If a week's a long time in politics, then seven years is the equivalent of several lifetimes in rock, and while THE PRODIGY ruled the critical and commercial roost in 1997 when their last album "The Fat Of The Land" blew away pretty much all comers, it's a very different world its' horrendously overdue follow-up has been birthed into. Indeed, with his former colleagues Maxim, Leeroy and Keith Flint having departed or taking extended sabbatical, can commander-in-chief Liam Howlett really justify the aeons spent tinkering and dithering and make the magnificent return expected of him?
Well, the very title "Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned" in itself drips with self-confidence and the ability to outlast the pack, and - initially - it seems young Liam might just have pulled it off. Actually, the album kicks off with a couple of real crackers in "Spitfire" - where an adrenalised Muezzin wail, thrilling samples and old-skool hip-hop beats are woven together like an exquisite Eastern tapestry - and the new single "Girls" which is intially low-key, but soon allows blurty, squelchy synths and NYC hip-hop beats to cut through, creating something kooked, funky and surprisingly fresh en route.
More of this and Howlett would be basking in superlatives all over again, but sadly the remainder of the album is horribly patchy and inconsistent and way too jumbled to be a true contender. Yeah, there are several more impressive tracks, but significantly two of these ("Medusa's Path" and "The Way It Is") are virtually entirely instrumental, and suggest that The Prodigy these days is anything but a band and purely Liam Howlett's fried imagination. Still, these are cool tracks: "Medusa'a Path" is a swirling, looped Eastern burlesque with underlying glitchy beats and a distinct soundtrack bent, while "The Way It Is" is quite funky in a Talking Heads/ !!! kinda way, with a fluid groove helping it rise from the morass.
Both of these are pleasant surprises, and on "Hot Ride" and the closing "Shoot Down", the album also convinces. The former powers its' way in on massive, ominous rock beats and brain-blethering rifferama, while guest vocalist Juliette Lewis (of all people) gets all coy and innuendo-fuelled (sample, er, lyric: "gimme, gimme a ride"). Yes, it's obvious, but thrilling nonetheless, as is "Shoot Down" where Liam keeps it in the family with in-law Liam Gallagher getting all guttural and sneery over a fuzz-bass overload and skronky guitar that recalls Primal Scream. It's hardly groundbreaking, but still a satisfying racket and surely a winner live.
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The rest, though, struggles for any semblance of clarity and direction. "Memphis Bells" is about the best of the remainder, with a down and dirty feel Peaches would approve of, but Princess Superstar's vocals are barely a layering and it falls short in terms of power. Elsewhere, though, on tracks like "Wake Up Call" and "Get Up, Get Off", the snakecharmer riffs soon wear themselves out and Howlett sounds like he really can't decide where he should go. Even worse is "You'll Be Under My Wheels" which is surely the sound of Howlett arriving at the studio with his kitchen sink strapped on his back and chucking this in for good measure. There agin, this is inspired compared with "Phoenix", which is actually a naff cover of Shocking Blue/ Nirvana's "Love Buzz". I mean, it's probably all very post-modern an' all that, but is there, like, a point to this? If so, I'm buggered if I can find it.
Despite the boasts of its' title, then, "Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned" is short on both firepower and innovation. Obviously, it's a foolish man who writes Liam Howlett off yet, but there are times here when he sounds like a sonic Blofeld, locked away in his ivory tower with his white cat and trusty laptop, dreaming of continued domination of a world that's moved on and embracing a host of new contenders in his absence. If he waits another seven years, I doubt we'd bother sending 007 after him, actually. Might as well save the taxpayer some cash for once.
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