[iamneorev]

Originally Posted by joethelion

I thought that 'Ghost Town' was actually supposed to be on AONO (not that it was a FOTL track), plus - Tricky's version came out in '95... and they played it live a few times during that weird period when the AONO was supposed to come out (but didn't).

I could be mis-remembering (it's easily been 10 years since I've heard the recordings), but I think "Ghost Town" used to transition into "Medusa's Path"

Plus, I’d say that “Back 2 Skool” was an AONO song (not FOTL), b/c it was used on their website to promote the original version of the album.

...and as far as "Climbatize" ... I'm a bit confused about your timeline:

"Liam met with Perry who asked them to play Lollapalooza at the time. Sadly, their schedule was full with writing the new album and shows they already booked. Liam had to turn him down, so Perry responded by telling him he couldn't do the track."

...because the Prodigy actually did headline Lolla in 1997*
(* I remember wanting to go back then, but I had no chance - as I was 14, and I don't think it toured anywhere near where I lived)


FOTL was/is also my favorite album of theirs, but I think something happened to Liam/the band that just fundamentally shifted their confidence (and their sound) around '99 / '01. I mean - there were several songs recorded (and even played live) for AONO, which still haven’t been released, including: another Kool Keith song, Gun (Reprise), Nuclear, Benny Blanco, No Souvenirs… just off the top of my head. The original “Shoot Down” is also leaps and bounds better than the released version.

(edit)
also, thanks for mentioning "Carmen Queasy" - I totally forgot about that track! Just popped it onto my iPhone

All I can say to you is trust me, I know these things. Part of it being a hardcore fan since 1993, part of it reading their autobiography, and part of it I can't exactly tell you.

Liam was writing FOTL tracks as far back as 1994 with "Fuel My Fire" being the first and "Funky Shit" in 1995. They used to often close with "No Good (Start The Dance)" and invite fans on stage to dance. Liam began performing "Fuel My Fire" to ataginize the crowd. Keith was listening to L7 when dropping by the studio and Liam heard the track and got the idea to cover it. As Liam would jokingly say "Dance to that, you cunts." "Ghost Town" was first performed at Reading 1998. Liam is a huge Specials fan and they are an inspiration for his music. His cover of "Ghost Town" is that old. They dropped it live in 1998 because there wasn't much of new music he had written and wanted to do something special for Reading 98.

"Ghost Town" performed at Reading '98...


They also called the Beastie Boys out at this show as they rung up The Prodigy to tell them not to play "Smack My Bitch Up" anymore. Liam, being a huge Beastie Boys fan, was greatly disappointed in this. He still says Beastie Boys are the one group he wish he could have collaborated and toured with.

The Prodigy versus Beastie Boys incident...


From an interview with Liam, "Back 2 Skool" roots goes all the way back to FOTL. He would use pieces/loops for their website later on. He dropped a beta version live at Leeds 2002 as their opener, but wouldn't finish and release the track until 2005. The "Medusa Path" breakdown that you are thinking of was done during their cover of Madness' "Nightboat To Cairo," also played at Leeds 2002.

"Nightboat To Cairo" with "Medusa's Path" breakdown at Leeds 2002...


Perry Farrell asked them to play Lollapalooza 1996 when Liam asked him to work on "Climbatize," but they couldn't as they were in the midst of writing the new album and already touring. Liam had to completely rework the track. They would eventually play the festival in 1997. If you watch the Brixton live video from October 1996 on YouTube, you will hear them drop a beta version of "Serial Thrilla" known as "Lyrical Terrorist" at the time. It would be the very last song Liam would finish right at the deadline to hand the album in. It took a long time for Liam to finish FOTL as he went through a period of writer's block.

"Lyrical Terrorist" aka "Serial Thrilla (Beta Version)" performed at Brixton 1996...


U2 also asked them to open for them as well as Madonna and David Bowie both asked Liam to produce their albums, which would have been Ray Of Light and Earthling. Liam turned them all down, but he did open for Madonna, who ran their US label Maverick, performing DJ sets in 1999.

"No Souvenirs" was a track Liam did with 3D of Massive Attack for the soundtrack to the movie The Beach. Alex Garland, who wrote The Beach, is a close friend with the band. Garland is also known as the writer of 28 Days Later and director of Ex Machina and Annihilation. Fun fact, Alex Garland did the drawings of the individual band members for the Experience inside artwork. Liam and 3D connected when they were approached to make music for a porn movie called The Uranus Experiment that features the first zero gravity ejaculation shot. This is not a joke. Liam's track is called "Titan."

"Titan" taken straight from its sex scene as you will hear women moaning...


Liam and 3D would go on to work on "No Souvenirs" for The Beach, which apparently two mixes exist. One is Liam's own mix and another is a more psychedelic version done by Massive Attack's Mike Stent. It was meant to be a single for the soundtrack with remixes by UNKLE and Dan The Automator. They decided it was too good and pulled it from the soundtrack at the eleventh hour. Sadly, it has never seen the light of day with only a description of the two mixes written up by Martin James in The Prodigy's autobiography that came out during the writing of AONO v1. UNKLE would later leak their remix to the internet, which pissed Liam off greatly.

"No Souvenirs (UNKLE Remix)"


AONO v1 had several work in progress tracks, including "Baby's Got A Temper," "Trigger," "Nuclear," "Vacation," "Razor," Back 2 Skool," "Dust Yo Self," "Benny Blanco," "Little Goblin," "Medusa's Path," and there is a full vocal version of "Wake Up Call" with Kool Keith. Liam was also writing tracks with Dirt Candy during this time, who would eventually appear on their track "Action Radar." They began debuting tracks live in 2001, but the negative response from critics to "Baby's Got A Temper" when it was released and the feeling that he was writing a FOTL Pt. 2 made Liam scrap what he had written and start over.

Dirt Candy featuring Liam Howlett - "Advice"
Liam would drop a reworked instrumental version known as "Dead Ken Beats" during 2005's Their Law Tour. It was planned as a b-side to the "Thunder" single off their album Invaders Must Die, but the single was scrapped...


During the writing and scrapping of AONO v1, tensions between Liam and Keith were rising. Honestly, I think Keith was pissed Liam took so much time to write the next album and then scrapping it, so he began doing his own thing. Keith had been jamming with his band at the time and bringing Liam ideas, such as "NNNN" aka "Baby's Got A Temper," "Razor," and "Vacation." When things weren't going good between them, Keith tried to put out an album with his own band Flint that featured these tracks. They would release a lead single, play some festivals, and have promos of their album Device 1 pressed up only to abandon it and disband. Keith was also a member of Clever Brains Fryin.

Flint - "Razor" with hidden track "NNNN" aka "Baby's Got A Temper" from their album Device 1...


Liam went back to the drawing board and wrote an album that didn't feature Keith or Maxim that he felt went back to their roots, which would become the AONO that we know. "Trigger" would become "Guns" then become "Shoot Down," bits of "Nuclear" show up in "Action Radar," "Benny Blanco" became the bridge in "Girls," while "Razor" and "Back 2 Skool" would eventually be included on the Their Law bonus disc.

"Guns (Rough Mix)"


When they announced the new album No Tourists, Liam was actually still finishing the album. If you check out his Instagram page, he finished the album on August 1st. "Need Some1" had already been released as a single with the album announcement in July. Engine Earz announed that they finished mastering the album a couple of weeks later. So like with FOTL, once again, Liam went right up to the deadline to hand the album in.