Discography

More Music For The Jilted Generation

A remastered and expanded edition of the classic Music for the Jilted Generation album released in 2008.

More Music For The Jilted Generation

Soon after the release of ‘Experience’ the rave scene turned sour. Draconian anti-noise measures were placed on legal raves and government legislations were put in place that would outlaw the free party vibe forever. The government proposed its Criminal Justice Bill that would turn an entire generation of people into criminals overnight. Unwittingly the simple act of dancing in a field to a loud sound system had become a political act. Even more unwittingly The Prodigy would become figureheads for this politicisation when they released their second album ‘Music for the Jilted Generation’ in July 1994.

It was the beginning of 1994, The Prodigy had scored six Top 20 hits in the UK, they’d been awarded a gold disc for ‘Experience’, they’d toured through much of the world and still their average age was only 23. However the next task of taking things forward now fell squarely upon Liam’s shoulders. For the first time since the band started they took a lengthy rest from their constant performing so that Liam could get to work on the next album. He knew he had to move things beyond the limitations of the rave arena, and in the process of taking the Prodigy live experience around the globe he had come into close contact with bands that had excited him in a way that reminded him of the early days of the free parties. Bands like Rage Against the Machine and Jane’s Addiction who had a vibe and an energy that he immediately hooked into.

“When we were doing all of these shows in America I started listening to a lot more guitar based stuff.” he explains. “Up until then I’d always ignored anything that was in any way rock because it just meant leather jackets and greasy hair to me. Then I heard the first Rage album and it just blew me away.”

Originally penciled in as the potentially more controversial ‘Music for Joy Riders’, the album Music for the Jilted Generation was a far more assured, experimental and eclectic journey than that offered on the debut album. The album’s

intro employed an appropriation of dialogue from the film The Lawnmower Man, featuring the sound of someone hammering away at a typewriter before announcing: “So I’ve decided to take my music back underground, to stop it falling into the wrong hands”.

It was a statement of intent for Liam. No longer was he a part of any particular scene, The Prodigy had transcended any limitations imposed by particular genres, instead he took whatever he wanted, from whichever genre he wanted, in order to create music that was The Prodigy and not a representation of a particular scene. In a sense therefore the theme of the album was less ‘party’ than ‘personal’ politics.

The subsequent range of styles, tempos and flavours was breathtaking. From the darkly brooding delinquency of ‘Break and Enter’ to the hard and fast techno metal of ‘Their Law’ (which featured post-grebo sample hooligans Pop Will Eat Itself), from the up tempo techno soundtrack rush of ‘Speedway’ to the down tempo b-boy grooves of ‘Poison’ the album displayed Liam’s abilities to be far reaching.

One of the most outstanding aspects of “…Jilted…” was Liam’s creative freedom that enabled him to explore ideas unhindered. Nowhere is this clearer than on the concept section of the album. Collectively called ‘The Narcotic Suite’, it was made up of three separate tracks which moved from the sixties film noire soundtrack of ‘3 Kilos’, through the techno hedonism of ‘Skylined’ and then into the deep, suffocating grooves of ‘Claustrophobic Sting’. A sequence of tracks that saw Liam moving through styles with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of both his sources and his ambitions. Elsewhere ‘Voodoo People’ captured a 1970’s James Bond car chase with its insistent flute refrain and churning guitar riff.

The album’s release in July ‘94 was met by a hugely positive response from fans and critics alike. For those who had followed the band this album mirrored an almost collective growth. The so-called summers of love had turned out to offer little more than hollow ideals. Furthermore ravers had grown up since the early days and the Prodigy had grown right alongside their contemporaries.

