Fatboy Slim

Skint/Astralwerks

Fatboy Slim, a.k.a. Norman Cook, a.k.a. Pizzaman, has most likely been puttin’ his bounce in your step for longer than you realize. From TV ads for blue jeans, sneakers, fruit juice, even an MTV Music Awards jingle, to his amazing distorted covers of everyone from Beck to Prince, Fatboy is everywhere. Fatboy’s latest offering, features 11 (mostly) original songs. The album houses several great dance tracks (“Yamama,” “Mad Flava”) but it’s his soulful, richly textured collaborations with Macy Gray (“Love Life,” “Demons”) as well as with original funkster Bootsy Collins (“Weapons of Choice”) that really stand out. The disc also features collaborations with Jim Morrison and, best of all, several musicians I’d not yet heard of whose own albums I must now go check out. Overall, the album delivers—and I would advise you buy any jeans, fruit juice or athletic shoes the Fatboy may wish to sell you.