The Gift of Game

The Gift of Game
Studio album from Crazy Town
Publication (s)	November 9, 1999
Label (s)	Columbia Records , Sony Music
Format (s)	CD , MC
Genre (s)	Nu metal , rap metal , crossover
Title (number)	15th
running time	48:00
production	Josh Abraham
Studio (s)	Westlake Audio Studios, Los Angeles
chronology - The Gift of Game Darkhorse (2002)
Single releases September 9, 1999 Toxic June 10, 2000 Darkside November 13, 2000 butterfly July 2, 2001 Revolving Door

The Gift of Game ( English for " the gift of the game ") is the debut album by the US crossover band Crazy Town . It was released on November 9, 1999 on the Columbia Records and Sony Music labels . As a result of the hit single Butterfly , the album was also commercially successful in 2001.

production

The album was produced by the American music producer Josh Abraham and recorded at Westlake Audio Studios in Los Angeles .

Cover design

The album cover shows the painted picture of a tattooed woman wearing a halo and devil horns and sucking a lollipop . At the top left of the picture is the glowing lettering Crazy Town , while the title The Gift of Game is written in illuminated letters on the right edge of the picture, from top to bottom. The background is completely black.

Guest Posts

In addition to the band, other artists appear on five songs on the album. The rapper KRS-One can be heard on the song B-Boy 2000 , while the singer Jenny Sipprelle has a guest appearance on Players (Only Love You When They're Playing) . The rap duo Dirty Unit is involved in Think Fast and the rock musician Jay Gordon supports Crazy Town on Black Cloud . The dancehall musician Mad Lion is also represented on Hollywood Babylon .

Track list

#	title	Guest musician	length
1	Intro		0:25
2	Toxic		2:48
3	Think Fast	Dirty Unit	3:52
4th	Darkside		3:52
5	Black Cloud	Jay Gordon	5:02
6th	butterfly		3:36
7th	Only when I'm Drunk		2:47
8th	Hollywood Babylon	Mad Lion	4:23
9	Face the Music		3:24
10	Lollipop Porn		3:54
11	Revolving Door		3:40
12	Players (Only Love You When They're Playing)	Jenny Sipprelle	3:37
13	B-Boy 2000	KRS-One	4:26
14th	Outro www.crazytown.com		1:19
15th	Drunk Guy ( Hidden Track )		0:55

Chart successes and singles

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

The Gift of Game   DE 6th 03/26/2001 (25 weeks)   AT 4th 03/25/2001 (25 weeks)   CH 11 04/01/2001 (21 weeks)   UK 15th 04/21/2001 (12 weeks)   US 9 12/09/2000 (34 weeks)

Singles

butterfly   DE 1 03/19/2001 (19 weeks)   AT 1 03/18/2001 (16 weeks)   CH 1 03/18/2001 (28 weeks)   UK 3 04/07/2001 (13 weeks)   US 1 01/06/2001 (23 weeks) Revolving Door   DE 26th 07/23/2001 (9 weeks)   AT 29 07/22/2001 (9 weeks)   CH 23 07/22/2001 (5 weeks)   UK 10 08/11/2001 (6 weeks)

The Gift of Game rose to number 20 in the German charts as a result of the hit single Butterfly on March 26, 2001 and reached the highest position two weeks later with number 6. It was able to stay in the top 100 for a total of 25 weeks. In the German annual charts in 2001, the album was number 31.

On September 9, 1999, the first single Toxic was released , followed by the second release Darkside on June 10, 2000. Both songs could not place in the charts. The third single Butterfly , which was released on November 13, 2000, became a worldwide hit and also boosted sales of the album. Butterfly reached the top of the charts in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United States, among others. The fourth and final single, the song Revolving Door , was released on July 2, 2001 and reached number 26 in Germany.

Sales figures and awards

The Gift of Game sold more than a million copies in the United States and was awarded a platinum record for it. In Germany the album received a gold record for over 150,000 sales . It has also been awarded gold in the United Kingdom and Switzerland. According to sources, the album has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Germany (BVMI)	gold	150,000
Finland (IFPI)	gold	20,933
Canada (MC)	platinum	100,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	gold	7,500
Norway (IFPI)	gold	15,000
Switzerland (IFPI)	gold	25,000
United States (RIAA)	platinum	1,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	gold	100,000
All in all	6 × gold, 2 × platinum	1,418,433

Main article: Crazy Town # Awards for music sales

The single Butterfly received a platinum record in Germany for more than 500,000 units sold and was awarded gold in the United Kingdom, Austria and Switzerland.

reception

Professional reviews
Reviews
source	rating
laut.de
allmusic

Eberhard Dobler from laut.de rated The Gift of Game with four out of a possible five points. The album delivers “pop hooks and catchy riffs on the assembly line,” whereby “the Californians muddle everything that is recognized or promises success in their musical universe.” However, “political correctness and profound content are certainly not the strengths” of the band.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ album cover
2. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
3. ↑ Chart tracking The Gift of Game on officialcharts.de
4. ↑ German album annual charts 2001
5. ↑ Music Sales Awards: DE AT CH UK US
6. ↑ Annette Schimanski: What became of Crazy Town? musikexpress.de, August 30, 2018, accessed December 12, 2019 . 
7. ↑ Rating: laut.de
8. ↑ Rating: allmusic.com