Fatboy Slim – The Greatest Hits Remixed

Fatboy Slim occupies a special place in my heart, if not necessarily on my turntable. Sure, he represented a bombastic moment of electronic music history -- as essentially the godfather of the big beat movement -- but his tracks were fun, darn it! Here, on THE GREATEST HITS REMIXED, he lets himself be taken over by other big room aficionados. On the first disc, Redanka starts with a thrumming take on "Right Here Right Now," while the Chemical Brothers bring their trademark sound to "Song for Shelter." The Plump DJs bring acid breaks to "Everybody Needs a 303" and Junkie XL opens up "Weapon of Choice" for some funk Hammond. His biggest hit, "The Rockerfeller Skank" gets some clean breaks, courtesy of Mulder, and Darren Emerson lets loose the dogs of tech-house on "Sunset Bird of Prey," with Manumission getting even more frenetic on "Love Island." SImon Thornton's mix of "F***ing in Heaven" doesn't quite hit the mark, however, but Kiddo's "Fatboy Bouillebaisse" as it moves through his opus in the matter of minutes. On the second disc, Justice gives "Don't Let the Man Get You Down" a jittery electro that emphasizes the bass, while Dave Clarke works it out by stomping over "Relax." Fans of house can turn to X-Press 2's take of "Mi Bebe Masoquista," whereas The Fantastic Plastic Machine adds a touch of groove to the guitar riffs of "The Journey." Jon Carter adds a tribal touch to "Jin Go Lo Ba," while the acid comes alive with Krafty Kuts' "Yo Mama." Kid Carpet goes mellow with "The Joker" but the uplifting Midfield General mix of "Talking Bout My Baby" is the place to go if you want to chill and smile. A nice enough collection for those who miss the late 90s.