Rooty

Rooty is the second studio album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, released on 25 June 2001 by the record labels XL and Astralwerks in the UK and US respectively.

Rooty
Studio album by
Basement Jaxx
Released25 June 2001 (2001-06-25)
Genre
Length42:43
Label
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: 17 June 2002
  5. "Do Your Thing"
    Released: 2 December 2003

Like its predecessor Remedy, Rooty was well-received critically and commercially. 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".

Background

Concept and artwork

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

Felix Burton explained the album's concept as "not geared to one specific vibe. Musically, we made it so that it wasn't just for cokeheads who wanted pounding beats all night," a philosophy that gave the duo "musical freedom".

As the title for the album, it was explained by the duo as "raw" and "soulful", as well as "about being happy about things that don't fit in" and "things that are a bit different. That's why the album's got an albino gorilla on the cover."[2]

Collaboration

During a July 2000 appearance on TRL, Janet Jackson expressed admiration for Basement Jaxx's debut album Remedy, and contacted the duo to collaborate.[3] Basement Jaxx approached Jackson to collaborate on "Get Me Off" for the album, though the singer ultimately declined.[4][5] Burton recalled the collaboration attempt as follows: "She told us she loved our stuff, but she thought we were Zero 7. We wished her every success in hooking up with a British dance duo eventually and said, 'Cheerio, Celine.'"[6]

Release

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

Rooty was released on 25 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 17 June 2002, and "Do Your Thing" in Australia only, on 2 December 2003.

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Blender[9]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[10]
The Guardian[11]
NME8/10[12]
Pitchfork3.8/10[13]
Q[14]
Rolling Stone[15]
Spin8/10[16]
The Village VoiceA−[17]

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".[8] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave it an A− grade and called the album "where heart and feet meet and lovingly coexist".[10] 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".[17] Billboard said the album "revels in exploiting rhythms that shouldn't work—but definitely do".[18] PopMatters's Andy Hermann was mixed, calling the album "either a brilliantly innovative record, or an unlistenable mess, depending on your point of view".[19]

Pitchfork's initial opinion on the album, however, was generally 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 wrote that "[Basement Jaxx] have taken kitsch too far," noting that the music is "often so tacky that it's impossible to stomach."[13] However, Pitchfork would later name Rooty the 33rd best album of the 2000s.[20]

Q listed Rooty as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.[21] Kludge ranked it at number three on their list of top 10 albums of 2001.[22]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe, except where noted. Songwriting credits adapted from BMI.[23]

Rooty track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Romeo" 3:36
2."Breakaway"
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
  • Bernard "Beloyd" Taylor
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"
4:41
13."All I Know" 3:47
Total length:42:43
Japanese edition bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Romeo" (Shinichi Osawa Tokyo Garage Mix)5:03
2."Romeo" (Shinichi Osawa Tokyo Garage Mix Radio Edit)3:50

Sample credits[24]

  • "Breakaway" contains samples of "Lady Sun" and "You Are a Winner", both written by Bernard "Beloyd" Taylor and performed by Earth, Wind & Fire.
  • "Jus 1 Kiss" contains samples of "You Can't Do It Alone", written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers and performed by Chic.
  • "Broken Dreams" contains samples of "Costa Brava", written by Digno García and Glen Powell and performed by Felix de Ypacarai y sus Paraguayos.
  • "Where's Your Head At" contains samples of "M.E." and "This Wreckage", both written and performed by Gary Numan.
  • "Do Your Thing" contains samples of "Fungi Mama", written by Blue Mitchell and performed by Kenny Barron.

