Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Masters of reinvention, rave stalwarts The Prodigy have undergone another remarkable facelift for their fourth album, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. For band leader Liam Howlett, this mutation was less about ambitious experimentation and more the result of crucial damage control: the band's disastrous 2002 comeback campaign, spearheaded by "Baby's Got a Temper" found the band stagnant and on the verge of self-parody. Howlett's response was to scrap the sessions, hunker down with a laptop and hammer out an album that held spontaneity as a virtue. And while the old touchstones--the propulsive breakbeats of old-skool hip-hop, the brooding menace of punk-rock and acid-house--are all here sporting a fresh chrome gleam, here they're joined by new influences: everything from crunk hip-hop to Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker" bubbles beneath the surface of "Girls". Maxim and Keith Flint are absent, replaced by a bizarre roll call of stars--Liam Gallagher, Juliette Lewis, Twista--and obscurities… anyone remember the Ping Pong Bitches? Not that it matters: this is Howlett's album, and whether he's rewiring Shocking Blue's "Love Buzz" as Middle Eastern-tinged acid techno on "Phoenix" or clashing with Kool Keith on "Wake Up Call", he sounds back on top of his game. --Louis Pattison

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Description
'Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned' follows The Prodigy's hugely successful 1997 release, 'The Fat Of The Land'. Stripping back the rock sound of the previous album and ditching the vocal talents of Maxim and Keith Flint, Liam Howlett goes back to basics mixing dirty electro, hip hop, and nu-school breaks. Guest vocals come from actress Juliette Lewis, legendary rapper Kool Keith, and also Oasis' Gallagher brothersto name but a few.

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Customer reviews

review by: Inverse Parity of Tastes date: 2008-07-29 rating:
Not Fat, But Not Lard Either
Okay it certainly isn't Fat of the Land, but not being a long-time follower of Prodigy I have a different perspective.

I'd describe this as a mixture of Orbital and Daft Punk. Spitfire could get away with sneaking onto the Fat of the Land album, but only just.

Apart from Shoot Down, which felt similar to Climbatize in it's relaxing 'spiritual' sound which is well suited to closing an album, I didn't feel any sense of cohesion, some great tracks suitable for single use on the MP3 player.

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review by: date: 2007-07-01 rating:
trading down, and it's not a pretty sight
There's two ways of doing it.

You can make great records. Tour. Do what a band is meant to do.

Or you can disappear bar lucrative festival headlining slots twice a year, and finally release an album seven years later. A poor album at best. An solo album with a stack of guest vocalists from Hollywood in place of the band.

An album that sounds like recent Primal Scream b-sides. An album that sounds like it's had its guts ripped off and fed back to itself. This album makes you feel the way you do when you realise that the girl you're going out with isn't anywhere near as good as the old one. Liam Howlett is trading down, and it's not a pretty sight. This album is the cuckolded husband of The Prodigy's past glories.

Remember "Fat Of The Land"? Well, you remember then the screeching, tied-to-a-runaway-train-with-a-ticking-incendary-device feeling of the whole album. The garbled, idiot savant vocals and the furious, cleasning rage of "Fuel My Fire".

That band is dead.

And what is the new Prodigy record? Dated. Mining a vein of tired rehashes of late 80's hiphop and unimaginative ripoffs of old classics. Try a cover version of "Love Buzz" - Nirvana's debut single - as track 9. (It's called "Phoenix" here, by the way). Try a Prodigy dub mix of "Thriller", call it "The Way It Goes Down" and stick it as track 11 on your album. Try abandoning inspiration and talent in favour of a bunch of old, neutered songs that the dustmen forget to pick up.

It's a hastily-cobbled together selection of Liam Howlett solo songs with guest vocalists, with all the Good Stuff the band wrote years ago scrapped and replaced with meandering, dated stuff that's more 1984 than 2004. If it wasn't called The Prodigy nobody would buy it. And even the solo albums by ex-Prodigy members (by Flightcrank and Maxim) beat the pants off this. Give me seven years, a million quid in the bank and all his equipment and I too could make a record this bad.

This album is dull, tired, bland. The type of dance music that millionaire dads who don't go dancing anymore make. It's derivative, uninspired, and apart from three songs ("Spitfire", "Get Up, Get Off", and "Shoot Down", with Oasis of all people), is completely redundant.

Give up Liam. This isn't a band, and this isn't music. It's the sound of talent and inspiration running away as fast as they can from the future. It's No Good. Stop The Dance.

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review by: D.Mills, Detroit USA date: 2006-07-21 rating:
Return of punk techno
I heard of Prodigy back in 1997 when Breathe was playing constantly on Radio 1. I've only recently gotten back into 90's music, and back tracked stuff from that era.

I think of the Prodigy with Keith Flint as a frontman as the sex pistols of 90s, the image certainly seemed to state that with other bands like Oasis looking like the new beatles, and Thom Yorke as the David Bowie of the 90s. Shame they had to loose the guy, he was the ultimate mascot. Prior to Fat Of The Land, they're first album and Music For The Jilted Generation was classic dance, but it was with the next album they became moreso techno punk. They're image circa 1997 is present in this new album still, even if they let Keith Flint off the leash...the constant shouting and belowing of a punky essex voice. There was about five great tracks on here- 'You be under my wheels' is pure prodigy and a genius sound, and You'll be My radar or whatever it's called sounds like real hyper big beat punk if you're feeling a bit bad, etc. Shame no Keith though- the guy was somewhat humourous too.

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review by: date: 2006-06-28 rating:
Different direction
As a big prodigy fan since their early stuff felt the need to input my four pence worth OMO. I find a number of people on here slate this album and I agree to a point with what they say but...
But can't agree with people who simply write it off as a failure. I think long time fans (incl. myself) will always tend to compare to their past which will undoubtedly give a biased opinion about the latest offering.
As an 'electronic' stand alone album this is a good album. And to newbie's to the prodigy this is probably an interesting piece and maybe better than their past work.
Personally I think this is a good album just not 'prodigy' sounding album entirely , 'Spitfire' reminds me of FOTL but the rest of it goes down different avenues. I thinks its a 'grower' as i keep playing and liking it more with every listen.
Hats off to Liam for having the balls to try some new ideas, as it must be hard with the pressure to stay ahead of the game, as their are many more great electronic acts out their.
Certainly not a revelation like their last two albums as they were ground breaking at the time and haven't really dated, unlike some of their rivals!
Maybe the next album will break the mould once more and take over the world!!!! nuff said, now shot me down!


review by: date: 2006-05-16 rating:
Biggest musical let down I've encountered
I'm a massive Prodigy fan. In fact, they produce some of the best music I've ever heard. From 'Experience' to 'Fat of the Land', every track is brilliant. Even their unpublished singles such as 'Pandemonium' are great. Yet...

Yet this album is a total disappointment. It's just not The Prodigy. Their musical philosophy seems to have disappeared in AONO. Sure, it's different as were all of their albums, but they all had that same energy, a dark and evil atmosphere, a sense of rage and in your face excellence only they could produce.

We wanted that Prodigy sound we were already in love with. A cross between Music for A Jilted Generation and Fat of the Land would have been perfect. 'Baby's got a temper' had the right idea. I expected this album to be a masterpiece, yet it was miles away.

If you were going to introduce someone to the Prodigy, you certainly wouldn't choose any tracks from this album. Simply,if AONO wasn't produce by The Prodigy it wouldn't be half as popular.

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