You've Come a Long Way, Baby

You've Come a Long Way, Baby
Studio album by Fatboy Slim
Released	19 October 1998
Studio	The House of Love (Brighton, England)
Genre	Big beat
Length	61:59
Label	Skint Astralwerks
Producer	Norman Cook
Fatboy Slim chronology
On the Floor at the Boutique (1998) You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998) Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (2000)
Alternate cover
North American version
Singles from You've Come a Long Way, Baby
"The Rockafeller Skank" Released: 8 June 1998 "Gangster Tripping" Released: 5 October 1998 "Praise You" Released: 4 January 1999 "Right Here, Right Now" Released: 19 April 1999 "Build It Up – Tear It Down" Released: 15 September 1999

You've Come a Long Way, Baby is the second studio album by the English big beat producer Fatboy Slim, released on 19 October 1998 by Skint Records ^[1] internationally and by Astralwerks in the United States and Canada. The album was recorded at Fatboy Slim's home studio The House of Love in Brighton, England.^[2][3]

The album was a critical and commercial success, containing four top ten singles. The album peaked at number one on the UK albums chart, number one in New Zealand, number two in Australia,^[4] and number thirty-four on the US Billboard 200. Four singles were released from the album: "The Rockafeller Skank", "Gangster Tripping", "Praise You", and "Right Here, Right Now", each of which reached the top 10 in the UK Singles Chart.^[5] "Build It Up – Tear It Down" was also released as a promo, but not as a commercial single. The four singles from the album brought Fatboy Slim an international profile and You've Come a Long Way, Baby was described as his 'global break-through album'.^[2] Its success earned him a Brit Award in 1999.^[6]

Editing

You've Come a Long Way, Baby was recorded entirely using Atari ST computer, Creator software and floppy disks.^[7] The album faced issues regarding the use of profanity, most notably on the track "Fucking in Heaven" (renamed "In Heaven" in North America, and "Illin in Heaven" on the censored version), where the word 'fucking' is spoken 108 times by DJ Freddy Fresh. The word "shit" is used in "Gangster Tripping" 57 times, which makes a total of 165 profanities. Because of this, the album was given a Parental Advisory sticker. It is possible that the repeated use of "druggy" in "Kalifornia" also required the sticker, which is not limited to simply profanity but also to drug references.

Title and artwork

The title You've Come a Long Way, Baby was derived from a marketing slogan for Virginia Slims cigarettes.^[8] Conceived by Red Design, the album's primary cover art features an obese young man dressed in a T-shirt bearing the words "I'm No. 1 so why try harder".^[9][10] The original photograph was taken at the 1983 Fat People's Festival in Danville, Virginia and provided by the Rex Features photo library.^[11] Despite a series of enquiries, the man has not been identified.^[12] Additional photography for the You've Come a Long Way, Baby liner notes was provided by Simon Thornton.^[9] The cover image was changed in North America to an image of shelves stacked with records.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
The Austin Chronicle	[14]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[15]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[16]
NME	8/10[17]
Pitchfork Media	8.2/10[18]
Q	[19]
Rolling Stone	[20]
Select	5/5[21]
Spin	8/10[22]

The album received critical acclaim, particularly for its beats and hooks, and is considered a benchmark album in big beat music. In 1999, it was certified 3× platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), 3xPlatinum by the Australian Record Industry Association^[4] and platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2000, the album was ranked number 81 in Q magazine's readers' poll of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever".^[23] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[24]

Track listing

Sample credits^[9]

