The Prodigy
2004: the return. At last. Of The Prodigy. Yet not as we knew them.
For one, ‘them’ isn’t ‘them’ anymore – it’s just ‘him’, Liam Howlett. Maxim and Keith Flint aren’t anywhere in sight or sound on ‘Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned’, the band’s fourth studio-LP to date, and we all know Leeroy’s been long gone. Their latest is harder, faster, more demonic than all we’ve heard from the early 90s rave-cum-techno-punk pioneers in a fair age. It’s also what’s known as a ‘return to form’.
After all, it started getting a bit wobbly for the Essex danceniks. Several influential, landmark, millions-selling albums aside (‘The Prodigy Experience’; ‘Music For The Jilted Generation’; ‘Fat Of The Land’), it was the exertion of ‘Baby Got A Temper’ as a one-off single prior to 2002’s notoriously disappointing Reading/Leeds performances that marked a band only months previous nestling at their peak (even despite a Crispian Mills collaboration) now sitting on the brink of commercial suicide.
And why? Because The Prodigy became a Prodigy covers-band. After selling out Moscow’s Red Square, selling thousands of tickets on US and global dates, and getting famous girlfriends (and subsequent wives), the trio/quartet were running out of steam, creativity waning. Though received warmly at the time (even rockfeedback in a blind daze to reward the return of one of the UK’s biggest acts by granting the single-release four stars), ‘Baby’s…’ was standard thoroughfare from a band who’d already written a classic such as ‘Firestarter’ and didn’t need a watered-down copy to follow it. Time out was needed.
Hence years away. Liam told the others to shove it, and turned his hand to collaborations with the Gallaghers, Kool Keith and Juliette Lewis, reigniting his love for ardent, unrelenting noise-dance that infatuates and defines ‘Always Outnumbered…’. Flint and Maxim return, though, for the tours due later this year, and so the live reign shall hopefully remain untainted. Phew. For a minute there, they lost themselves.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: Hear samples from the new LP ahead of the website relaunch, which is due during September. Or sign the guestbook. Insatiable.
XL RECORDINGS: Hear samples from the new LP ahead of the website relaunch, which is due during September. Or sign the guestbook. Insatiable.
SINGLE REVIEW – ‘BABY’S GOT A TEMPER’ 2002: somewhat regrettably, we enthused on this release, only to later realise we were perhaps too hasty with the praise. Oh well.
FESTIVAL REVIEW – CARLING WEEKEND: READING FESTIVAL 2002: like the former... it was enjoyable at the time, yet not much more. The Prodigy teased us with greatness yet didn’t follow through. (They’re great again now, though, honest – hence this bloody feature).