THE PRODIGY Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned XL ***

Had Liam Howlett simply done what everyone around him thought he should have done, this album would have been out ages ago, The Prodigy would have headlined every festival going this summer and Howlett would probably have lost the plot by now. Instead, after Baby's Got A Temper's limp letdown, Howlett put the brakes on. Having watched the Prodigy blossom from energetic rave-stage staples to the biggest electronic rock band on the planet, Howlett himself knew it was time to go back to the drawing board and that this meant a solo run rather than more Keith Flint or Maxim. What he has produced is an album which, while deeply flawed in places (surprising, given the seven-year gestation period), oozes an anger and a venom which you rarely get from artists of Howlett's stature - place it alongside the increasingly flaccid work of Oasis and see how far you'll get. What stands tall here are Howlett's beats, great big walls of fire turning even the weakest tracks into monster rollercoasters and making the thrilling Spitfire and the eerie Medusa's Path so potent. When Howlett tries other things, though, they sometimes work (the infectious hip-hop on Girls) but more often they call into question the quality control process (Shoot Down with Liam Gallagher feebly trying to be a firestarter). An album that gets a nod of approval despite a nagging sense that it should be better.  www.theprodigy.com Jim Carroll