Hmmm, at their best they are really thrilling and exciting, but I have some quibbles. They donāt really go for anything other than thrilling and exciting, do they, so although Liam can be brilliant at what he does, heās operating in a very narrow field, without much variety or emotional range (this isnāt going to stop me giving The Ramones a million out of five though, tbf). Also the last twenty years of their career is very forgettable. I know all these long term artists have peaks and troughs, but thereās a lot more down than up in their 21st century discography. And finally, seeing as I gave Kendrick a slagging for repeatedly calling women bitches, I canāt really give a free pass to That Song, can I?
But on the other hand, the likes of Breathe and No Good are just so very very bangingā¦
First band I ever got into. I remember sitting listening to Fat of the Land through a massive pair of headphones and it was the most exciting thing Iād ever heard
Iāve gone with a 3. Fat Of The Land came out when I was 12 and really opened my eyes to music that wasnt guitar-based, and then that lead me to Jilted Generation is a fucking brilliant record. Itās never really been āmy type of thingā but those first 3 albums hold up for the most part (FOTL least so). Like @riverwise said, they only really have one gear, and in a genre thatās constantly evolving and moving on, they were completely left behind. Only heard bits after Fatā¦ but just found it all very dull, like an ageing man in a pub trying to show you how he can still do a handstand. 3/5.
One of my biggest regrets is not joining the rest of my school year at the local U18s club when they came to town on the Experience tour back in the day. That show has gone down in legend, but my indie-snobbery had kicked in big-style at the time and ādance musicā was for the trendies.
Donāt really know anything past The Fat Of The Land, and Iām not sure Iāve even listened to that as an album, just know the singles. In fact, I hadnāt listened to them in years until I revisited Jilted Generation after Keith Flintās death and was reminded how utterly exhilarating they could be. And despite being overplayed to death, if Firestarter comes on during a night out I WILL dance.
All that said, they are only really worthy of a 3 from me. The highs are pretty great, but theyāre not a band that I ever really choose to listen to.
Shout out to my cousin who, at age 21 and as a huge Prodigy fan, and despite the title of the actual damn track, was convinced that the lyrics to That Song were, āgrab my picture, smash my picture.ā
Love The Prodigy. Great live band, even in recent years when they pretty much became a heritage band. Just a look at that list of singles reminds you how good they were at their peak. But yeah, agree that they never really developed much after the first 3 albums.
Right now, Iām going to give a 4.5.
Theyāre a 3.5 really but Iām going 4. Two and a half really good albums, great live act, Keith Flint seemed like a GBOL. Smash My Picture still grates, wasnāt good at the time and has aged badly. Didnāt really bother with anything post FOTL.
First few records were excellent. Diminishing returns thereafter. Got them live a few times and they were always fucking great live. Was lucky enough to catch them in a small club in glasgow before they got huge.
Was really sorry to hear when keith died apart from being a phenomenal front man he was clearly a fucking right good guy.
And when firestarted came out the track and video seemed like it was from outer space or some shit.
4
Good 4 for the first 3 albums alone. Had a handful of decent bangers there after though. Reckon I wouldāve picked MFTJG as my favourite if it wasnāt for giving Experience a reappraisal following Keithās death. Itās such a game changer / benchmark / brain-melter of an album. Iād never really appreciated it fully until then/now.
Also, they were the first band I was properly obsessed with so they will always mean something to me even if I lost interest in their later output
Standard answer - Jilted and Fat YES, slim pickings thereafter. Responsible for one of my better rave experiences. Saw them live at the end of the last tour - still killed it in a corporate arena kind of way. Obviously feels bittersweet nowā¦
