Released: 1996

Highest Chart Position: 5

Number of UK singles: 4

Critical Reception: very good

1. The Fun Lovin' Criminal - shouty party rock rap. Their theme tune. As featured in the Mercedes-Benz commercial.
2. Passive/ Aggressive - passive aggressive rock. One minute relaxed, the next…aggressive.
3. The Grave and the Constant - easy listening groove. The first single they ever released.
4. Scooby Snacks - FLC's trademark gangster schtick rock rap, sampling Quentin Tarantino's 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction'.
5. Smoke 'Em - slow hip-hop that's difficult to classify, featuring a fantastic guitar/trumpet duet at the end.
6. Bombin' the L - terrific rock/ hip-hop song. Blazing guitar, fun and funky, classic Criminals.
7. I Can't Get With That - slow lounge song with a wonderfully lazy guitar solo.
8. King of New York - fantastically funky rap tribute to the (recently) late New York Mafia boss, John Gotti.
9. We Have All The Time In The World - classic Louis Armstrong song, given a schmoove, unique, guitar driven twist.

Best tracks: The Fun Lovin' Criminal, Scooby Snacks, King of New York

Released: 1998

Highest Chart Position: 3

Number of UK singles: 3

Critical Reception: mixed

1. Up On The Hill - lovely jazzy rap featuring the first and only use of a saxophone in a Criminal record.
2. Love Unlimited - first single and tribute to Barry White complete with chilled-out come to bed mood.
3. The View Belongs To Everyone - slow funk. Works best with the summertime sunset.
4. Korean Bodega - poppy rock. Commercial Criminals.
5. Back on the Block - jazzy dance track.
6. 10^th Street - punchy rock.
7. Sugar - Barry White style 70s funk. Huey's whispering vocals and Fast's trumpet combine to good effect.
8. Southside - brilliantly thrashy rock /metal track. In terms of rock, this is FLC's finest moment.
9. We Are All Very Worried About You - very nice ballad. Great guitar solo.

Best tracks: Up On The Hill, Love Unlimited, Southside

Released: 1999

Highest Chart Position: 37

Number of UK Singles: 1

Critical Reception: poor

1. Couldn't Get It Right - worthy and cool cover of the Climax Blues Band song, which features at the end of their film Maui Homicide 2000.
2. Scooby Snacks (Schmoove Version) - relaxing, slowed- down version of the hit.
3. Shining Star - slow country ballad. Quite good.
4. Bombin' the L (Circa 1956 Version) - funked up re-mix. Not nearly as good.
5. I'm Not In Love - very good cover. Released as a double A-side with Scooby Snacks.
6. The Summer Wind (with Ian McCulloch) - not as good as the original.
7. Crazy Train - strong cover of the Ozzy Osbourne song.
8. I Can't Get With That (Schmoove Version) - identical to the song featured on 'Come Find Yourself'. What's the point?
9. We Have All The Time In The World (Copa Cabana Version) - speeded-up version. More like the Louis Armstrong original.

10. Coney Island Girl (Schmoove Version) - slowed-down and better than the previous version.

11. I'll Be Seeing You - fairly okay cover of the Frank Sinatra song.

BONUS TRACK: Up On The Hill (Instrumental) - speaks for itself really.

Best tracks: Couldn't Get It Right, I'm Not In Love, Crazy Train.

 

LOCO



Released: 2001

Highest Chart Position: 5

Number of UK Singles: 3

Critical Reception: mixed

The songs:

1. Where The Bums Go - punky rock. Tailor made for live performance.

2. Loco - laidback latino smooch. The soundtrack to the Miller Genuine Draft commercial which they also appeared in.

3. The Biz - rappy pop with the necessary oohs and aahs.

4. Run Daddy Run - prime example of their hip-hop background.

5. Half a Block - beautiful lounge jam. Never has the word perfect seemed so appropriate.

6. Swashbucklin' in Brooklyn - fun pop song with some very funny lyrics telling the story of a man who, dressed in a pirate outfit, juggles is time by selling seafood, dealing drugs and at night becoming a superhero.

