Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars

Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars is the third studio album by English electronic music producer Fatboy Slim. It was first released on 6 November 2000 in the United Kingdom by Skint Records and a day later in the United States by Astralwerks. The album features contributions from Macy Gray, Ashley Slater, Bootsy Collins, Roland Clark, and Roger Sanchez, and its title, referenced in the song "Weapon of Choice", is an allusion to the Oscar Wilde quote, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
Studio album by
Fatboy Slim
Released6 November 2000
Genre
Length68:14
Label
ProducerFatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim chronology
You've Come a Long Way, Baby
(1998)		 Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
(2000)		 Palookaville
(2004)
Singles from Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
  1. "Sunset (Bird of Prey)"
    Released: 16 October 2000
  2. "Demons"
    Released: 8 January 2001
  3. "Star 69" / "Weapon of Choice"
    Released: 23 April 2001
  4. "Song for Shelter" / "Ya Mama"
    Released: 3 September 2001

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic64/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[3]
Los Angeles Times[4]
Melody Maker[5]
NME9/10[6]
Pitchfork4.2/10[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Spin6/10[10]
The Village VoiceA−[11]

Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars received generally positive reviews from critics.[1] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote "this is where Norman Cook achieves the nonstop stupidity breakbeats alone could never bring him", calling it "All shallow, all pure as a result—pure escape, pure delight, and, as the cavalcade of gospel postures at the end makes clear, pure spiritual yearning. Transcendence, we all want it."[11] The A.V. Club called it "a big load of disposable fun and funk that's fluffier than cotton candy and just as weighty."[12]

On the other hand, Pitchfork wrote, "After enjoying a few years of relative popularity, it seems big-beat's appeal and relevance are waning. [...] After listening to Slim's latest, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, it seems we've reached come-down time. And surprise! It's no fun at all", though "the problem lies more with the everchanging landscape of electronic music and the dying big-beat genre than it does with his technical skill."[7] Entertainment Weekly called it "Melodically repetitive, the songs only intermittently approach the energizing highs of earlier Fatboy cuts."[3] Spin called it a "post-masterpiece puzzler where the kicks just keep getting harder to find, spread-eagle between pop limitations and artistic aspirations."[10]

Tim O'Neil of PopMatters later said the album was "extremely underrated."[13]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Talking Bout My Baby"
3:43
2."Star 69"
5:43
3."Sunset (Bird of Prey)"
6:49
4."Love Life" (featuring Macy Gray)
6:58
5."Ya Mama"
5:38
6."Mad Flava"Cook4:33
7."Retox" (featuring Ashley Slater)Cook5:17
8."Weapon of Choice" (featuring Bootsy Collins)
5:45
9."Drop the Hate"Cook5:30
10."Demons" (featuring Macy Gray)
6:52
11."Song for Shelter" (featuring Roland Clark and Roger Sanchez; includes the hidden track "Talking 'bout My Baby (Reprise)")
  • Cook
  • Clark
11:26
15th anniversary edition bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Song for Shelter" (Chemical Brothers Remix)7:02
2."Love Life" (Josh Butler Remix)6:20
3."Mad Flava" (Autograf Tribute Mix)4:42
4."Retox" (Dave Clarke Remix)5:22
5."Star 69" (X-Press 2 Wine 'Em, Dine 'Em, 69 'Em Remix)8:20
6."Weapon of Choice" (Lazy Rich 2015 Remix)4:16
7."Demons" (Stanton Warriors Remix)5:13
8."Ya Mama" (Moguai Remix)6:06
9."Sunset (Bird of Prey)" (Spieltape Remix)6:14
10."Drop the Hate" (Laid Remix)7:22
11."Talking Bout My Baby" (Midfield General Remix)6:57

Note On the iTunes release, "Talking 'bout My Baby (Reprise)" is separated from "Song for Shelter", making the track times 9:00 and 2:26 respectively.

