The Prodigy

慣聽搖滾的樂迷可能不太習慣The Prodigy的成員組合，兩個舞者、一個饒舌歌者和一個DJ。不同的角度會看到The Prodigy不同的面貌∶若只是拿著CD聽，一肩挑起音樂創(chuàng)作與制作之責的Liam Howlett便是一切；若是觀看他們的表演，那兩個動作狂暴的舞者Kieth Flint與Leeroy Thornhill最搶眼，留著魔鬼發(fā)型的Kieth Flint，更是The Prodigy的形象代表，但整個團的頭頭，卻是負責rap的Maxim Reality－以舞曲界的術(shù)語來說，他是「司儀（MC）」。但無論樂評或樂迷怎么看待，The Prodigy就是這四個人，缺一個就不是The Prodigy，這樣的組合真切地呈現(xiàn)了瑞舞（Rave）的面貌。 九○年代初，The Prodigy組成之時，正是英國瑞舞方興末艾的時候，他們以單調(diào)重覆的快速節(jié)奏、噴瀉而出的電子沖擊聲，以及有如風暴襲卷的現(xiàn)場表演，撼動了英國樂壇。1992年首張專輯《Experience》在英國獲得成功后，1995年的《Music for the Jilted Generation》以更為強硬直接的態(tài)度處理電子節(jié)奏及音色，并將重吉他切刷的取樣溶入音樂中，促成日后所謂Big Beat的出現(xiàn)。 有人形容The Prodigy為「沒有吉他手的龐克樂團」。1997的《The Fat of the Land》與Kula Shaker、L7等搖滾樂團合作，The Prodigy的音樂更加多元復雜。這張被主流樂評形容為「差一點就是經(jīng)典」的專輯，也因為有較多的人聲（雖然歌詞依舊沒什么意義），吸引了大批主流搖滾迷走入電子舞曲的領(lǐng)域，The Prodigy的影響從英國跨入美國，甚至全世界?！禩he Fat of the Land》可以說是他們最容易親近的一張專輯。但是The Prodigy在態(tài)度上仍然希望與搖滾抱持距離，決不原地踏步，作出令人腳底發(fā)癢痛快狂舞的音樂，才是他們最大的企圖。
 
Prodigy最擅長的地方,就是現(xiàn)場表演的功力.The Prodigy很喜歡在舞廳里做現(xiàn)場表演,而Liam Howlett之前也當過DJ,因此The Prodigy在表演時,很能帶動現(xiàn)場氣氛,可以和大家產(chǎn)生良好的互動 .如果你聽過The Prodigy的現(xiàn)場錄音專輯,就能體驗到,為什么他們那么受歡迎的緣故了
 
不過Prodigy近年來的作品常遭爭議。Firestarter的MTV因為太火爆而遭禁播，Smack My Bitch Up被指歧視女性，Baby's Got A Temper牽扯到迷奸藥物。不過Prodigy還是堅持做自己。
 
從Prodigy出道至現(xiàn)在,他們的曲風一直是在變的.早期是以快速的Breakbeat加上大量的取樣, 后來變成搖滾樂的曲風,到現(xiàn)在的Big-Beat的曲風,打破了電子樂和搖滾樂的界線,The Prodigy一直認為他們是個搖滾樂團體,而不光是舞曲團體.如果你聽過他們的專輯,就會知道電子搖滾樂的魅力了!
 
by John Bush
 
The Prodigy navigated the high-wire, balancing artistic merit and mainstream visibility with more flair than any electronica act of the 1990s. Ably defeating the image-unconscious attitude of most electronic artists in favor of a focus on nominal frontman Keith Flint, the group crossed over to the mainstream of pop music with an incendiary live experience that approximated the original atmosphere of the British rave scene even while leaning uncomfortably close to arena-rock showmanship and punk theatrics. True, Flints spiky hairstyle and numerous piercings often made for better advertising, but it was producer Liam Howlett whose studio wizardry launched the Prodigy to the top of the charts, spinning a web of hard-hitting breakbeat techno with king-sized hooks and unmissable samples. Despite electronic musics diversity and quick progression during the 1990s — from rave/hardcore to ambient/downtempo and back again, thanks to the breakbeat/drumnbass movement — Howlett modified the Prodigys sound only sparingly; swapping the rave-whistle effects and ragga samples for metal chords and chanted vocals proved the only major difference in the bands evolution from their debut to their worldwide breakthrough with their third album The Fat of the Land. Even before the band took its place as the premiere dance act for the alternative masses, the Prodigy had proved a consistent entry in the British charts, with over a dozen consecutive singles in the Top 20.
 
