The Fat of the Land

The Fat of the Land
Studio album by The Prodigy
Released	30 June 1997 (1997-06-30)
Recorded	1995–97
Studio	Earthbound Central
Genre	Big beat[1]
Length	56:24
Language	English
Label	XL Maverick (US)
Producer	Liam Howlett
The Prodigy chronology
Music for the Jilted Generation (1994) The Fat of the Land (1997) The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One (1999)
Singles from The Fat of the Land
"Firestarter" Released: 18 March 1996 "Breathe" Released: 11 November 1996 "Smack My Bitch Up" Released: 24 November 1997

The Fat of the Land is the third studio album by English electronic music group 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. The album title comes from the old English phrase 'living off the fat of the land', which means living well or being wealthy.^[2] The band name was shortened to simply "Prodigy" for the release and its singles. While Liam Howlett is generally responsible for the compositions and Maxim Reality is featured on two tracks, this is the first record to include contributions by Keith Flint, who provides vocals on four of the songs.

The album has received critical acclaim and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide as of 2012.^[3][4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B[6]
Los Angeles Times	[7]
NME	8/10[8]
Pitchfork Media	7.9/10[9]
Q	[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[12]
Spin	7/10[13]
Sputnikmusic	5/5[14]

The Fat of the Land has received critical acclaim. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.^[15] The album has since gone double platinum, selling over 2 million copies in the US^[16] In 1999, the album entered the Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling UK album and was also nominated Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.^[17]

It has been featured in a number of music publication lists:

• 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. It has also been ranked number 43 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime" list,^[18] and was included in their "90 Best Albums of the 1990s"^[19] and "50 Best Albums of 1997" lists.^[20]
• Rolling Stone included in their "Essential Recordings of the 90s" list.^[21]
• Spin ranked it number 20 on their list of the "Top 20 Albums of the Year [1997]" list.^[22]
• Melody Maker ranked it number 13 on their list of "Albums of the Year" for 1997^[23] and number 29 in their 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.^[24]
• NME ranked it number 17 in their 1997 Critics' Poll.^[25]

The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album was also nominated for the 1997 Mercury Music Prize.

In 2004, KISS co-founder Gene Simmons covered "Firestarter" on his second solo album, Asshole. "Firestarter" was also covered by Sepultura on their album Kairos, and by Jimmy Eat World on their Firestarter (EP).

The album also 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".^[26]

Track listing

Personnel

The Prodigy

• Keith Flint – vocals ("Breathe", "Serial Thrilla", "Firestarter", "Fuel My Fire")
• Liam Howlett – keyboards, synthesizers, sampling, programming, production, engineering, mixing, art direction
• Maxim Reality – vocals ("Breathe", "Mindfields")

Additional musicians

• Shahin Badar – vocals ("Smack My Bitch Up")
• Kool Keith – vocals ("Smack My Bitch Up", "Diesel Power")
• Crispian Mills – vocals ("Narayan")
• Saffron – vocals ("Fuel My Fire")
• Gizz Butt – guitar ("Fuel My Fire")
• Jim Davies – guitar ("Firestarter")
• Matt Cameron – drums
• Tom Morello – guitar ("No Man Army")

Other personnel

• Neil McLellan – engineer
• Christian Ammann – photography
• JAKe – illustrations
• Alex Jenkins – art direction, design, photography
• Pat Pope – photography
• Alex Scaglia – photography
• Lou Smith – photography
• Terry Whittaker – photography
• Konrad Wothe – photography
• Mike Champion – management

Charts and certifications

Album

Certifications

Singles

Appearances in other media

• "Mindfields" is the seventh track on the soundtrack of the film The Matrix. In the movie itself, it appears in the club scene where Neo meets Trinity.
• "Smack My Bitch Up" has appeared in films Charlie's Angels, Scary Movie 2 and Closer.
• 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".
• "Climbatize" appeared in the pilot of the TV show Harsh Realm.
• "Funky Shit" was used during the ending credits of the film Event Horizon.
• Both "Firestarter" and "Breathe" have appeared in the film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
• An instrumental version of "Firestarter" appears in video game Wipeout 2097.
• A vocal version of the Japanese bonus track "No Man Army" called "One Man Army" and featuring musician Tom Morello is featured in the movie Spawn and its soundtrack respectively.

References