Fun Lovin’ Criminals first came to prominence on the back of a single which sampled dialogue from Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction:-
mp3 : Fun Lovin’ Criminals – Scooby Snacks
Both films had been huge hits, turning a previously unknown scriptwriter and director called Quentin Tarantino into the hottest name in Hollywood. Notwithstanding that the radio versions had to be heavily edited, it was a great ploy by FLC to incorporate the dialogue into a hip hop/rock/pop hybrid that was made catchy thanks to a guitar riff (also sampled!!).
It’s perhaps debatable whether or not FLC would have gotten any sort of prominence without Scooby Snacks as much of their other material at the time was no different or better than other similar acts who were fusing hip hop and rock. What it did do however, was give a platform to frontman Huey Morgan, whose natural wit, charm and sense of humour and easy-going interview technique saw him become a regular on many a TV chat/entertainment show here in the UK. That and the fact that the band gigged relentlessly across Europe, particularly becoming a mainstay of the outdoor festival circuit (where pissed-up audiences would have a great time dancing and singing along to Scooby Snacks) saw the band gain a decent following without ever becoming truly big stars.
One of the things that some folk found enduring was the easy-listening style of the cover versions they occasionally threw out there along with what they themselves described as the ‘schmoove’ versions of their own songs. I was never all that convinced but I’ll leave it you dear listeners to see what you think of these:-
mp3 : Fun Lovin’ Criminals – The Summer Wind
mp3 : Fun Lovin’ Criminals – Scooby Snacks (Schmoove Version)
The former is a 60s number made popular by Frank Sinatra. What makes the FLC version of interest to the things that normally feature on this blog is the guest vocal from Ian McCulloch.
The latter was the b-side to yet another easy-going cover:-
mp3 : Fun Lovin Criminals – I’m Not In Love
Enjoy…if only for the fact this is an unusual posting at this joint.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 