Sample credits[14]

  • "Talking Bout My Baby" contains samples of "Macon Hambone Blues", written by Jack Hall, Jimmy Hall, John Anthony, Richard Hirsch, Lewis Ross, and Leslie Bricusse, and performed by Wet Willie.
  • "Star 69" and "Song for Shelter" contain samples of "I Get Deep", written and performed by Roland Clark.
  • "Sunset (Bird of Prey)" contains samples of "Bird of Prey", written and performed by Jim Morrison.
  • "Ya Mama" contains samples of "The Kettle", written by Jon Hiseman and Dick Heckstall-Smith, and performed by Colosseum, "Shake Whatcha Mama Gave Ya", written by Frankie Cutlass and performed by Stik-E and the Hoods, and "Let the Rhythm Pump", written and performed by Doug Lazy.
  • "Drop the Hate" contains samples of "Answer to Watergate", performed by the Reverend W. Leo Daniels.
  • "Demons" contains samples of "I Can't Write Left Handed", written by Bill Withers and Ray Jackson, and performed by Bill Withers.

Edited version
The edited version's cover

An edited version also exists, which removes "Star 69" (due to the song's recurring use of the word "fuck", which is the sole reason for obtaining a Parental Advisory label), and removes the song's reprise used in "Song for Shelter".. The artwork is also cropped to cut off right before the leg gap, (presumably for the subject likely being nude) and has a mark saying "Kiddies' Clean Version", similar in design to the Parental Advisory label on normal copies.[15]

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2000-2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 6
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 30
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[19] 64
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[20] 39
French Albums (SNEP)[21] 21
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 23
Italian Albums (FIMI)[23] 30
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 10
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[25] 23
Scottish Albums (OCC)[26] 11
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 49
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 35
UK Albums (OCC)[29] 8
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[30] 1
US Billboard 200[31] 51
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[32] 11

Year-end charts
Chart (2000) Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[33] 71
Chart (2001) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[34] 186

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[35] Gold 35,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[36] Gold 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[37] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Platinum 300,000^
United States — 278,000[39]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Reviews for Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars by Fatboy Slim". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  2. Bush, John. "Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars – Fatboy Slim". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  3. Browne, David (6 November 2000). "Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  4. Weingarten, Marc (5 November 2000). "Fatboy Slim 'Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars' Astralwerks". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  5. "Fatboy Slim: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Melody Maker: 51. 14 November 2000.
  6. "Fatboy Slim: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". NME: 45. 4 November 2000.
  7. Juzwiak, Richard M. (7 November 2000). "Fatboy Slim: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  8. "Fatboy Slim: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Q (171): 122. December 2000.
  9. Pareles, Jon (23 November 2000). "Halfway Between The Gutter and the Stars". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  10. "Fatboy Slim: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Spin. 16 (12): 213–14. December 2000.
  11. Christgau, Robert (5 December 2000). "Consumer Guide: Getting Bizzy". The Village Voice. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  12. Klein, Joshua (6 November 2000). "Fatboy Slim: Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  13. Tim O'Neil (19 June 2006). "Fatboy Slim: The Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder". PopMatters. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  14. Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (liner notes). Fatboy Slim. Skint Records. 2000. SKI 500575 2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. https://www.ebay.com/itm/FATBOY-SLIM-Halfway-Between-the-Gutter-and-the-Stars-CLEAN-MUSIC-CD-F855/122374704678?epid=3426969&hash=item1c7e19ce26:g:X2sAAOSwAYtWIB63:sc:USPSFirstClass!98074!US!-1
  16. "Australiancharts.com – Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  17. "Austriancharts.at – Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  18. "Ultratop.be – Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  20. "Fatboy Slim: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  21. "Lescharts.com – Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  22. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  23. "Italiancharts.com – Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  24. "Charts.nz – Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  25. "Norwegiancharts.com – Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  26. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  27. "Swedishcharts.com – Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  28. "Swisscharts.com – Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  29. "Fatboy Slim | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  30. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  31. "Fatboy Slim Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  32. "Fatboy Slim Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard.
  33. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2000". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  34. "The Official UK Albums Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  35. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
  36. "Japanese album certifications – Fatboy Slim – Halfway between the gutter and the stars" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 12 April 2020. Select 2004年12月 on the drop-down menu
  37. "New Zealand album certifications – Fatboy Slim – Halfway between the gutter and the stars". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  38. "British album certifications – Fatboy Slim – Halfway between the gutter and the stars". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Halfway between the gutter and the stars in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  39. Paoletta, Michael (21 August 2004). "Dance Acts Go Beyond The Dancefloor" (PDF). Billboard. p. 31. Retrieved 13 September 2020 – via World Radio History.
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