Review: “Why Try Harder?” The Best of Fatboy Slim

Fatboy Slim survived the late 90s fascination with techno by creating a big beat sound that… well crap I don’t know how he survived, but it was long enough to compile a greatest hits record.

The opening salvo of “Rockafeller Skank” lets you know pretty much exactly what you’re in for. Fast, fun dance music bouncing along with a refrain repeated to the point that you can sing along by 30 seconds into the cut even if you’ve never heard the song before.

It is kind of amazing how well “Weapon Of Choice” holds up as a track on its own without the video of Christopher Walken dancing along. But after “Praise You,” “Going Out Of My Head,” and sped-up remix of “Brimful of Asha” by Cornershop whiz by, the second half of the record fall off. I suppose part of the problem is that there was no radio format available to play these more recent singles, but they also don’t seem to resonate as “hits” though “Demons” and the new track included “That Old Pair Of Jeans” do show some growth into creating some real songs instead of just mindless head bobbing music (no matter how fun the head bobbing is).

Its summer time. This is your opportunity to get in the car with the sunroof down and holla “Right about now, Funk Soul Brother!” at others. And don’t feel guilty if you want to listen to the same track more than once.