Palookaville

1	Don't Let the Man Get You Down 4:01
2	Slash Dot Dash 2:53
3	Wonderful Night 4:46
4	Long Way from Home 4:44
5	Put It Back Together 4:36
6	Mi Bebé Masoquista 4:26
7	Push and Shove 4:27
8	North West Three 4:30
9	The Journey 4:36
10	Jin-Go-Lo-Ba 4:40
11	Song for Chesh 4:19
12	The Joker 5:21

Barnes & Noble

Fatboy Slim has long been a believer in the adage that if you free your mind, your butt will follow. But on this long-awaited disc, the British knob-twiddler concentrates more extensively than ever on the area above the neck. On the ethereal "North West Three," which is dedicated to his wife, the artist also known as Norman Cook conjures up a romantic twilight vibe, while "Put It Back Together," which features guest vocals by Blur's Damon Albarn, brings to mind the tail end of a woozy, life-affirming road trip. Cook nods to the realm of rock as well, particularly on the garage-surf "Slash Dot Dash," which borrows spirit and spunk from the Hives' closet, giving it just enough of a laptop tweak to mark it as Fatboy territory. Palookaville isn't entirely without its booty-centric offerings, of course. On the Iberian-tinged "Wonderful Night," Cook reveals he's taken more than just hangovers away from those residencies in Ibiza; "Long Way from Home," on the other hand, offers up yet another answer to the enduring question "Bass, how low can you go?" Fittingly, he saves the knockout punch for last, teaming up with kindred brainiac-funkster Bootsy Collins for a cover of Steve Miller's "The Joker," which is guaranteed to shake the tree of all but the most jaded. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Looking back on Fatboy Slim's discography, Palookaville is up against some stiff competition, which makes it the low point only because it isn't another beginning-to-end stunner. The Fatboy himself -- Norman Cook -- had given plenty of hints in the press before the album's release that this was going to be different. He went through marriage problems and declared a renewed interest in hip-hop over dance music, dance being a genre he sees as going through another dry period. Still, this isn't a "forget everything you know about..." album since the jittery "Slash Dot Dash" and "Jin Go Lo Ba" sound like old outtakes. They're the lesser tracks on an album that could have been tighter had Cook not played it safe by including them. There's so much more heart in the non-club numbers, with each one sounding inspired and full of that quirky Fatboy flair. A cover of Steve Miller's "The Joker" with Bootsy Collins on vocals is brilliant fun and the most direct example of the rolling along despite the nasty weather, naked hippy feel of the album. When Cook brings it down, he brings to mind the best of Tranquility Bass, just a lot more fun and approachable. For its hook, "Don't Let the Man Get You Down" uses the "long-haired freaky people" line from Five Man Electrical Band's "Signs" and guest singer Lateef's two appearances are nothing short of frolicsome. They offer the trippy ying to the marriage problem yang of "Put It Back Together" with Damon Albarn, and the intentionally maudlin "North West Three" (the first address where the recently patched-it-up Cook and Zoe Ball lived together). That "North West Three" samples from a husband-and-wife's record (John and Beverley Martyn's "Primrose Hill") is just one of Palookaville's deeper-than-before ideas. There are scars here, but with only hints of the specifics, you can apply Cook's heartbreak to any hurt of your own. Palookaville could stand one more trimming pass, but it gives Cook's canon the needed depth. Now there's a Fatboy Slim record for that rainy day and one the long-haired freaky people can enjoy. David Jeffries