1. "Right Here, Right Now"
   • "Ashes, the Rain, and I", performed by the James Gang.
   • "Right here, right now" vocal sample - Angela Basset from the film Strange Days.
2. "The Rockafeller Skank"
   • "Sliced Tomatoes", performed by Just Brothers.
   • "Beat Girl", performed by John Barry.
   • "Vinyl Dogs Vibe", performed by "Vinyl Dogs" featuring Lord Finesse.
   • "Peter Gunn", performed by Art of Noise featuring Duane Eddy.
   • I Fought the Law, performed by The Bobby Fuller Four.
   • "Soup", performed by "JJ. All Stars".
3. "Fucking in Heaven"
   • "Copy Kat", performed by "Bar-Kays".
   • "Fatboy Slim is fucking in heaven" vocal sample - Freddy Fresh.
   • "Somebody Oughta Turn Your Head Around", performed by "The Crystal Mansion".
   • "Get Up! Go Insane!" ("Fatboy Really Lost It"), performed by "Stretch & Vern".
   • "Summertime", performed by John Schroeder.
4. "Gangster Trippin"
   • Entropy, performed by DJ Shadow.
   • "Beatbox Wash", performed by the Dust Junkys.
   • "You Did It", performed by Ann Robinson.
   • "Barkin' Up the Wrong Tree", performed by James Young and "The House Wreckers".
   • "World Play", performed by The X-Ecutioners.
   • "The Turntablist Anthem", performed by The X-Ecutioners.
   • "Reggae Merengue", performed by Tommy McCook and "The Supersonics".
   • "Your Love", performed by Michael Prophet and "Ricky Tuffy".
   • "Side B", performed by DJ Qbert.
   • Big Daddy Theme, performed by Big Daddy Kane.
5. "Build It Up – Tear It Down"
   • "The Acid Test" performed by "The Purple Fox".
   • Tobacco Road, performed by War.
   • Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.), performed by The Archies.
   • "Philly Dog", performed by Ike Turner and Kings of Rhythm.
   • "Join the Gang", performed by David Bowie.
   • "Pretty "Before I Go To Bed", performed by Rayvon.
6. "Kalifornia"
   • Planet Rock (Instrumental), performed by Afrika Bambataa and Soulsonic Force.
7. "Soul Surfing"
   • "I'll Do a Little Bit More", performed by The Olympics.
   • "Saxon Studio Live", performed by "Daddy Sandy", "Daddy Rusty", "Papa Levi" and Tippa Irie feat "Daddy Colonel".
   • "Funky Mule", performed by Ike Turner and Kings of Rhythm.
8. "You're Not from Brighton"
   • "The Groovy Thang", performed by "Minimal Funk".
   • Rump Shaker (Radio Mix), performed by Wreckx-N-Effect featuring Teddy Riley.
   • "Nobody's Business (Nosey Parker Mix), performed by "Peace by Piece".
   • "Ain't Movin", performed by Johnny "Guitar" Watson.
   • "You'll Like It Too", performed by "Funkadelic".
9. "Praise You"
   • "Take Yo Praise", performed by Camille Yarbrough.
   • "Balance and Rehearsal", performed by Hoyt Axton and JBL.
   • "Fat Albert Theme", performed by "Ed Fournier" and "Ricky Sheldon".
   • Lucky Man, performed by Steve Miller Band.
   • It's a Small World, performed by Walt Disney Records Studio Group.
   • Running Back To Me, performed by Ruby.
10. "Love Island"
    • "Song for Lindy", performed by Fatboy Slim.
    • "So Few Words", performed by Archive.
    • "Contempo Strings #5", performed by "Robert Ascot".
    • "Outsider (Lunatic Calm Remix)", performed by Definition of Sound.
    • "Excuse Me (Breakbeat Mix)", performed by "House Empire".
11. "Acid 8000"
    • "Boody Mover", performed by "DJ Deeon".

Personnel

Credits for You've Come a Long Way, Baby adapted from liner notes.^[9]

• Norman Cook – performer, production
• Red Design – photography
• Simon Thornton – engineering, mixing, photography
• Eve (entertainer) – provides the vocals for the song "Cowboy".
• Freddy Fresh – provides the vocal sample for the song "Fucking in Heaven".
• Myriam Tisler – provides the vocals for the song "Radioactivity".

Charts

Weekly charts

Release history

References

External links

• You've Come a Long Way, Baby at Discogs (list of releases)
• You've Come a Long Way, Baby at MusicBrainz (list of releases)