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Zero 7
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Palookaville

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 12 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Astralwerks
Release Date: 05 October 2004
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Electronic
Summary
Damon Albarn and Bootsy Collins guest on Norman Cook's fourth Fatboy Slim album, which includes a cover of "The Joker" by the Steve Miller Band.
Also By This Artist: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
Also On The Web: FBS @ Astralwerks Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
PopMatters
Palookaville is every bit as rewarding an experience when taken as a cohesive unit as the best songs are when taken individually.
Read Full Review >Filter
The last few numbers droop, and as a whole, the record sinks a little from the weight of all that goddamn goodwill. [#12, p.98]
Spin
As usual, his willingness to please gives the disc its fast-food kick. [Oct 2004, p.113]
All Music Guide
Palookaville could stand one more trimming pass, but it gives Cook's canon the needed depth.
Read Full Review >Lost At Sea
Even the songs that rise above the simple looped-beat formula dont have much to offer.
Read Full Review >The Guardian
It's not enough this time around, though, simply to tack on computer-generated beats. Luckily, the "live" half suggests that he knows this and is addressing the problem.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
Essentially, Fatboy Slim is doing little more than repeating his past, but the quality here doesn't suffer for that. [Nov 2004, p.120]
Uncut
That gloriously stupid clod-hopping mash-up formula remains. [Nov 2004, p.99]
Alternative Press
Offers yet more fun funk/blues-rock mashups for unpretentious gatherings of all sorts. [Nov 2004, p.156]
Entertainment Weekly
His party jams... feel half-cocked, like Cook can't quite commit to the moment. [8 Oct 2004, p.114]
Dot Music
The paucity of innovative ideas, reliance on old recipes and directionless experimenting make for a fairly tasteless repaste.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Slim still loves blabbing repetition and dropping yapping vocal samples into the gobs of the dull, and this helps make Palookaville less a reformation than merely his latest and quite bland big beat manifesto.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
Fatboy hasn't stopped pandering to his core crowd of fun-loving jalapeno-poppers. [14 Oct 2004, p.99]
Mojo
While there's some inspired moments, much should've been discarded on son Woody's bedroom floor. [Oct 2004, p.104]
Blender
Cook's dance music has seen better days. [Oct 2004, p.115]
Urb
The big idea of real instruments and real people is a step backwards. [Oct 2004, p.102]
Stylus Magazine
The parallels with The Prodigys similarly dreadful Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned abound, but the difference here is where The Prodigys album was just offensively bad at every corner, here Norman Cook seems to be striving to make the most mediocre album humanly possible.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Palookaville's highlights promise the sweat and smiles that have become Fatboy Slim's stock in trade, but its surprisingly dull lulls offer nothing more promising than a blank expression.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
His... worst album to date. [#7]
Splendid
Songs too slow to dance to and too annoyingly repetitive for passive listening.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
Doomed to lurk unplayed at the back of your collection. [2 Oct 2004, p.64]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Michael gave it an 8:
This album is vastly underrated...ignore the negative reviews...this album is great...much more chilled out than his previous albums....you can listen to it over and over without getting tired of it...the best song IMO is the cover of Steve Miller's The Joker featuring Bootsy Collins....very catchy and funky...it's destined to be a major hit...other highlights are "Put It Back Together" featuring Damon Albarn of Blur and "It's a Wonderful Night"
Jimbo Jones gave it a 9:
Surprisingly Amazing, especially good when you're intoxicated
Helge C gave it a 10:
Though BLTC still is a classic, this album puts me in the right FBS-mood!
andrei l gave it a 10:
This is going to be seen as a landmark album in the future, nearly every track is a gem.
Arnie Geezer gave it an 8:
wow, this is album is getting torn apart by the critics. It has a few brilliant songs on it and the one's that aren't great are at least enjoyable (with the exception of his remake of the Joker which sucks balls). If you're a fatboy fan I definetly encourage you to get this record
Doug S gave it a 5:
Disapointing comming from just about any artist not to mention Fatboy Slim the king of Partying.
