Search - Various Artists :: Break From the Norm

Have you ever wanted to hear the original versions of the songs that inspired Norman Cook's (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) dance-pop smashes "Gangsta Trippin'," "Santa Cruz," and "Demons"? A Break from the Norm is an eclectic slice of trivia disguised as a funky mix tape. The downside of this tour through Cook's sonic muses is that you have to be fully aware of his catalog to dig just what slight-of-sequencer magic he performed on the originals. This helps explain why the sultry blues/soul of Camille Yarborough's "Praise You," which formed the basis of Fatboy Slim's 1998 chart topper of the same name, has greater impact than the more obtuse samples (i.e., the surf-guitar twang of the John Barry Seven's "Beat Girl"--a component of "Rockefella Skank"). Yet even if you ignore the name-that-tune aspect of it, there's much to enjoy as Cook takes you on a crate-digging exercise from hip-hop to classic rock. --Amy Linden