Personnel

Credits for Rooty adapted from album liner notes.[24]

Basement Jaxx

  • Felix Buxton – mixing, production, vocals on "Breakaway", "Jus 1 Kiss", "Crazy Girl" and "All I Know"
  • Simon Ratcliffe – mixing, production

Additional musicians

  • Derrick Carter – vocals on "Get Me Off"
  • Cassie – vocals on "Breakaway" and "S.F.M."
  • Cherokee – vocals on "Get Me Off"
  • Quentin Collins – trumpet on "Broken Dreams"
  • Corryne – backing vocals on "Romeo"
  • Crystal – vocals on "Get Me Off"
  • Damien – vocals on "Where's Your Head At"
  • Jill Draper – vocals on "Breakaway"
  • Alma Duah – vocals on "Kissalude"
  • Kele Le Roc – vocals on "Romeo"
  • Lion – vocals on "S.F.M."
  • Mandy – vocals on "I Want U" and "Get Me Off"
  • Elliot May – vocals on "Do Your Thing"
  • Michael Moog – backing vocals on "Where's Your Head At"
  • Erick Morillo – backing vocals on "Where's Your Head At"
  • Junior Sanchez – backing vocals on "Where's Your Head At"
  • Sha – vocals on "Broken Dreams"

Production

Design

  • Anna Boye – photography
  • René Habermacher – airbrushing
  • Kidney – illustration, typography
  • Mat Maitland – art direction, design
  • Gerard Saint – art direction, design

Charts

Certifications and sales
Certifications and sales for Rooty
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[40] Gold 35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Gold 286,000[42]
United States — 162,000[43]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Hermann, Andy. "Basement Jaxx: Rooty | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  2. McLean, Craig (25 June 2001). "All right Jaxx". Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  3. "Janet Jackson on MTV TRL Pt1 - YouTube". July 2000. Retrieved 1 May 2014 – via YouTube.
  4. "All right Jaxx - Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. 25 June 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  5. "New Jaxx Swing: Basement Jaxx". Inthemix.com.au. July 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  6. "The pop idol's pop idols". The Scotsman. 16 November 2003. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  7. "Reviews for Rooty by Basement Jaxx". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  8. Bush, John. "Rooty – Basement Jaxx". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  9. Matos, Michaelangelo (June–July 2001). "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". Blender. No. 1. p. 104. Archived from the original on 15 August 2004. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  10. Browne, David (29 June 2001). "Rooty". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  11. Costa, Maddy (22 June 2001). "The real daft punks". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  12. Mulvey, John (23 June 2001). "Basement Jaxx : Rooty". NME.
  13. Seymour, Malcolm III (18 September 2001). "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  14. "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". Q. No. 179. August 2001. p. 122.
  15. Blashill, Pat (11 June 2001). "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". Rolling Stone. No. 872. Archived from the original on 11 November 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  16. Reynolds, Simon (August 2001). "Get Ur Freak On". Spin. Vol. 17, no. 8. pp. 127–28. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  17. Christgau, Robert (29 January 2002). "Consumer Guide: Throw Your Hands in the Air". The Village Voice. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  18. "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". Billboard. 7 July 2001. Archived from the original on 3 July 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  19. Hermann, Andy. "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". PopMatters. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  20. "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 50–21". Pitchfork. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  21. "The Best 50 Albums of 2001". Q: 60–65. December 2001.
  22. Perez, Arturo. "Top 10 Albums of 2001". Kludge. Archived from the original on 22 July 2004. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  23. "BMI | Repertoire Search". repertoire.bmi.com. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  24. Rooty (liner notes). Basement Jaxx. XL Recordings. 2001. XLCD143.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. "Australiancharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  26. "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Rooty" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  27. "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Rooty" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  28. "Danishcharts.dk – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  29. "Dutchcharts.nl – Basement Jaxx – Rooty" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  30. "Basement Jaxx: Rooty" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  31. "Lescharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  32. "Offiziellecharts.de – Basement Jaxx – Rooty" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  33. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 26, 2001". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  34. "Charts.nz – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  35. "Norwegiancharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  36. "Swedishcharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  37. "Basement Jaxx | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  38. "Basement Jaxx Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  39. "The Official UK Albums Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  40. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  41. "British album certifications – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". British Phonographic Industry.
  42. "Albums turning 20 years old in 2021". Official Charts Company. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  43. "Basement Jaxx Slips 'Kash' In Pocket". Billboard. 12 August 2003. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
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