On the Floor at the Boutique [live]

by Rick AndersonThe hook here isn't so much the big-beat compilation itself as it is the DJ who mixed the program -- none other than the funk soul brother himself, Fatboy Slim. Better known to those over 30 as Norman Cook, bass player for the Housemartins and later the brains behind the charming reggae-funk outfit Beats International, he's now the king of big beat, a club music subgenre dedicated to fat, stoopid beats and pure dancefloor fun. On the Floor at the Boutique was recorded live as Fatboy mixed it at Brighton, England's Big Beat Boutique, and it's guaranteed to ruin the carpet at any party. There are contributions from artists as established as Fred Wesley (with his Horny Horns, not the Famous Flames) and the Jungle Brothers, and as obscure as DJ Tonka (whose "Phun-Ky" is an album highlight) and Bassbin Twins. It should come as no surprise that Fatboy Slim himself delivers some of the best moments on the program, including the deeply weird "Michael Jackson" and his irresistible Top 40 hit "Rockafeller Skank." Outstanding.