Music for the Jilted Generation entered the the UK chart at #1 and remained in the top twenty for four months after its release, going gold after only two weeks. It was at this point the most successful underground dance album of all time and a few months later it was shortlisted for the prestigious Mercury Award. Despite losing out to ‘middle of the road’ house sounds of M People, the guest critics for the television coverage were almost unanimous in their praise for ‘Jilted’ with journalist Miranda Sawyer describing it as “the only modern sounding album” among the nominees. Where ‘Experience’ proved that a singles oriented dance act could produce a great, era-defining album, Music for the Jilted Generation is the set that truly set out the cultural terrain for the music scene of the years that followed. It remains the blueprint for dance acts with a taste for rock, and rock acts with a love of electronic music. It has inspired and invigorated everyone from The Chemical Brothers to The Beastie Boys, Oasis to Gorillaz. It counts among its fans Dave Grohl, Klaxons, Jay-Z and Pendulum. Newer bands like 30 Seconds To Mars and CSS cite the album as much as old warhorses like Paul McCartney and Bono. ‘Music for the Jilted Generation’ is in every sense the first album to truly reach beyond the UK dance scene and reach cross genre, generational and ideological divides. It’s still only true representation of Britain in the mid-90’s (no retro rock Brit Pop or record company manufactured fodder here). It remains a brilliant all-reaching act of genius that will continue to inspire artists young and old to reach way beyond their own potential.

Two albums. Two moments in time captured. Both as astonishing today as the day they first hit the streets. It’s time to rediscover The Prodigy.

© MARTIN JAMES 2008

Related articles

| BBC
Prodigy road sign tribute in Braintree angers Highways England

| DJ Mag
Solid Gold: How 'Music For The Jilted Generation' turned The Prodigy from rave outsiders to festival headliners

| The Quietus
The Prodigy Talk To The Quietus About Experience And Jilted Generation

| Select
Fact! Jilted sculpture

See also

What Evil Lurks EP

What Evil Lurks

1991

Charly Single

Charly

1991

Everybody In The Place Single

Everybody In The Place

1991

Fire Single

Fire

1992

Experience Album

Experience

1992

Out of Space Single

Out of Space

1992

WInd It Up Single

WInd It Up

1993

One Love Single

One Love

1993

No Good (Start The Dance) Single

No Good (Start The Dance)

1994

Music For The Jilted Generation Album

Music For The Jilted Generation

1994

Voodoo People Single

Voodoo People

1994

Poison Single

Poison

1995

Firestarter Single

Firestarter

1996

Breathe Single

Breathe

1996

The Fat Of The Land Album

The Fat Of The Land

1997

Smack My Bitch Up Single

Smack My Bitch Up

1997

Prodigy Present: The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One Compilation

Prodigy Present: The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One

1999

The Prodigy Experience - Expanded: Remixes & B-sides Compilation

The Prodigy Experience - Expanded: Remixes & B-sides

2001

Baby's Got A Temper EP

Baby's Got A Temper

2002

Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned Album

Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned

2004

Girls Single

Girls

2004

Hotride Single

Hotride

2004

Spitfire Single

Spitfire

2005

Their Law: The Singles 1990–2005 Compilation

Their Law: The Singles 1990–2005

2005

Voodoo People / Out Of Space Single

Voodoo People / Out Of Space

2005

Back To Mine Compilation

Back To Mine

2006

Invaders Must Die Album

Invaders Must Die

2009

Omen Single

Omen

2009

Warrior's Dance Single

Warrior's Dance

2009

Take Me To The Hospital Single

Take Me To The Hospital

2009

Invaders Must Die EP EP

Invaders Must Die EP

2009

The Added Fat EP EP

The Added Fat EP

2012

Nasty Single

Nasty

2015

Wild Frontier Single

Wild Frontier

2015

The Day Is My Enemy Album

The Day Is My Enemy

2015

Ibiza Single

Ibiza

2015

The Night Is My Friend EP EP

The Night Is My Friend EP

2015

Need Some1 Single

Need Some1

2018

No Tourists Album

No Tourists

2018

Light Up The Sky Single

Light Up The Sky

2018

The Fat Of The Land 25th Anniversary - Remixes EP

The Fat Of The Land 25th Anniversary - Remixes

2023

World's on Fire Compilation

World's on Fire

2011

Jump to official releases main | discography main | Prodigy main
The Prodigy 30 pcs sticker set

Big set of The Prodigy stickers. 15 different designs (2 of each) and total of 30 stickers. Sticker sizes vary from 9 cm to 3,5 cm. Order here >