Review Summary: World's on Fire is the best argument to come to a show by The Prodigy you could ask for.
After releasing two critically acclaimed albums with the earthshaking
Music for the Jilted Generation and downright classic
The Fat of the Land, the UK’s
The Prodigy found themselves (unintentionally or not) crossing over well beyond their original cult status. Once you started hearing “Smack My Bitch Up” sharing radio stations’ airwaves alongside Nirvana, Weezer and Pearl Jam, you knew that this group wasn’t meant to be “underground” any longer. As pioneers of their heavy-as-all-hell approach to electronically driven music, The Prodigy became bigger than even mastermind Liam Howlett had predicted, which led them to change in a number of ways throughout their career. It’s taken more than 20 years for The Prodigy to make a true live album and the result,
World’s on Fire, is a record that conquers its missteps with unchained energy, practically hypnotizing you to want to see their show.
Eight out of the seventeen tracks on
World’s on Fire come straight off the band’s 2009 album
Invaders Must Die, which may be a disappointment for anyone experienced in the band’s more classic albums, but the fact that a majority of the songs from
Invaders Must Die are so potent is still a resounding impresser. “Warrior’s Dance” has an intelligent use of a Final Cut sample that translates perfectly to the crowd-pleasing live setting, while “Thunder” is a beat-centric monster of a track. One standout track is the live rendition of “Colours”, which sounds much heavier and, shockingly, much better than its schizophrenically rhythmic studio recording. There are some missteps, however, like the catchy, but substance-drained “Omen” (and its completely unneeded reprise) and the pedestrian “Invaders Must Die,” neither of which hold the finesse of anything off their older records.
World’s on Fire focuses more on pushing the band’s newest direction.
The group does bring out some of their biggest hits like “Breathe” and the blitzing “Smack My Bitch Up” from
The Fat of the Land, but very rarely dives into their more obscure recordings from their older records, especially their debut
Experience (which the group has been openly hesitant to perform live). The respectable “Everybody in the Place” is brutally trumped by the final track “Out of Space”, a fine way to close out the show and reward the crowdgoers who’ve stuck by the band since
Experience dropped in the early 90’s. The omission of more non-single tracks from
The Fat of the Land is a notable faux pas, as the album’s appeal isn’t purely apparent through the singles alone, but the band focuses more on songs to pump up the crowd than branch out from their established experimentation. Then again, that’s hardly a bad thing when the songs are still so memorable.
The Prodigy’s aesthetic continues to hype up and excite crowd goers and MC Maxim Reality performs to the crowd like it was his sole birthright. He makes unprecedented effort to call out to the crowd and get them amped up for the show, and in that regard, he does his job exceptionally. It’s exciting and clearly defines the live album from its collection of studio recordings. However, after hearing him say “my warriors!” for the twentieth time, you’re bound just want him to cool his jets for a second. It begs to be seen in person or at least through video, but in an audio form, it can be more of a distraction that you’d want. But while Maxim Reality commands the vocals for a great majority of the album, the more punk-styled vocalist Keith Flint makes masterful statements throughout the record. His performance on “Firestarter” solidifies his personal connection to the song, a furious and filthy sneer that makes the follow-up “Run With the Wolves” sound a bit too level-headed, even if doesn’t usurp its almost metal-esque appeal.
But the record’s best moments are when both Maxim Reality and Flint are combining their distinct vocal styles. The live recording of
Music for the Jilted Generation’s “Voodoo People” is one of the finest examples of this, where Maxim’s MC work adds a rhythm to Flint’s snarling singing. Quite possibly the best performance is in the fan favorite “Their Law”, where Maxim and Flint bring out a call-response in the chorus that separates itself from the rather subdued studio recording, while uniting for the fist-pumper of a final line. It’s an amazing track that is complemented further by its revving guitar riffs, blasting beats and wailing sirens.
The goal of any great live album is to emulate the free-form nature of a concert setting, but from a more corporate perspective, it’s also to get people to spend money on tickets and come to the artist’s shows. If that’s the case, then
World’s on Fire is the best argument to come to a show by The Prodigy you could ask for. It’s purposely meant to channel that expansive party setting that the group has been pitching for more than 20 years. Thanks to the members’ intent to reach out into the flooding crowd and make sure they’re having a good time,
World’s on Fire is an exceptional example of the group’s infectious intensity on stage. But if you judge the album within its own medium, an audio recording,
World’s on Fire makes some missteps. It doesn’t tune up many of the lesser recordings from
Invaders Must Die, and if you’re after a revitalization of some of the band’s most essential tracks, you won’t find the best examples here. But when the band hits home, they hit it hard; with such fantastically evolved renditions of tracks like “Colours”, “Their Law” and “Smack My Bitch Up”, it’s very hard to argue against the energized timeliness that The Prodigy’s music possesses.
If you have the chance, I highly recommend checking out the DVD/Blu-ray video of the band performing this album at Milton Keynes, as it’s one of the most fueled and monstrously defiant concert films released in its respective musical genre. But the album itself still has some incredible examples of how to tear down the wall between performer and audience, even if you’re just listening through headphones instead of on your big-screen’s speakers. It’s not the best live album even in its genre, but it’s enjoyable and it will definitely push you toward wanting to see the band in its element: tearing up a concert stage in front of a seemingly endless sea of fans.
