44: The Prodigy - Warrior's Dance

The Prodigy's 20th UK single, and their 11th to enter the charts in the Top 10, 'Warrior's Dance' continued the return to form that began with the release of 'Omen' (my 86th favourite song of the decade). Largely based around an obscure vocal sample of an obscure collaboration from 1989*, it's the only track on 2009's 'Invaders Must Die' album that would fit equally well on 1992's 'Experience'.

A sinister intro, layer on the vocal sample ("come with me to the dancefloor, you and me, cos that's what it's for"), add the old-skool rave beats and Bob's your uncle, you've got a Prodigy single. It's simple, effective and comes waving a giant nostalgia flag. But following the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" policy has served countless other artists just fine down the years, and making a song that sounds like tunes you recorded over 15 years ago doesn't necessarily need to be a bad thing. And in this case, it's quite the opposite, a huge return to form for a band that were once reviled by the media and large swathes of the British public (remember the 'Smack My Bitch Up' furore?) but are now deservedly treated like legends.



* Final Cut feat. True Faith with Bridgett Grace, since you asked. No, me neither!