070 - The Prodigy - Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned (2004) (with mynameisblueskye)

UK act The Prodigy made a name for themselves in the 1990s through their distinct style of electronic music, which introduced raucous punk rock energy to the subgenres of hardcore techno and rave music, and also introduce the world to the sound of big beat music. In spite of their success in the 90s however, the group stumbled entering the 00s, debuting an infamous single in 2002, "Baby's Got A Temper", which was roundly rejected by critics and fans.

Sensing a need to switch directions, Prodigy brainchild Liam Howlett scrapped the forthcoming album that he'd originally planned to put "Baby's Got A Temper" on and started from scratch with an album produced alone and entirely in the Propellerheads Reason software program. This album was titled Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned and stunned fans upon its release in 2004, standing out as the first ever Prodigy record to contain no contributions from longtime vocalists Keith Flint or Maxim Reality.

Critics continued to be unimpressed, citing Outnumbered as being uninspired and making no effort to build upon the group's already existing sound. Years after its release the album was quickly disavowed by Howlett himself, and fans to this day consider it a lower tier release in The Prodigy's catalog.

On this episode of Jukebox Zeroes we're going to do some critique of our own, as we are rejoined by previous guest mynameisblueskye to reconsider Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.

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