Thirty years after its original release, Fatboy Slim’s debut album, ‘Better Living Through Chemistry’, is being reissued with a new remastering for this milestone anniversary.
Originally released in 1996, ‘Better Living Through Chemistry’ marked the beginning of Norman Cook’s Fatboy Slim project. The album emerged during the rise of Big Beat, combining electronic and dance music with the sample-based approach that would become associated with Cook’s subsequent releases. The launchpad for his iconic career, Cook describes the period as one of musical discovery for the project and, given the fact that now, three decades later, Cook is still packing out venues across the globe, the dance icon has done alright for himself.
Having witnessed the experience that is Fatboy Slim live, where one man turned an entire room into a convulsing mess at the press of a button, the dance scene has a bond that is unbreakable. However, even with a sparkly new remastering, reissuing a thirty year old album, and one as important as this one which shaped the 90s dance scene, three decades later, runs a massive risk? Primarily does it sound dated in this ever-evolving industry?
Well, let’s be honest, Fatboy Slim fans, dance fans, clubbers, ravers, none of them are going to be disappointed one iota by this celebration. Sounding equally as huge as it did back in 1996, the modern version of ‘Better Living Through Chemistry’ just amps everything up even more. It’s a reissue that, for millions of fans all over the globe, will transport them back to an era of huge beach parties, messy house parties and dancing away until the small hours of the morning at clubs with no thought for the next morning.
Tracks like “The Weekend Starts Here”, or “First Down The Disco” are infectious slices of big beat dance perfect for setting the dancefloor alight, while the edgier, sample-laden “Punk To Funk”, has the pulse that acts like The Prodigy would soon be delivering themselves. A master of his art even at this early stage of his career, Cook showed he can turn his hand to almost any style, and even listening to these songs thirty years later, it’s impossible to deny his knack of weaving all manner of samples and sounds into his mixes is second to none.
You could look at this album in a number of ways. Firstly, if you’re of a certain age, not only do these twenty-five tracks represent a nostalgic trip down memory lane, they represent a way of life, and the start of a cultural behemoth in the UK music scene. If you are new to the Fatboy Slim party, this represents everything that drew millions of fans to the dance scene in the first place. The fact that, here we are thirty years later still celebrating it’s release with a huge anniversary editions, mouthwatering collaborations and a slew of appearances from DJs all over the world, shows just how important this album still is.
For its 30th anniversary, the original recordings have undergone half-speed remastering. Alongside the remastered album, the expanded 2CD edition includes a second disc featuring B-sides, rarities and a new remix from Dutch DJ and producer Sem Jacobs. The digital edition adds further remixes from Peruvian electronic artist Chinonegro and Ammo Avenue. It should come as no surprise to discover that, even remixes of some of the thirty-year old scene-changers on this album, nestle comfortably alongside their originals.
While this is the celebration of the start of a career that redefined dance music in the UK, the fact that thirty years later, a reissue could be as strong and as genre-defining as this one is, shows just how truly iconic Fat Boy Slim is.
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