Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned [PA] (CD - 2004)

Additional personnel: Juliette Lewis, Liam Gallagher , Ping Pong Bitches, Princess Superstar (vocals); Noel Gallagher (bass guitar); Kool Keith, Shahin Badir, Twista, Paul "Dirtcandy" Jackson.

The Prodigy's main man, Liam Howlett, said in an interview that usual bandmembers Keith Flint and Maxim weren't on the new album because this is a back-to-the-core record, one to find the soul of the Prodigy (dancer Leeroy Thornhill left the band years ago -- losing your dancer, always crippling). For anyone rooting for the band, it sounded like a good deal. Howlett came off as a mad beat scientist of great genius on his goin'-it-alone CD The Dirtchamber Sessions, Vol. 1, rockin' the beats with mad style and blowing the dust off Babe Ruth's "The Mexican" just to prove how he was cooler than you. It was a sweet mix, but then nothing -- and then it got worse. But at least Howlett himself called 2002's dull "Baby's Got a Temper" single an F'n piece of S. Seems like he was well aware things were going wrong and has gotten himself back on the right track, so let's all go nuts for Prodigy again. There's an inspired list of guest stars on the album -- Princess Superstar, Kool Keith, Liam Gallagher, Twista, Juliette Lewis -- and Howlett is working hard throughout, twiddling the knobs and making noises fly every which way. "Girls" is a good electro roller, the surprisingly different and slinky "Phoenix" is proof Howlett hasn't lost it, and you're bound to fall for at least one of the generic fist pumpers, as they do have that whipping sting in the tail of which Howlett is the master. Unfortunately, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned isn't the success 1997's Fat of the Land was. It's steps ahead of the "Baby's Got a Temper" single and worth it for the faithful, but not up to the old standards. ~ David Jeffries

The Prodigy's main man, Liam Howlett, said in an interview that usual bandmembers Keith Flint and Maxim weren't on the new album because this is a back-to-the-core record, one to find the soul of the Prodigy (dancer Leeroy Thornhill left the band years ago -- losing your dancer, always crippling). For anyone rooting for the band, it sounded like a good deal. Howlett came off as a mad beat scientist of great genius on his goin'-it-alone CD The Dirtchamber Sessions, Vol. 1, rockin' the beats with mad style and blowing the dust off Babe Ruth's "The Mexican" just to prove how he was cooler than you. It was a sweet mix, but then nothing -- and then it got worse. But at least Howlett himself called 2002's dull "Baby's Got a Temper" single an F'n piece of S. Seems like he was well aware things were going wrong and has gotten himself back on the right track, so let's all go nuts for Prodigy again. Twiddling the knobs and making noises fly every which way, Howlett is working hard throughout Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned and with clean, punch-in-the-gut bass like this, there isn't a better record to sell those gigantic, "you'll have to take your backseat out" kickboxes. But take someone who just barely follows electronic music, tell him or her this is an everyday KMFDM record, and they'll fall for it. Nothing against KMFDM. They've got their rightfully sleazy place, but this is the Prodigy and Always Outnumbered is just loud workout music for the jilted generation. Lyrics? Try "Gimme! gimme! gimme!" and "You got to push it!" Not that "Change my picture/Smack my bitch up" was brilliant, but it was incongruous enough to have you going, "why do I keep singing this?" There's an inspired list of guest stars on this album -- Princess Superstar, Kool Keith, Liam Gallagher, Twista, Juliette Lewis -- but either their voices are so filtered it could be anyone or they're given nothing more to do than yell "go, man, go." Howlett had been all "I've got something to prove with this" in the press, but very little of that spirit comes through on the album. "Girls" is a good electro roller and steps ahead of "Baby's Got a Temper," while the surprisingly different and slinky "Phoenix" is proof Howlett hasn't totally lost it. Plus, you're bound to fall for at least one of the generic fist-pumpers. They do have that whipping sting in the tail of which Howlett is the master. That's barely enough for five years of waiting and hardly up to the old standard. That Always Outnumbered is no good reason for teens to put the Playstation controller down and rejoin the mainstream techno revolution is disappointing. As crazy as those glowstick kids could be, Prodigy concerts should have more than boring old farts who don't dance standing around. There's little of that rebellious and over-the-top excitement here, and that's bad news for those on the fringe of Prodigy fandom. ~ David Jeffries

After a seven-year break between studio albums, 2004's ALWAYS OUTNUMERED, NEVER OUTGUNNED returned the Prodigy to the ranks of the movers and shakers in mainstream electronica. From the record's lead-off track, "Spitfire," it is clear that group mastermind Liam Howlett (now essentially a one-man band) hasn't lost his touch--thunderous beats abet aggressive guitar, keyboards, and samples, while snaking melodies rise and fall, and actress Juliette Lewis screams a repeating vocal tag. This level of intensity rarely slackens over the course of the record.

In addition to its superior, high-end production, fist-pumping choruses, and insidiously propulsive rhythms (the undulating bass groove of "Hot Ride"--its refrain filched from Jimmy Webb's "Up, Up and Away"--is one of the highlights), ALWAYS OUTNUMBERED is graced by distinguished guests. Twista (reputedly one of the fastest rappers on earth) spits rhymes throughout "Get Up Get Off" at a mind-boggling pace. Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher takes a turn on the mic on "Shoot Down," and Kool Keith turns up on the aggro-electro-funk of "Wake Up Call." But it is Howlett's knob-twiddling that commands most of the attention here, sustaining the Prodigy's long-held claim to making some of the most meticulously constructed, brain-rattling club music around. minimize