Educated Horses

Educated Horses
Studio album by Rob Zombie
Released March 28, 2006 (2006-03-28)
Recorded 2006 at The Chop Shop in Hollywood, CA
Genre Heavy metal, alternative metal, groove metal, shock rock
Length 38:25
Label Geffen
Producer Scott Humphrey, Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie chronology
Past, Present & Future
(2003)
Educated Horses
(2006)
The Best of Rob Zombie
(2006)
Singles from Educated Horses
  1. "Foxy, Foxy"
    Released: February 14, 2006
  2. "American Witch"
    Released: 2006
  3. "Let It All Bleed Out"
    Released: 2006
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Entertainment Weekly (C+)[2]
Rolling Stone [3]

Educated Horses is the third album by Rob Zombie, released on March 28, 2006. A streaming "listening party" was held on MP3.com starting March 22, 2006, which caused advance copies to spread throughout P2P software programs.

In response to questions about what the album's title means, Rob Zombie said:

"It was a weird kind of phrase, like, that I remembered as something as a kid. You know, my parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, the whole family, were involved in carnival business and, like, circus business, so as a kid, we would get dragged to these things, and we'd have to spend all this time there. And that was just one of the attractions I remember, what they would call the trained animals, you know, educated horses."

Contents

Production

Educated Horses can be described as Zombie's most experimental album to date. Writing for Rob Zombie for the first time, John 5 experimented with a number of acoustics, which can be heard on tracks such as "Sawdust in the Blood" and "Death of It All". Rob's vocals are less gruff on this album; instead he sings in a more sensual manner. "Foxy Foxy" is the most mainstream and "party-going" song that he has written yet, and its music video shows many attractive girls, including his wife Sheri Moon, dancing to the song. Yet the album still contains his signature horror tastes. "17 Year Locust" and "The Scorpion Sleeps" were both written about creepy-crawlies.

Rob Zombie has stated that the album had influences from glam rock artists like Slade, T. Rex, and Gary Glitter.[4]

Reception

The album debuted at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200, Zombie's highest chart position since Hellbilly Deluxe, selling about 120,000 copies in its first week. It also debuted at number one on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart.[5] In its second week it dropped to number fourteen, selling a further 46,720 copies.[6]

The song "The Lords of Salem" was nominated for the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance of 2008.[7]

Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine had this to say:

A handful of cuts are too long on sludgy instrumental grooves, but whether Zombie is out-Trent Reznoring Trent Reznor on the sitar-laden grindfest "17 Year Locust" or spitting fire amid the apocalyptic blues riffs of "The Devil's Rejects," he sounds like a gifted schlockmeister that Strokes fans can enjoy. Or at least tolerate.[8]

Music videos

Zombie directed music videos for "Foxy Foxy" and "American Witch". Artist and animator David Hartman created two animated music videos, for "American Witch" and "The Lords of Salem".

Track listing

All songs written by Rob Zombie, John 5 and Scott Humphrey unless otherwise noted.

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Sawdust in the Blood"     1:22
2. "American Witch"     3:47
3. "Foxy Foxy"   Zombie, Humphrey 3:28
4. "17 Year Locust"     4:06
5. "The Scorpion Sleeps"     3:38
6. "100 Ways"     1:53
7. "Let It All Bleed Out"   Zombie, Humphrey 4:09
8. "Death of It All"     4:22
9. "Ride"     3:32
10. "The Devil's Rejects"     3:54
11. "The Lords of Salem"     4:13
Total length:
38:25

Personnel

Chart positions

Album
Chart (2006) Peak
position
The Billboard 200 5
Canadian Albums Chart 5
Top Internet Albums 5
Singles
Song Chart (2006) Peak
position
"Foxy Foxy" Mainstream Rock Tracks 8
Modern Rock Tracks 26
"American Witch" Mainstream Rock Tracks 12
Modern Rock Tracks 32
"Let It All Bleed Out" Mainstream Rock Tracks 29

Miscellanea

References