You've Come a Long Way, Baby explained

You've Come a Long Way, Baby
Type:studio
Artist:Fatboy Slim
Cover:YouveComeALongWayBaby2.jpg
Alt:An image of an obese man holding a cigarette in his left hand. His shirt reads "I'M #1 SO WHY TRY HARDER" with a sticker on his right side. An additional image is seen on a left of a city street. Below the album's title, a Warning label appears on the bottom right in a style of a Tobacco warning message reading "WARNING: This recording contains explicit language".
Released:19 October 1998
Studio:The House of Love, Brighton
Genre:
Length:62:00
Producer:Norman Cook
Prev Title:Better Living Through Chemistry
Prev Year:1996
Next Title:Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
Next Year:2000

You've Come a Long Way, Baby is the second studio album by English electronic music producer Fatboy Slim. It was first released on 19 October 1998 in the United Kingdom by Skint Records and a day later in the United States by Astralwerks. You've Come a Long Way, Baby proved to be Cook's global breakthrough album, peaking at number one on the UK Albums Chart and number 34 on the US Billboard 200.[2] Praised by critics for its sound and style, the album brought international attention to Cook, earning him a Brit Award in 1999,[3] and was later certified four times platinum by the BPI and platinum by the RIAA. Four singles were released from the album: "The Rockafeller Skank", "Gangster Tripping", "Praise You", and "Right Here, Right Now", all of which peaked within the top ten on the UK Singles Chart.[4] "Build It Up – Tear It Down" was also released as a promotional single.

Background

Cook had a habit of buying obscure vinyl records and sampling elements that he liked. Throughout the 1990 he built up a library of these samples on floppy discs to create collages.[5] He loaded these into an Atari ST S90 sampler and a computer with C-Lab Creator software to record and manipulate the samples. For most of the songs he added the bassline and sampled the other elements in a Big Beat style. In early 1998 Cook had success with several remixes while trying out some of the obscure records during his DJ sets. Through the use of a time-stretch method and collaborating with his mixer/engineer Simon Thornton, Cook compiled the songs at his home studio in Brighton, known as the House of Love.[6] [7]

Title and artwork

The title You've Come a Long Way, Baby was derived from a marketing slogan for Virginia Slims cigarettes.[8] The previously released "The Rockafeller Skank" single liner notes revealed that a once tentative title for the album had been Let's Hear It for the Little Guy.

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 #1 so why try harder" while holding a cigarette in his left hand.[9] The original photograph was taken at the 1983 Fat People's Festival in Danville, Virginia, and provided by the Rex Features photo library.[10] Despite a series of inquiries, the man has not been identified.[11]

Additional photography for the You've Come a Long Way, Baby liner notes was provided by Simon Thornton. The cover image was changed in North America to an image of shelves stacked with records.

Critical reception

You've Come a Long Way, Baby received critical acclaim.[12] According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, it "came damn close to being the definitive big beat album... a seamless record, filled with great imagination, unexpected twists and turns, huge hooks, and great beats." In 2000, the album was ranked number 81 in Q magazine's readers' poll of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever".[13] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[14]

In 1999, it was certified 3× platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), 3×Platinum by the Australian Record Industry Association[15] and platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Track listing

Sample credits[16]

Personnel

Credits for You've Come a Long Way, Baby adapted from liner notes.[16]

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (1999)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 70
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 81
French Albums (SNEP)[23] 44
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 48
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 13
US Billboard 200[26] 93
Chart (2000)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[27] 83
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 85

Release history

RegionDateLabelFormatCatalog no.
United KingdomSkint RecordsCD[29] BRASSIC 11CD
LP[30] SKI 491973
Sony Music EntertainmentCD (limited edition)[36] ESCA 491973
United KingdomSkint RecordsCD (deluxe edition)[37] BRASSIC 56CD

