Fatboy Slim's (Norman Cook) 2006 album The Greatest Hits- Why Try Harder? will stand to be one of the most intricate, impressive compilations of electronic/dance music ever created. Just as Herbert Elmert and his electonische muzik, Max Mathews and his computer generated voice, and John Chowning and his frequency modulation will always be paired in electronic music history, Norman Cook will be paired with the father of mainstream electronic music. The album features eighteen of Fatboy Slim's all-time best pieces. It opens with arguably Cook's first notable track, “The Rockafeller Skank.” The song lures listeners into a steady beat accompanying Lord Finesse's repeated phrase, "Right about now, the funk soul brother. Check it out now, the funk soul brother." The song remains in uniform melody and features no other vocals than the one phrase, yet Fatboy Slim maintains interest and entertainment by manipulating the melody speed throughout the song. The fourth track, “Weapon of Choice,” is one of the most complex track of the album. The track features samples of “Into My Own Thing” by Sly and the Family Stone, “All Strung Out Over You” by The Chamber Brothers, “Word Play” by the X-Ecutioners, and lead vocals from Bootsy's Rubber Band bassist Bootsy Collins. Typically, when samples of this many pieces are restructured, they clash and produce an undesirable effect, but Fatboy Slim utilizes these random samples into a upbeat yet flowing, harmonic track. The following track, “Gangster Tripping,” also combines many samples, six different songs, into one underlying melody. The earlier recorded gospel-rooted song “Demons” features the combination of the soothing vocals of Macy Gray in her prime with the harmonizing synthesizers by Cook in order to create a unique but uplifting track. Of the eighteen tracks, the most impressive and complete is “Don't Let the Man Get You Down,” a radio edit of the song from Cook's earlier album Palookaville. The song solely repeats the opening phrase of “Signs” by Five Man Electrical Band throughout the track, yet keeps an up-tempo beat and a catchy melody. The rest of the diverse album features samples of Jim Morrison, John Barry, Led Zeppelin, the theme song from Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, and every genre between. Overall, Fatboy Slim's compilation serves as proof of his consistent production of quality pieces throughout his career. Many argue Cook is not an original artist, as he borrows sounds, beats, and vocals from older pieces, but as visible through the reconstruction of every track, it is clear Cook embodies a magnificent talent for blending old music to create new music.

This comment is merely a constructive critic... I feel that in the DVD, the makers shouldn't have excluded the "Sunset-Bird of Prey" video, which is one of the best videoclips fatboy slim has ever released. It has a strong political message and it's an exemplary work of aircraft footage recording and claustrophobic editing. This is my only complaint about this nice pack which comprises -more or less- the multiple facets of this prolific artist.

They probably left it off deliberately so that people had to buy the The Greatest Hits (Why Make Videos) full DVD instead... ;)