Fatboy Slim: Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars (Skint)

It starts with a piano which could have been looped from John Lennon's Imagine and ends 12 tracks later, with its hands in the air, shrieking on the dance floor. Norman Cook has returned - and this time, he has left the cheese for the sandwiches. Halfway . . . is a gloriously-realised creation, an album which knows its funk and its soul but also knows what it takes to work a dance floor. Dodgy first single aside (leather may be in this season, but there was no need for Cook to exhume Jim Morrison), there are tracks here which simply zing with excitement. Star 69's rolling, harsh edges, Macy Gray's signature rasp on Love Life, Bootsy Collins' explosive funk on Weapon Of Choice and Roland Clarke's emotive vocal on Song For Shelter: this time out, too many Cooks do not spoil the broth.

Jim Carroll

Lenny Kravitz: Greatest Hits (Virgin)

What: Christmas compilations already? Yes, folks, it's that time of year again - but if they were all as cool as this package from the talented Mr Kravitz, there would be no Yuletide pain. You may have all the Kravitz albums already, but that doesn't matter - this opus is so well laid-out you'll want to have it, too. Everything fans could possibly want is here, from the nittygritty Are You Going My Way to the orchestral riches of It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over. A new song, Again, sees Lenny in All The Young Dudes mode but is very classy Kravitz, all the same. It also makes this album a contender for the top of the charts. This is an album to have. Treat a friend to it, or treat yourself; it's real music from a real original.

Colm Banville