7. Bump - groovy disco funk based on the band's own experiences, working at a nightclub.

8. Microphone Fiend - cover of the Eric B and Rakim rap song. Better than the original.

9. My Sin - seventies style, movie soundtrack sampling funk.

10. Underground - Dire Straits style boozy ballad written when Huey was drunk.

11. She's My Friend - aching love song. The boys at their most poignant.

12. There Was A Time - unbelievably brilliant chillout track. Almost instrumental, unrecognisable and unlike anything they've ever done before.

13. Dickholder - country and western rock. Undoubtedly the worst song they've written.

14. Little Song - sleazy country ballad.

BONUS TRACK: Kill The Bad Guy - brilliant , very funny, shouty party song. The theme to their film Maui Homicide 2000.

Best tracks: Loco, Half a Block, There Was A Time

 

BAG OF HITS

 

Released: 2002

Highest Chart Position: 11

Number of UK Singles: 10

Critical Reception: very good

The songs:

CD 1

1.The Fun Lovin' Criminal
2. Up On The Hill
3. Loco
4. Korean Bodega
5. King of New York
6. Run Daddy Run
7. The Grave and the Constant
8. Swashbucklin' in Brooklyn
9. Love Unlimited
10. Bump
11. Scooby Snacks
12. Smoke 'Em
13. Couldn't Get It Right

14. Big Night Out

15. We Have All The Time In The World

CD 2

1. The Fun Lovin' Criminal (DJ Bombjack Remix) - nearly the same as the original. Just bouncier and with more harmonica.

2. King of New York (Cooley High Remix) - brilliant, slowed down, jazzy and completely different. Probably as good as the original.

3. Run Daddy Run (MC Large Mix) - louder with a more urban edge. Comparable to bands such as House of Pain and Run DMC.

4. Up On The Hill (Cobble Hill Remix) - very Barry White in feel. Minus the saxaphone but with added schmoove guitar. Very nice.

5. Loco (Latin Quarter Version) - much the same, only with added percussion and better to dance to.

6. Bump (Mark Berkley Remix) - very different. It's a dance song and would go down well in the clubs.

7. The Grave and the Constant (Steven Lironi 12" Mix) - proving that a little can go a long way, the addition of some extra keyboard makes this better than the original.

8. King of New York (Jack Dangers Mix Complex #1) - not as good.

9. Up On The Hill (Tar Beach Remix) - brilliant chilled out summertime groove. Perfect music for a desert island.

10. Korean Bodega (Aero Mexicana Mix) (featuring Shirley Manson) - possibly better than the original. More laidback and remixed by Garbage.

11. Love Unlimited (Remix) - slightly different and probably not quite as good.

12. Scooby Snacks (Rockamental Version) - a remixed and rockier version of the original with some blazing guitar.

Best remixes: King of New York (Cooley High Remix), The Grave and the Constant (Steven Lironi 12" Mix), Up On The Hill (Tar Beach Remix)

 

SCOOBY SNACKS: THE COLLECTION



Released: 7^th July 2003

Number of UK Singles: 4

The songs:

1. The Fun Lovin' Criminal
2. Bombin' The L
3. Bear Hug
4. Blues For Suckers
5. I Can't Get With That
6. 10th Street
7. Korean Bodega
8. Up On The Hill
9. I'm Not In Love
10. We Have All The Time In The World [Copa Cabana Version]
11. Scooby Snacks [Schmoove Version]
12. Bump
13. Half A Block
14. Where The Bums Go

 

WELCOME TO POPPY'S



Released: 8^th September 2003

Highest Chart Position: 20

Number of UK Singles: 3 (so far)

Critical Reception: very good

The songs:

1. Too Hot - funky, chilled out summery Cameo-esque funk. The first single to be released and a real grower. It gets better every time you hear it. And if you can't dance to this, you should check your pulse, you just might be dead.
2. Stray Bullet - think Korean Bodega. Another fun, commercial, hip-hop/rock track with an insanely catchy chorus.
3. Living on the Streets - upbeat funk track with lashings of Huey's oh so schmoove wah-wah guitar. One of the funkiest records they've ever written. Could have come off the 'Loco' album.
4. Lost it All - second single and the perfect live track. Memorable guitar riffs, a shouty chorus and a hilarious Mexican guitar interlude which is sure to put a smile on your face.
5. Friday Night - the best track on the album and possibly the best thing FLC have ever done. This is a gorgeous chilled-out Friday night funk masterpiece which literally does everything it says on the tin. This is the soundtrack to your Friday Night. As one critic put it: "it has a melody so sweet, it deserves to be played every weekend for the next decade." I can't agree more.
6. You Got A Problem - this Fun Lovin' Criminal soundalike is probably the second best song on the album and easily FLC's funnest song since 'Scooby Snacks'. It's FLC's trademark rock/hip-hop combo with lyrics which are both catchy and funny.
7. Running For Cover - yet another rocking triumph for the boys with a catchy chorus and a great sense of fun that seems to be lacking from most other bands at the moment.
8. Take Me Back - rounding off an absolute blinder of a first half is this funked up Eric B & Rakim style hip-hop track. Great trumpet, great beats, great lyrics, great song. "Shoe toes elise, dvds and frees, these are a few of my favourite things."
9. What Had Happened - hip-hop funk. Think Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition' mixed with FLC's 'Run Daddy Run' and splice a few samples into the mix.

Best tracks: (there are so many but…) Too Hot, Friday Night, You Got A Problem

Released: 2^nd February 2004

Number of UK Singles: 11

A Sides:
1. The Fun Lovin Criminal
2. The Grave And The Constant
3. King Of New York
4. Korean Bodega
5. Loco
6. Bump [Radio Mix]
7. Run Daddy Run
8. Big Night Out [Radio Version]
9. I'm Not In Love
10. Love Unlimited
11. Scooby Snacks

12. Sleepyhead (b-side to Korean Bodega)
13. The Grave And The Constant (12 Steve Leroni Mix) (b-side to The Grave And The Constant & The Fun Lovin' Criminal)
14. I Can't Get With That (Live At The Forum) (b-side to Scooby Snacks)
15. Come Find Yourself (BBC Live Session) (b-side to Scooby Snacks & The Fun Lovin' Criminal)
16. Blues For Suckers (b-side to Scooby Snacks, The Grave And The Constant & King Of New York)
17. The Fun Lovin' Criminal (Hee Haw Version) (b-side to The Fun Lovin' Criminal)
18. Run Daddy Run (MC Large Mix) (b-side to Bump)
19 Loco (Latin Quarter Version) (b-side to Loco)
20 Bump (Mark Berkely's Remix) (b-side to Bump)
21 King Of New York (Jack Dangers Complex 1) (b-side to King Of New York)
22 Everything Under The Stars (b-side to Loco)
23 Scooby Snacks (20mg Version) (b-side to Scooby Snacks)
24 Smoke Em (Live BBC Version) (b-side to Scooby Snacks)
25 Love Unlimited (Remix) (b-side to Love Unlimited)
26 The Ballad Of Larry Davis (b-side to Korean Bodega)
27 Korean Bodega (Aero Mexicano Mix) (b-side to Korean Bodega)

Rarities:
28. The Fun Lovin Criminal (Hot 1997 Rockumental Remix) - previously unreleased
29. The Beach - previously only available as part of Maui Homicide 2000 Medley
30. Scooby Snacks (Steve Leroni Remix with movie samples) - previously only available on 7-inch of Scooby Snacks
31. Searching For Clues - previously only available as part of Maui Homicide 2000 Medley
32. Up On The Hill (Tar Beach Remix) - previously only available on Bag O' Hits
33. Bump (Mark Berkley's Instrumental Remix) - previously unreleased
34. The Fun Lovin Criminal (DJ Bombjack Remix) - previously only available on Bag O' Hits
35. The Streets Are Watching (Instrumental) - instrumental version of Everything Under The Stars, previously unreleased
36. Battle On The Golf Course - previously only available as part of Maui Homicide 2000 Medley
37. Scooby Snacks (20mg Dub) - previously only available as b-side to international version of Scooby Snacks single
38. King Of New York (Cooley High Remix) - previously only available on Bag O' Hits
39. Loco (Album Instrumental) - previously unreleased
40. We Have All The Time In The World (Live) - previously unreleased

Released: 2004 tbc

Released: 2004 tbc

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