Rooty

Rooty
Studio album by Basement Jaxx
Released 26 June 2001
Genre House, dance-pop
Length 42:43
Label XL (UK), Astralwerks (US)
Producer Felix Buxton, Simon Ratcliffe
Basement Jaxx chronology

Remedy
(1999)		 Rooty
(2001)		 Kish Kash
(2003)
Singles from Rooty
  1. "Romeo"
    Released: 4 June 2001
  2. "Jus 1 Kiss"
    Released: 24 September 2001
  3. "Where's Your Head At"
    Released: 26 November 2001
  4. "Get Me Off"
    Released: 16 June 2002
  5. "Do Your Thing"
    Released: 2 December 2003 (Australia only)

Rooty is the second studio album by English electronic dance music duo Basement Jaxx, released in June 2001 by record labels XL and Astralwerks in the UK and US respectively. Five singles were released from the album: "Romeo", "Jus 1 Kiss", "Where's Your Head At", "Get Me Off" and the Australia-only single "Do Your Thing".

Content

The name of the album is taken from Basement Jaxx's regular club event held at a small bar in Brixton. The cover art features Snowflake, the world's only known albino gorilla.

Release

The album's first single, "Romeo", was released on 4 June 2001.

Rooty was released on 26 June 2001. Further singles released from the album were "Jus 1 Kiss", on 24 September, "Where's Your Head At", on 26 November, "Get Me Off", on 16 June 2002, and "Do Your Thing" in Australia only, on 2 December 2003.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 82/100[1]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [2]
The A.V. Club A[1]
Blender [3]
Robert Christgau A−[4]
Entertainment Weekly A−[5]
NME 8/10[6]
Pitchfork 3.8/10[7]
Q [8]
Rolling Stone [9]
Spin 8/10[10]

Rooty has been well-received by critics.

John Bush of AllMusic gave it 5 out of 5 stars, calling it "so raw you can't believe they spent over an hour per track, so perfect you're glad they stopped noodling about long before most producers would, and so poppy they should get picked up by commercial radio in America as well as the rest of the world".[2] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave it an A– grade and called the album "where heart and feet meet and lovingly coexist".[5] Robert Christgau of Village Voice gave it the same grade, writing "no catchier collection of jingles has come to my attention since Steve Miller made his mint off jet airliners".[4] Billboard said the album "revels in exploiting rhythms that shouldn't work—but definitely do".[11] PopMatters's Andy Hermann was mixed, calling the album "either a brilliantly innovative record, or an unlistenable mess, depending on your point of view".[12]

Pitchfork's initial opinion on the album, however, was very negative. While calling band members Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe "two of the weirdest, most innovative and talented house producers on the scene", reviewer Malcolm Seymour III's wrote that "[Basement Jaxx] have taken kitsch too far", noting that the music is "often so tacky that it's impossible to stomach."[7] However, Pitchfork would later name Rooty the 33rd best album of the 2000s.[13]

Q listed Rooty as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.[14]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe, except as indicated. 

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Romeo"    3:36
2. "Breakaway"    3:22
3. "S.F.M."    2:39
4. "Kissalude"  Buxton, Ratcliffe, Alma Duah 0:20
5. "Jus 1 Kiss"    4:24
6. "Broken Dreams"    3:07
7. "I Want U"    3:26
8. "Get Me Off"    4:49
9. "Where's Your Head At"    4:43
10. "Freakalude"    0:29
11. "Crazy Girl"    3:20
12. "Do Your Thing" (featuring Elliot May)  4:41
13. "All I Know"    3:47
Total length:
 42:43

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Critic Reviews for Rooty". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bush, John. "Rooty – Basement Jaxx | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "[Rooty review]". Blender: 104. June–July 2001.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Basement Jaxx". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Browne, David (29 June 2001). "[Rooty review]". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "[Rooty review]". NME: 38. 23 June 2001.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Seymour III, Malcolm (18 September 2001). "Basement Jaxx: Rooty | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  8. ↑ "[Rooty review]". Q: 122. August 2001.
  9. ↑ Blashill, Pat (11 June 2001). "Basement Jaxx: Rooty : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 11 November 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "[Rooty review]". Spin: 127. August 2001.
  11. ↑ "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". Billboard. 7 July 2001. Archived from the original on 3 July 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  12. ↑ Hermann, Andy. "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". PopMatters. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  13. ↑ "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 50-21". Pitchfork. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "The Best 50 Albums of 2001". Q: 60–65. December 2001.