Better Living Through Chemistry

U.S. debut for the first album by this ex-Housemartins and ex-Beats International instrumental act with two bonus cuts, 'Michael Jackson' and 'Next To Nothing', both previously only available as B-sides on the U.K. CD single for 'Going Out My Head'. 12 tracks total, also featuring 'Going Out Of My Head', 'Song For Lindy' and 'Everybody Needs A 303'. The album's full title is 'Better Living Through Chemistry'. 1997 Astralwerks release.

Fatboy Slim (also known as Norman Cook, formally of the Housemartins) has composed a collection of tracks so dependent on samples that they'll keep "Name That Tune" fans busy for hours. The single "Going out of My Head" is crafted with funky beats thrown down on top of the guitar riff from the Who's classic "I Can't Explain." Mr. Slim borrows, begs, and steals from some of the best. You'll hear obvious influences from every genre from industrial to house. But these songs do not mimic; rather, Cook takes the established and reinvents it, mixes it up, rearranges it. The result is an energized, motivating, even endearing big-beat album that feels, grooves, and moves from beginning to end. --Beth Bessmer