The Fat of the Land

The Fat of the Land
Studio album by The Prodigy
Publication (s)	1997
Label (s)	XL recordings
Format (s)	CD, 2xLP, MC
Genre (s)	Big beat , breaks , electropunk
Title (number)	10
running time	52 min 21 s
occupation	DJ , keyboard : Liam Howlett Keyboard: Leeroy Thornhill Singing : Keith Flint
production	Liam Howlett
Studio (s)	Earthbound Central
chronology Music for the Jilted Generation (1994) The Fat of the Land Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned (2004)

The Fat of the Land is an album by the English big beat band The Prodigy . It was released by XL Recordings and was released on July 1, 1997.

controversy

The album caused much controversy , especially in the UK . The video of the first single " Firestarter " caused a sensation because of the allegedly terrifying self-expression of the singer Keith Flint and many people found the song " Smack My Bitch Up " to be misogynistic . The band describes the video as a parody of the gangsta rap scene. On the music channel MTV , the video was only allowed to be broadcast in the night program due to its explicit content.

successes

The album entered the Guinness Book of Records as the UK's fastest-selling 1997 book and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1998 . In Germany it immediately reached number 1 in the album charts, was at the top for three weeks, stayed in the top 10 for eight weeks and was in the top 100 for a total of 35 weeks. In 1997 it was awarded a gold record . Furthermore, the album rose from 0 to number one in the respective album charts in 22 countries.

The title "Mindfields" later appeared on the soundtrack for the film " Matrix ". "Smack My Bitch Up" was used on both Charlie's Angels and Hautnah . "Firestarter" was used in Charlie's Angels - Full Throttle . The title "Funky Shit" later appeared on the soundtrack for the film " Event Horizon " (trailer and credits).

In 1998, readers of British Q magazine voted the album ninth among the best albums of all time.

Track list

1. Smack My Bitch Up (L. Howlett, M. Smith, C. Miller, K. Thornton, T. Randolph) - 5:42
2. Breathe (L. Howlett, Keith Flint, Maxim) - 5:35
3. Diesel Power (L. Howlett, K. Thornton ) - 4:17
4. Funky Shit (L. Howlett) - 5:16
5. Serial Thrilla (L. Howlett, K. Flint, Skin , Arran ) - 5:11
6. Mindfields (L. Howlett) - 5:40
7. Narayan (L. Howlett, Crispian Mills - lead singer of Kula Shaker ) - 9:05
8. Firestarter (L. Howlett, K. Flint, T. Horn, A. Dudley, J. Jeczalik, P. Morley, G. Langan , K. Deal ) - 4:40
9. Climbatize (L. Howlett) - 6:36
10. Fuel My Fire ( D. Sparks , Walsh, James, Knight) - 4:19

Single releases

The songs "Firestarter", "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Breathe" were released. “Firestarter” reached number 6 in the single charts in Germany and stayed in the top ten for a total of six weeks. "Breathe" reached # 8, while "Smack My Bitch Up" only took it # 51.

Breathe

Breathe was The Prodigy's twelfth single release . It was released on November 11, 1996 as the second release from the album.

The song was the band's greatest national and international success. It again focused on the provocative appearance of Keith Flint, but aroused less controversy than the predecessor Firestarter or even the single Smack My Bitch Up of the same album. It stayed at number 1 in the UK for two weeks and reached the top 10 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The accompanying music video was produced under the direction of Walter Stern . The setting is a ghetto-like apartment with its residents, the band members and various animals such as a crocodile and cockroaches.

Samples

"Serial Thrilla" is based on a sample of a riff by Skunk Anansie , "Funky Shit" contains a sample of the song "Root Down" by the Beastie Boys . "Fuel My Fire" is a cover version of an L7 song from the album Hungry for Stink . "Smack My Bitch Up" used a sample from the band Ultramagnetic MC's from the song "Give The Drummer Some". Kool Keith , one of the singers in this band, did the vocals for this song. "Climbatize" uses a sample from Egyptian Empire - The Horn Track .

Booklet

The booklet consists of a quotation from Hermann Göring or Rudolf Hess spread over several pages (see “Cannons instead of butter” ).

We have no butter, but I ask you, would you rather have butter or guns? Shall we import lard or steel? Let me tell you ... Preparedness makes us powerful. Butter merely makes us fat.

Awards for music sales

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA)	2 × platinum	140,000
Belgium (BEA)	platinum	50,000
Germany (BVMI)	gold	250,000
Europe (IFPI)	2 × platinum	(2,000,000)
Finland (IFPI)	platinum	42,426
France (SNEP)	2 × gold	200,000
Italy (FIMI)	gold	50,000
Canada (MC)	3 × platinum	300,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	platinum	15,000
Netherlands (NVPI)	platinum	100,000
Austria (IFPI)	gold	25,000
Sweden (IFPI)	platinum	80,000
Switzerland (IFPI)	gold	15,000
United States (RIAA)	2 × platinum	2,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	4 × platinum	1,200,000
All in all	6 × gold 18 × platinum	4,467,426

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Prodigy. at rockonthenet.com, accessed November 21, 2012.
2. ↑ Top 10 Best Music Videos of the '90s. at alternativereel.com, accessed November 21, 2012.
3. Jump up ↑ Too Hot For MTV: Ten Controversial Music Videos That Got Banned. The Hollywood Reporter, accessed November 21, 2012.
4. ↑ 50 fastest selling albums ever. NME, April 27, 2011, accessed April 27, 2019 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b} History. on theprodigyfanboy.com, accessed November 21, 2012.
6. ↑ Chart source: Germany on chartsurfer.de
7. ↑ Sources for awards for record sales: Germany on musikindustrie.de
8. ↑ Soundtracks for Matrix. IMDb, accessed on November 21, 2012.
9. ↑ Soundtracks for Charlie's Angels. IMDb, accessed on November 21, 2012.
10. ↑ Soundtracks for Up Close. IMDb, accessed on November 21, 2012.
11. ^ Analyzing the sound and lighting in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. WriteWork, accessed November 21, 2012 . 
12. ↑ Prodigy Interview. About.com, accessed November 21, 2012 . 
13. ↑ Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Q (1997). Best ever albums, accessed November 21, 2012 . 
14. ↑ Chart sources for Breathe : DE on charts.de, AT on austriancharts.at, CH on hitparade.ch, UK on officialcharts.com
15. ↑ Videography by Walter Stern ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on popzoot.tv 
16. ↑ All samples from The Prodigy on theprodigy.info
17. ↑ The Fat of the Land at Discogs (English).
18. ↑ Award in Australia
19. ^ Award in Belgium
20. ↑ Award in Germany
21. ↑ Award in Europe
22. ↑ Award in Finland
23. ^ Award in France
24. ↑ Award in Italy
25. ↑ Award in Canada
26. ↑ Award in New Zealand
27. ↑ Award in the Netherlands
28. ↑ Award in Austria
29. ↑ Award in Sweden
30. ↑ Award in Switzerland
31. ↑ Distinction in the United States
32. ↑ Award in the United Kingdom