So Far... The Prodigy

As a young child who was raised by two Gen X parents that enjoyed a wide array of music it was inevitable that I would be exposed to those artists. Surprisingly, I was not show The Prodigy by my father (who owned The Fat of the Land). My memory is shaky but I believe I discovered The Prodigy through YouTube after listening to Pendulum. Smack My Bitch Up was the first track I heard from them and I was floored. This was heavy, vulgar, loud, abrasive but also restrained. I eventually hunted down the controversial music video and found it on DailyMotion and my twelve-ish year old self was slightly disappointed as I thought it would be a lot worse (first person action needs to become a more popular genre in film).

I was hooked. I listened to The Fat of the Land front to back, Music for the Jilted Generation, Experience, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, Invaders Must Die was a little middling and the stuff post that was hit or miss for the now entering middle school me. I would listen to The Prodigy often and my friends at the time would say "You listen to the weirdest music" but I loved the fast-paced breaks, rapid fire samples and aggressive vocals a lot more than the metal I had grown up with. "What's heavier than Pantera?" The Prodigy.

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Discography:
• Experience
• Date: 1992, September 28
• Formats: LP, CD, CS, Digital
• Label(s): XL Recordings (UK) / Elektra (US)
• Meta Genre: Electronic
• Genres(s): Breakbeat Hardcore
• Reissue(s):
  • Experience Expanded (2001, XL Recordings, 2xCD 11 Bonus Tracks)
  • Experience Expanded (2008, XL Recordings, 2xCD 13 Bonus Tracks) ***Definitive Edition***
• Where Can I Listen?: Physical Releases, the streaming releases of this album have recently had tracks cut out entirely due to sample clearance issues.
• The Prodigy's debut album is the definitive statement from the breakbeat hardcore movement of the late 80's and early 90's. There had been popular hits by Shut Up & Dance, Sonz of a Loop da Loop Era, Altern-8, LTJ Bukem, Acen, etc, but the only artists to take a crack at a hardcore full length album were the Ragga Twins who found success with Reggae Owes Me Money. Looking at the progression of the genre in '92 it's evident that The Prodigy were on top of the game. With multiple hard hitting singles released in '91 and '92 with the backing of XL Recorings in the UK and Elektra in the US, it was obvious who was going to set the stage for breakbeat hardcore. The album opens up with the ferocious Jericho that launches the listener into a dark track with thundering rhythm. It is a magnificent introduction to an album that only gets better as its part come together. The rising piano notes and hyperactive vocals juxtapose the haunting atmosphere the track exudes, one must feel like they're dancing for their life in a game with the devil when this plays in raves. Throughout the album you'll notice that the listener is barely given anytime to breathe and no time is wasted at all before hooking them into another track. Music Reach does just that and features female vocals by Simone that lighten the mood, yet the futuristic samples still keep the mood sober and not entirely ethereal. Your Love showcases that in the early days of the genre, reggae was a huge influence on any breakbeat music and it's apparent why. The Anthony Johnson sample helps the track flow together and is a noticeabley more relaxing vocal sample than the rest on the album. A healthy dose of hard-hitting drums and samples that perfectly fit the atmosphere later we arrive at the albums climax, Weather Experience.