Mind Detonator

The Prodigy are coming to the end of their first live tour since the passing of frontperson Keith Flint in 2019. By all accounts, the live shows have been an incendiary, cathartic experience.

The tour also celebrates the 25th anniversary reissue of The Fat Of The Land, which has been re-released along with a great new remix of Firestarter by Andy C, the sonic equivalent of chucking petrol on a bonfire. You can view the song on YouTube and buy it on Bandcamp, Juno and other digital outlets.

Today's selection covers singles and albums from 1991 to 2004, starting inevitably with Firestarter, which I've extended for a proper kick-off by splicing the first half of the instrumental with the single edit.  

It's Moby next up at the controls, with a remix of Everybody In The Place, followed by a great mash-up of Medusa's Path by The Prodigy and She's A Bitch by Missy Misdemeanor Elliott, which appeared on a bootleg remix companion to fourth album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.

 

Their Law featuring Pop Will Eat Itself was recorded as a reaction to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, which effectively criminalised music with repetitive beats. Inevitably, this provoked a response from many acts including Autechre, Primal Scream (covering The Clash) and - taking it to it's logical and ridiculous extreme - Orbital. Their Law put it most succinctly ("Fuck 'em and their law") and has remained a sadly relevant song even now, particularly when you consider the hypocrisy of the incumbent government and Crime Minister.

Charly started it all for me, an insane pogo peppered with samples from public address films that I grew up with in the 1970s. I don't think Charly would have been very happy that The Prodigy disregarded his miaowed advice and went on to record Firestarter.

Voodoo People is one of my favourite songs by The Prodigy. There's a great remix by The Chemical Brothers - at the time still The Dust Brothers before legal threats forced a name change - but really the original has it, built around samples from The Last Poets, Nirvana and Johnny Pate's frenetic flute.

The dub of Mindfields appeared as a B-side, heavy on the bass whilst retaining Maxim's vocals to create a rumbling beast. Baby's Got A Temper was relatively disappointing, feeling a bit of a stop gap single echoing Firestarter and Smack My Bitch Up. It's good but it was the right call to leave it off the subsequent album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.

 

For my all-time favourite song by The Prodigy, I'm invariably torn between Out Of Space and Breathe, either of which could would have been a great closing track for this selection. In the end, I opted for Breathe. Coming straight after the success of Firestarter, if anything Breathe upped The Prodigy's game even more and was accompanied by one of the greatest videos ever. For a very, very long time I was certain the guitar sample was from some obscure 1980s goth track so it was a surprise to later discover that it was in fact The James Bond Theme.

 

On that latter note, then, today's selection is not only a celebration of The Prodigy's return and a tribute to Keith Flint, but also to Monty Norman, legendary composer who also left us on 11th July.

 

1) Firestarter (Filth Infatuated Extended Intro Re-Edit By Khayem) (2022)

2) Everybody In The Place (Dance Hall Version By Moby) (1992)

3) Medusa's Path (Medusa Bitch Remix By cry.on.my.console) (The Prodigy vs. Missy Misdemeanor Elliott) (2004)

4) Their Law (Album Version By Liam Howlett) (ft. Pop Will Eat Itself) (1994)

5) Charly (Alley Cat Mix By Liam Howlett & Chaz Stevens) (1991)

6) Voodoo People (Original Mix By Liam Howlett & Neil McLellan) (1994)

7) Mindfields (Headrock Dub) (Remix By Liam Howlett & Neil McLellan) (1997)

8) Baby's Got A Temper (Main Mix By Liam Howlett & Ollie Jacobs) (2002)

9) Breathe (Album Version By Liam Howlett) (1996)

Mind Detonator (46:45)