The best or richest of anything, as in The tiny upper class lived off the fat of the land while many of the poor were starving. This expression alludes to fat in the sense of "the best or richest part." The Bible has it as eat the fat of the land (Genesis 45:18).
The Fat of the Land
| Idioms: fat of the land, the |
| Album Review: The Fat of the Land |
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- Artist: The Prodigy
- Rating:
- Release Date: July 01, 1997
- Type: Contains explicit content
- Genre: Electronica
Review
Few albums were as eagerly anticipated as The Fat of the Land, the Prodigy's long-awaited follow-up to Music for the Jilted Generation. By the time of its release, the group had two number one British singles with "Firestarter" and "Breathe" and had begun to make inroads in America. The Fat of the Land was touted as the album that would bring electronica/techno to a wide American audience; in Britain, the group already had a staggeringly large following that was breathlessly awaiting the album. The Fat of the Land falls short of masterpiece status, but that isn't because it doesn't deliver. Instead, it delivers exactly what anyone would expect: intense hip-hop-derived rhythms, imaginatively reconstructed samples, and meaningless shouted lyrics from Keith Flint and Maxim. Half of the album does sound quite similar to "Firestarter," especially when Flint is singing. Still, Liam Howlett is an inventive producer, and he can make empty songs like "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Serial Thrilla" kick with a visceral power, but he is at his best on the funky hip-hop of "Diesel Power" (which is driven by an excellent Kool Keith rap) and "Funky Shit," as well as the mind-bending neo-psychedelia of "Narayan" (featuring guest vocals by Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker) and the blood-curdling cover of L7's "Fuel My Fire," which features vocals by Republica's Saffron. All those guest vocalists mean something -- Howlett is at his best when he's writing for himself or others, not his group's own vocalists. "Firestarter" and all of its rewrites capture the fire of the Prodigy at their peak, and the remaining songs have imagination that give the album weight. The Fat of the Land doesn't have quite enough depth or variety to qualify as a flat-out masterpiece, but what it does have to offer is damn good. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music GuideTracks
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Smack My Bitch Up (Lyrics) | The Prodigy | (5:42) | |
| Breathe (Lyrics) | The Prodigy | (5:35) | |
| Diesel Power (Lyrics) | The Prodigy | (4:17) | |
| Funky Shit (Lyrics) | The Prodigy | (5:16) | |
| Serial Thrilla (Lyrics) | The Prodigy | (5:11) | |
| Mindfields | The Prodigy | (5:40) | |
| Narayan (Lyrics) | The Prodigy | (9:05) | |
| Firestarter (Lyrics) | Anne Dudley, Kim Deal, Trevor Horn, |
The Prodigy | (4:40) |
| Climbatize | The Prodigy | (6:36) | |
| Fuel My Fire (Lyrics) | James, Donita Sparks | The Prodigy | (4:19) |
Credits
The Prodigy (Main Performer),| Wikipedia: The Fat of the Land |
For the P. G. Wodehouse short story, see A Few Quick Ones.
| The Fat of the Land | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by The Prodigy | ||||
| Released | 30 June 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1996–1997, Earthbound Central | |||
| Genre | Big Beat, electronic, breakbeat, techno, Industrial | |||
| Length | 56:24 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | XL | |||
| Producer | Liam Howlett | |||
| Professional reviews | ||||
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| The Prodigy chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Fat of the Land | ||||
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The Fat of the Land is the third studio album by The Prodigy. The album was released by XL Recordings on 30 June 1997 and on 1 July 1997 in the United States by Maverick Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album title comes from the old English phrase 'living off the fat of the land', which means 'living well' or being wealthy.[1]
Contents |
Composition
"Serial Thrilla" features a sample of a riff by Skunk Anansie, "Funky Shit" features a sample from "Root Down" from the Beastie Boys album Ill Communication, "Fuel My Fire" is a cover of an L7 song from Hungry for Stink. "Smack My Bitch Up" takes a sample from an Ultramagnetic MCs song, "Give the Drummer Some", and thus the Prodigy invited Kool Keith to do the lyrics and vocals for another track, "Diesel Power." Matt Cameron of Soundgarden and later Pearl Jam, who is falsely credited as "Mark" in the liner notes, is also understood to have contributed samples to the album, though it is not clear where.[2]
Appearances in other media
- "Mindfields" appeared on the soundtrack of the film The Matrix
- "Smack My Bitch Up" has appeared in films Charlie's Angels, Scary Movie 2 and Closer
- "Funky Shit" appeared in the trailers for the film Event Horizon and also played over the end credits
- Crispian Mills, who contributed lyrically to the track "Narayan", later adapted "Narayan" and elements of "Climbatize" for his own band's 2007 album, Strangefolk as "Song of Love/Narayana".
Reception
The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.[3] The album has since gone double platinum selling over 2 million copies in the U.S.[4]
The album entered the Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling UK album in 1999 and was also nominated for a Grammy Award.[5]
The album was nominated for the 1997 Mercury Music Prize.