Howlett, the prodigy behind the groups name, was trained on the piano while growing up in Braintree, Essex. He began listening to hip-hop in the mid-80s and later DJed with the British rap act Cut to Kill before moving on to acid house later in the decade. The fledgling hardcore breakbeat sound was perfect for an old hip-hop fan fluent in up-tempo dance music, and Howlett began producing tracks in his bedroom studio during 1988. His first release, the EP What Evil Lurks, became a major mover on the fledgling rave scene in 1990. After Howlett met up with Keith Flint and Leeroy Thornhill (both Essex natives as well) in the growing British rave scene, the trio formed the Prodigy later that year. Howletts recordings gained the trio a contract with XL Records, which re-released What Evil Lurks in February 1991.
 
Six months later, Howlett issued his second single Charly, built around a sample from a childrens public-service announcement. It hit number one on the British dance charts, then crossed over to the pop charts, stalling only at number three. (It wasnt long before a copycat craze saw the launch of rave takeoffs on Speed Racer, The Magic Roundabout and Sesame Street) Two additional Prodigy singles, Everybody in the Place and Fire/Jericho, charted in the U.K. during late 1991 and early 1992.
 
The Prodigy showed they were no one-anthem wonders in late 1992, with the release of The Prodigy Experience, one of the first LPs by a rave act. Mixing chunky breakbeats with vocal samples from dub legend Lee Scratch Perry and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, it hit the Top Ten and easily went gold. During 1993, Howlett added a ragga/hip-hop MC named Maxim Reality (Keeti Palmer) and occupied himself with remix work for Front 242, Jesus Jones and Art of Noise. He also released the white-label single Earthbound to fool image-conscious DJs who had written off the Prodigy as hopelessly commercial. Late 1993 brought the commercial release of Earthbound (as the groups seventh consecutive Top 20 singles entry, One Love).
 
After several months of working on tracks, Howlett issued the next Prodigy single, No Good (Start the Dance). Despite the fact that the singles hook was a sped-up diva-vocal tag (an early rave staple), the following album Music for the Jilted Generation provided a transition for the group, from piano pieces and rave-signal tracks to more guitar-integrated singles like Voodoo People. The album also continued Prodigys allegiance to breakbeat drumnbass; though the style had only recently become commercially viable (after a long gestation period in the dance underground), Howlett had been incorporating it from the beginning of his career. Music for the Jilted Generation entered the British charts at number one and went gold in its first week of release. The album was also nominated for a Mercury Music Prize, as one of the best albums of the year.
 
The Prodigy spent much of 1994 and 1995 touring around the world, and made a splashy appearance at the 1995 Glastonbury Festival, proving that electronica could make it in a live venue. The group had already made a transition from the club/rave circuit to more traditional rock venues, and the Glastonbury show set in stone the fact that they were no longer just a dance group. Flints newly emerged persona — the consummate in-your-face punk showman and master of ceremonies for the digital-age crowd — provided a point of reference for rock critics uncomfortable covering Howlett (whom they saw as a glorified keyboard player).
 
The Prodigys incessant road schedule left little time to record, but Howlett managed to bring out the next new Prodigy single in March 1996. Firestarter entered the British charts at number one, though the video was almost banned due to complaints about arson fixation; many Top of the Pops viewers also complained that Keith Flint had scared their children. An unmissable guitar hook and Flints catcall vocal antics — his first on record — made it a quick worldwide hit and though Firestarter wasnt a major success in the U.S., its high-profile spot in MTVs Buzz Bin introduced the Prodigy to many Americans and helped fuel the major-label push for electronica during the following year (though the Prodigy did reject collaborative offers from David Bowie, U2 and Madonna). In the middle of the electronica buzz, the Prodigy dropped their third album, The Fat of the Land. Despite rather obvious attempts to court mainstream rock fans (including several guest-vocalist spots and an L7 cover), the LP entered both British and American charts at number one, shifting several million units worldwide. The next Prodigy full-length was 1999s The Dirtchamber Sessions, a mix album helmed by Howlett.
 
The Babys Got a Temper single — one Howlett would later disown — appeared in 2002 and soon after Leeroy Thornhill left the band. Maxim and Keith Flint were still in the band but they werent to be found on 2004s Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. Instead the album featured guest spots from Oasis Liam Gallagher, Kool Keith, Twista, and actress Juliette Lewis. Flint and Maxim did join Howlett for a worldwide tour to support the album that launched in October 2004. A year later Their Law: Singles compiled the big hits.