Put It Back Together (featuring Damon Albarn) - 4:36 
6.  Mi Bebé Masoquista - 4:26 
7.  Push and Shove  (featuring Justin Robertson and Sharon Woolf) - 4:27 
8.  North West Three - 4:30 
9.  The Journey  (featuring Lateef) - 4:36 
10.  Jin Go Lo Ba - 4:40 
11.  Song for Chesh Cook  - 4:19 
12.  The Joker  (featuring Bootsy Collins) - 5:21 
13.  Close to Home - 3:36 
14.  What They're Looking For - 5:50 
15.  The River Card - 4:42


Track 1, "Don't Let The Man Get You Down" is incorporating elements from "Signs" by Robert Les Emmerson. Features a sample of Signs, performed by 5 Man Electric Band.

Track 6, "Mi Bebé Masoquista", features a sample from "Masochistic Baby" by Shel Silverstein.

Track 8, "North West Three", features a sample from "Primrose Hill" by John and Beverley Martyn.

Track 10, "Jin Go Lo Ba", features a sample of "Jin-Go-Lo-Ba" by Olatunji.


CD2                                                          
1.  Don't Let the Man Get You Down (Justice Remix) - 4:24 
2.  Slash Dot Dash (DJ Delite Remix) - 3:05 
3.  Jin Go Lo Ba (Jon Carter Mix) - 7:07 
4.  Wonderful Night (Trash Remix) - 4:49
5.  Wonderful Night (Wonderful Nightclub) - 6:35 
6.  Wonderful Night (Chief Xcel Mix) - 3:49 
7.  Wonderful Night (Instrumental) - 4:44 
8.  Push and Shove (Acoustic Version) - 4:04 
9.  Push and Shove (Instrumental) - 4:29 
10.  El Bebe Masoquista (X-Press 2 Remix) - 9:01 
11.  The Journey (The Fantastic Plastic Red Special  Mix) - 6:48 
12.  The Joker (ATFC's Aces High Remix) - 7:56 
13.  The Joker (Yousef Circus Rework) - 8:17 
14.  The Joker (Justin Robertson Vocal Remix) - 5:37 
15.  The Joker (Instrumental) - 5:23


Personnel

  • Norman Cook - samples, keyboards, synthesizer, programming, bass
  • Simon Thornton - guitar, mixing, engineering
  • Damon Albarn - vocals on "Put It Back Together"
  • Lateef the Truthspeaker - vocals on "Wonderful Night" and "The Journey"
  • Justin Robertson - vocals, bass and guitar on "Push and Shove"
  • Sharon Woolf - additional vocals on "Put It Back Together" and "Push and Shove"
  • Bootsy Collins - vocals on "The Joker"
  • Jonny Quality - vocals and guitar on "Long Way from Home"

Companies, etc.


Credits

Notes
Released:  4 October 2004 / 2024
Recorded:  2003–2004 
Genre:  Big beat, electronica
Length CD1:  1:05:31 
Length CD2:  1:26:09
Producer:  Fatboy Slim 

Label - Skint / Astralwerks
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