Artist : Fatboy Slim Album : Palookaville (Sony Music)

By now, British media have already labeled this latest album of "one of the Britain's biggest dance acts" a commercial failure, after it dropped out of the top 75 after only three weeks.

The thing is, the materials in this album are mostly not typical Fatboy Slim's quirky, wacky dance songs. It is perhaps not even dance music per se.

Slim a.k.a. Norman Cook is now relying on live musicians and instruments rather than computer programming and stuff. He, if I can put it like that, has grown up.

The results may not lure a massive crowd, but good songs are good songs, and Slim proves he still gets his groove on with the sound and the beats.

Standout tracks include Don't Let The Men Get You Down, groovy Wonderful Night, electro-funk El Bebe Masoquista and Slim's classical Slash Dot Dash and trancey Jin Go Lo Ba.

He's even got hazier tunes as well, such as Put It Back Together, the dreamy North West Three and moody Long Way From Home.

Britain's top dance act? Musician in his own right a more likely and appropriate title for Fatboy Slim now. -- Hera Diani