Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars

Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
Studio album by Fatboy Slim
Released	6 November 2000
Genre	Big beat, electronica
Length	68:14
Label	Skint
Producer	Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim chronology
You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998) Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (2000) Palookaville (2004)
Singles from Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
"Sunset (Bird of Prey)" Released: 16 October 2000 "Demons" Released: 8 January 2001 "Star 69" / "Weapon of Choice" Released: 23 April 2001 "Song for Shelter" / "Ya Mama" Released: 3 September 2001 "Drop the Hate" Released: 10 December 2001 "Retox" Released: 14 January 2002 "Talkin' bout My Baby" Released: 17 June 2002

Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars is the third studio album by British big beat musician Fatboy Slim. It was released on 6 November 2000 through Skint Records. It features Macy Gray, Ashley Slater, Bootsy Collins, Roland Clark, Jim Morrison, and Roger Sanchez as guest contributors. The album's title, mentioned in the single "Weapon of Choice" is an allusion to the Oscar Wilde quote "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars".

The album was re-released on 1 June 2015 as Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (15th Anniversary), including remastered and bonus tracks. This edition includes an additional disc with remixed versions of all the original tracks. (albeit in a much different track order from the original album)^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	64/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
Melody Maker	[6]
NME	9/10[7]
Pitchfork Media	4.2/10[8]
Q	[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Spin	6/10[11]
The Village Voice	A−[12]

The album received generally positive reviews from critics.^[2] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote "this is where Norman Cook achieves the nonstop stupidity breakbeats alone could never bring him", calling it "All shallow, all pure as a result—pure escape, pure delight, and, as the cavalcade of gospel postures at the end makes clear, pure spiritual yearning. Transcendence, we all want it."^[12] The A.V. Club called it "a big load of disposable fun and funk that's fluffier than cotton candy and just as weighty."^[13]

On the other hand, Pitchfork Media wrote "After enjoying a few years of relative popularity, it seems big-beat's appeal and relevance are waning. [...] After listening to Slim's latest, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, it seems we've reached come-down time. And surprise! It's no fun at all", though "the problem lies more with the everchanging landscape of electronic music and the dying big-beat genre than it does with his technical skill."^[8] Entertainment Weekly called it "Melodically repetitive, the songs only intermittently approach the energizing highs of earlier Fatboy cuts."^[4] Spin called it a "post-masterpiece puzzler where the kicks just keep getting harder to find, spread-eagle between pop limitations and artistic aspirations."^[11]

Track listing

On the iTunes release, "Talking 'bout My Baby (Reprise)" is separated from "Song for Shelter", making the track times 9:00 and 2:26 respectively.

Sample credits

1. "Talking Bout My Baby"
   • "Macon Hambone Blues", performed by Wet Willie.
   • "Moonbeam Woman", performed by Freak Power.
   • "Du Ser en Man", performed by Svante Thuresson.
2. "Star 69"
   • "I Get Deep", performed by "DJ Le Roi" featuring Roland Clark.
   • "Flight Decimator", performed by "Chris McCormack".
3. "Sunset (Bird of Prey)"
   • Bird of Prey, performed by Jim Morrison.
   • Soul Pride, performed by James Brown.
   • "Jet Set", performed by Dr. John.
4. "Love Life"
   • Love Your Life, performed by Average White Band.
   • "A Who Seh Me Dun, performed by Cutty Ranks.
   • (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, performed by The Rolling Stones
   • Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley, Your Tie's Caught In Your Zipper, performed by Incredible Bongo Band.
   • "Centista", performed by Lunatic Calm.
5. "Ya Mama"
   • The Kettle, performed by Colosseum.
   • Let the Rhythm Pump, performed by Doug Lazy.
   • "Shake Whatcha Mama Gave Ya", performed by "Stik E & the Hoodz".
   • Block Rockin' Beats, performed by The Chemical Brothers.
6. "Mad Flava"
   • Sound of Da Police, performed by KRS-One.
   • "Feel Tha Flava", performed by "Mad Flava".
   • "Triple Threat", performed by Z-3 MC's.
   • Send Them, performed by Lyrics Born.
   • "Movie Time", performed by Uncle Dog.
   • "Full-Tilt Boogie", performed by "Uncle Louie".
7. "Retox"
   • Forget About the World" (Daft Punk 'Don't Forget the World' Mix), performed by Gabrielle.
   • "Doing It for the Money", performed by The Aloof.
   • "Tracks 59-79 (Vocal and FX Samples)", performed by Norman Cook.
8. "Weapon of Choice"
   • "All Strung Over You", performed by The Chambers Brothers.
   • The Choice Is Yours, performed by Black Sheep.
   • Into My Own Thing, performed by Sly and the Family Stone.
   • "Os Grilos", performed by "Os Catedraticos".
   • "World Play", performed by The X-Ecutioners.
   • "Keem-O-Sabe", performed by The Electric Indian.
   • Make the Music with Your Mouth, performed by Biz Markie featuring T.J. Swan.
   • "Walk Without Rhythm and We Won't Attract the Worm", Kyle MacLachlan from the film Dune.
9. "Drop The Hate"
   • "The Answer to Watergate", performed by "Reverend W. Leo Daniels"
   • "Acid 8000", performed by Fatboy Slim.
10. "Demons"
    • "I Can't Write Left Handed", performed by Bill Withers.
11. "Song For Shelter"
    • "I Get Deep", performed by "DJ Le Roi" featuring Roland Clark.

Edited version

An edited version also exists, which removes "Star 69" (due to the song's recurring use of the word "fuck", which is the sole reason for obtaining a Parental Advisory label), and removes the song's reprise used in "Song for Shelter".

Charts

Weekly charts

References