External links

Notes and References

  1. Blender Staff . May 2003 . 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die! . . New York . . April 1, 2023.
  2. Fatboy Slim Chart History . Billboard . 27 July 2018.
  3. Web site: Fatboy Slim: Superstar DJ who bounced back from rehab reveals secret of the five Fs. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/fatboy-slim-the-superstar-dj-who-bounced-back-from-rehab-reveals-secret-of-the-five-fs-10251220.html . 7 May 2022 . subscription . live. The Independent. 16 May 2015. 2016-03-12.
  4. Web site: Fatboy Slim Official Charts . Official Charts Company . 6 May 2016.
  5. Web site: Doyle . Tom . January 2017 . Classic Tracks: Fatboy Slim ‘Praise You’ . 2024-08-08 . www.soundonsound.com.
  6. News: How the Fatboy grew up . Petridis. Alexis. 2004-09-10. The Guardian. 0261-3077. 2016-03-12.
  7. Marcus . Tony . April 1998 . Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy . SPIN . 14 . 4 . 82-91.
  8. Web site: Fatboy Slim Drops Beats on New Beautiful South Record . https://web.archive.org/web/20120209063838/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1425565/fatboy-slim-drops-beats-on-new-beautiful-south-record.jhtml . dead . 9 February 2012 . MTV . 11 September 1998 . 23 July 2013.
  9. Web site: Fatboy Slim . Red Design . 23 July 2013 . 22 July 2013 . https://archive.today/20130722164547/http://www.red-design.co.uk/Fatboy-Slim . dead .
  10. Web site: "Fat Peoples Festival in Danville, Virginia, America – 1983" Set: 100734, Image: 100734b. Rex Features . 23 July 2013.
  11. Jonze . Tim . 15 August 2013 . Fatboy Slim: 'My weirdest gig? The House of Commons' . . 30 Minutes With ... . We still haven't ever found the fat kid from the cover of You've Come a Long Way, Baby. He's still never identified himself, despite me putting out appeals. I would actually like to give him some money! . 15 August 2013.
  12. Web site: Fatboy Slim (Biography) . . 26 March 2020 . Cooper . Sean.
  13. Web site: Q Magazine : The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever – 選出 . Afrokayo.web.fc2.com . 2014-06-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131227100442/http://afrokayo.web.fc2.com/mdata_qmagazine_100_greatest_british_albums.html . 27 December 2013 .
  14. Book: Robert Dimery. Michael Lydon. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. 23 March 2010. Universe. 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  15. Web site: ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums . Aria.com.au . 2014-06-27.
  16. . 1998 . You've Come a Long Way, Baby . liner notes . . BRASSIC 11CD.
  17. https://myriamtisler.com/about
  18. ARIA Dance - Week Commencing 1st January 2001. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080222222432/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20020221-0000/www.aria.com.au/issue566.PDF. dead. January 1, 2001. February 22, 2008. The ARIA Report. 16. National Library of Australia. 566. April 17, 2023.
  19. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1998. Official Charts Company. 7 September 2020.
  20. Web site: ARIA End of Year Albums Chart 1999. Australian Recording Industry Association. 7 September 2020.
  21. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 1999. Ultratop. 7 September 2020.
  22. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 1999. dutchcharts.nl. 7 September 2020.
  23. Web site: Top de l'année Top Albums 1999. SNEP. fr. 7 September 2020.
  24. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts. de . GfK Entertainment. 8 September 2016.
  25. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1999. Official Charts Company. 7 September 2020.
  26. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999. Billboard. 7 September 2020.
  27. Web site: ARIA End of Year Albums Chart 2000. Australian Recording Industry Association. 7 September 2020.
  28. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2000. Official Charts Company. 7 September 2020.
  29. Web site: You've Come a Long Way, Baby – Fatboy Slim (CD – Skint #BRASSIC 11CD) . . 23 July 2013.
  30. Web site: You've Come a Long Way, Baby – Fatboy Slim (LP – Astralwerks #66247) . . 23 July 2013.
  31. Web site: You've Come a Long Way, Baby – Fatboy Slim (Cassette – Astralwerks #66247) . . 23 July 2013.
  32. Web site: You've Come a Long Way, Baby – Fatboy Slim (CD – Astralwerks #66247) . . 23 July 2013.
  33. Web site: Youve Come a Long Way Baby [MiniDisc] ]. Amazon UK . 23 July 2013.
  34. Web site: You've Come a Long Way, Baby [Japan] – Fatboy Slim (Skint Records #491973) ]. . 23 July 2013].
  35. Web site: You've Come A Long Way Baby [Vinyl] | website=Amazon UK | access-date=23 July 2013}}[30] | BRASSIC 11LP|-! scope="row" rowspan="3"| United States| rowspan="3"| | rowspan="3"| Astralwerks| ASW 66247-1|-| Cassette[31] | ASW 66247|-| CD[32] | ASW 66247-2|-! scope="row"| United Kingdom| | rowspan="2"| Skint Records| MiniDisc[33] | BRASSIC 11MD|-! scope="row" rowspan="2"| Japan| | CD[34] .
  36. Web site: You've Come a Long Way, Baby [Japan Bonus CD] – Fatboy Slim (CD – Sony Music Distribution #491973) | publisher=AllMusic | access-date=23 July 2013].
  37. Web site: You've Come a Long Way, Baby [10th Anniversary Edition] – Fatboy Slim (CD – Skint Records #BRASSIC 56CD) | publisher=AllMusic | access-date=23 July 2013].

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