There are several different albums all jostling for attention here. I missed The Fun Lovin’ Criminals the first time around. They were too “cool”, too “street” for me and I was scared of them. It has meant that, twenty years on, I get to hear, in full, this fantastically cinematic album. And not just in the one form, either.
There’s a straight-ahead teenage pop album, desperate to show you how grown-up it is and to prove that it’s got points and an attitude all of its own, as displayed on songs such as Scooby Snacks and Smoke ‘Em. Then, there is a more contemplative side, on songs such as Passive/Aggressive and King Of New York, whose commentary on John Gotti, the so-called “Teflon Don”, seems all the more scary and relevant, twenty years on, now we really know all (or most of) what he got up to. This seems less like a display of cool and more like pop as art form.
This is a droll and dynamic album that powers itself along on its own sure sense of attitude. If it sounds a bit dated in places, then that’s only because of references like the aforementioned “Teflon Don”. Oh, and also, the Pulp Fiction samples that swamp Scooby Snacks. While they sounded fun at the time, they actually get a bit annoying and are best forgotten about. Also, some songs, such as Crime And Punishment and the standard We Have All The Time In The World sound a bit thin and overstretched now.