Fatboy Slim not worth the 'weight'

Palookaville, the latest release from Norman Cook -- popularly known as Fatboy Slim -- has finally arrived for fans hungry for new dance-floor beats. It has been four years since Cook released the two million-selling You've Come A Long Way, Baby, which featured mega-hits "Praise You" and "The Rockafeller Skank." \nHowever, much has changed in the four years since Cook's last release. In making Palookaville, Cook decided to eschew writing-sample-based songs on a computer and instead wanted to work with real musicians. The dilemma that emerges from this is that although Cook clearly enjoyed making Palookaville, and in relatively short time, the quality suffers. While it is an admirable quality to try and produce something new and fresh, it is also extremely difficult for a disc jockey to switch from using samples to writing music.\nIn writing his new songs, Cook tries to get the best of both worlds. The result is a bunch of songs that sound like sampled dance beats, but are actually being played by a real band, kind of like a inferior version of N*E*R*D. The songs don't really sound much different than Cook's previous works, and they are simply not as good. This makes sense since it is virtually impossible for a band to produce the same kind of beats as sampling.\nThe more notable tracks include "Wonderful Night," which has been used in television commercials, "Jin Go Lo Ba," the only song on the album that features no live instruments and "The Joker," a cover of the Steve Miller Band classic. Even with all the changes, Palookaville is still a Fatboy Slim album at heart. I can't see it getting listened to often outside a club or dance party. If you're looking for something to listen to at home or settle down with, keep looking, but if you're looking for something new to throw on for the background of your next party, Palookaville is definitely an applicable choice.