In 1998 Q magazine readers voted The Fat of the Land the ninth greatest album of all time. In 2000 Q placed it at number 47 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. Q (10/01, p.46) - Ranked #43 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime." Q (12/99, p.92) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s." Q (1/98, p.114) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997."
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.82) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Spin (1/98, p.87) - Ranked #20 on Spin's list of the "Top 20 Albums Of The Year."
Melody Maker (12/20-27/97, pp.66–67) - Ranked #13 on Melody Maker's list of 1997's "Albums Of The Year."
Village Voice (2/24/98) - Ranked #29 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
NME (12/20-27/97, pp.78–79) - Ranked #17 in NME's 1997 Critics' Poll.
The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
In 2004, KISS co-founder Gene Simmons covered "Firestarter" on his second solo album, Asshole.
The album caused some controversy. The National Organization for Women objected to the seeming misogyny of "Smack My Bitch Up", though the band maintains that its true interpretation is "doing anything intensely."[6]
Track listing
- "Smack My Bitch Up" (Liam Howlett, M. Smith, C. Miller, K. Thornton, T. Randolph) – 5:42
- "Breathe" (Howlett, Keith Flint, Maxim Reality) – 5:35
- "Diesel Power" (Howlett, Kool Keith) – 4:17
- "Funky Shit" (Howlett) – 5:16
- "Serial Thrilla" (Howlett, Flint, Len Arran, Skin) – 5:11
- "Mindfields" (Howlett, Maxim) – 5:40
- "Narayan" (Howlett, Crispian Mills) – 9:05
- "Firestarter" (Howlett, Flint, T. Horn, A. Dudley, J. Jeczalik, P. Morley, G. Langan, Kim Deal) – 4:40
- "Climbatize" (Howlett) – 6:38
- "Fuel My Fire" (Donita Sparks, Walsh, James, Knight) – 4:19
- Japan bonus tracks
- "Molotov Bitch" (Howlett) – 4:56
- "No Man Army" (Howlett, Tom Morello) – 4:10
Personnel
- The Prodigy
- Keith Flint – vocals
- Liam Howlett – producer, art direction, mixing
- Maxim Reality – vocals
- Additional musicians
- Shahin Badar – vocals ("Smack My Bitch Up")
- Matt Cameron – drums
- Jim Davies – guitar
- Kool Keith – vocals ("Smack My Bitch Up", "Diesel Power")
- Crispian Mills – vocals ("Narayan")
- Tom Morello – guitar ("No Man Army")
- Saffron – vocals ("Fuel My Fire")
- Skin – vocals ("Serial Thrilla")
- Other personnel
- Christian Ammann – photography
- Jake Holloway – illustrations
- Alex Jenkins – art direction, design, photography
- Neil McLellan – engineer
- Pat Pope – photography
- Alex Scaglia – photography
- Lou Smith – photography
- Terry Whittaker – photography
- Konrad Wothe – photography
Sales chart positions
- Album
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 1[citation needed] |
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart | 1[7] |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1[3] |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 1[3] |
| Swedish Albums top 60 | 1[7] |
- Singles
| Year | Song | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Firestarter" | UK Singles Chart | 1[8] |
| 1996 | "Breathe" | UK Singles Chart | 1[8] |
| 1996 | "Firestarter" | Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 22[9] |
| 1996 | "Breathe" | Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 2[9] |
| 1997 | "Smack My Bitch Up" | UK Singles Chart | 8[8] |
| 1997 | "Smack My Bitch Up" | Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 41[9] |
| 1997 | "Smack My Bitch Up" | Canadian Singles Chart | 12[10] |
| 1997 | "Firestarter" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 30[10] |
| 1997 | "Firestarter" | U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 11[10] |
| 1997 | "Firestarter" | U.S. Modern Rock Tracks | 24[10] |
| 1997 | "Breathe" | U.S. Modern Rock Tracks | 18[10] |
| 1997 | "Smack My Bitch Up" | U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 19[10] |
| 1998 | "Smack My Bitch Up" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 89[10] |
References
- ^ "Living off the fat of the land". phrases.org.uk. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/235000.html. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- ^ News - Articles - 1427521 - 19970320
- ^ a b c Allmusic - Prodigy Album Charting
- ^ RIAA Certifications - Search 'Prodigy'
- ^ Shahin Badar
- ^ Rock On The Net: Prodigy
- ^ a b The Fat of the Land - Charting
- ^ a b c UK Charts - Search 'Prodigy'
- ^ a b c Australian Charts - Prodigy
- ^ a b c d e f g Allmusic - Prodigy Singles Charting
| Preceded by Spice by Spice Girls |
Billboard 200 number-one album 19–25 July 1997 |
Succeeded by Men in Black: The Album by various artists |
| Preceded by OK Computer by Radiohead |
UK number one album 12 July – 22 August 1997 |
Succeeded by White on Blonde by Texas |
| Preceded by Album of the Year by Faith No More |
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album 13–19 July 1997 |
Succeeded by Middle of Nowhere by Hanson |
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