The Fat of the Land

The Fat of the Land is the third studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy, released on 30 June 1997 through XL Recordings. The album received critical acclaim and topped the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. It has sold over 10 million copies worldwide as of 2019.[6][7] It is their best-selling album.

For the short story by P. G. Wodehouse, see The Fat of the Land (short story).

The Fat of the Land
Studio album by
the Prodigy
Released30 June 1997 (1997-06-30)
Studio
Genre
Length56:21[4]
LabelXL
ProducerLiam 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
  1. "Firestarter"
    Released: 18 March 1996
  2. "Breathe"
    Released: 11 November 1996
  3. "Smack My Bitch Up"
    Released: 17 November 1997

Background, artwork and album title

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. The Fat of the Land album cover featured an image of a halloween moon crab[8] and a new logo, dropping "The" and adding an ant silhouette. The album title comes from the old English phrase 'living off the fat of the land', which means living well or being wealthy.[9]

Release

Released in the first week of July, the album hit number one on the Billboard chart on 19 July 1997. Certified double platinum on 2 December that year,[10] it sold 2,600,000 copies in the United States.[11]

In 1999, The Fat of the Land entered the Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling UK album. The album was also nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Radiohead's OK Computer.

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".[12] Liam Howlett observed, "That record was for the fans. Only brainless people get some stupid message out of it… I'm often misquoted. Some magazine said, 'Liam Howlett says his band are dangerous.' What I said was, 'For this band to survive, it has to be dangerous for us'… I wasn't saying we were dangerous because we're firestarters and we have spiky hair."[13]

Legacy
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB[14]
The Guardian[15]
Los Angeles Times[5]
The New Zealand Herald[16]
NME8/10[17]
Pitchfork7.9/10 (1999)[18]
5.9/10 (2018)[19]
Q[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
Spin7/10[22]

The album 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,[23] and was included in their "90 Best Albums of the 1990s"[24] and "50 Best Albums of 1997" lists.[25]
  • Rolling Stone included it in their "Essential Recordings of the 90s" list.[26]
  • Spin ranked it number 20 on their list of the "Top 20 Albums of the Year [1997]" list.[27]
  • Melody Maker ranked it number 13 on their list of "Albums of the Year" for 1997[28] and number 29 in their 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.[29]
  • NME ranked it number 17 in their 1997 Critics' Poll.[30]
  • In 2000 it was voted number 269 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[31]
  • Heavy metal-focused magazine Metal Hammer included it in their 2020 list of the top 10 1997 albums, citing it as "the point at which rave culture collided with metal culture".[32]

The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die,[33] and was nominated for the 1997 Mercury Music Prize.[34]

Following Flint's death on 4 March 2019, fans used the hashtag 'Firestarter4Number1' on various social media platforms to replicate the song's success by getting it to the number one spot again; which was done out of respect for Keith Flint and to raise awareness of suicide among men.[35] Shortly afterwards, "Firestarter" returned to the Billboard charts, entering number 13 on its Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart in its 26 March 2019 issue, marking the first time that this song has appeared on a dance chart of any kind.[36]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Smack My Bitch Up" (featuring Shahin Badar)
5:42
2."Breathe"
5:35
3."Diesel Power" (featuring Kool Keith)
  • Howlett
  • Thornton
4:17
4."Funky Shit"
5:16
5."Serial Thrilla"
5:11
6."Mindfields"
5:40
7."Narayan" (featuring Crispian Mills)
9:05
8."Firestarter"
4:41
9."Climbatize"
  • Howlett
  • Timothy Taylor
6:38
10."Fuel My Fire" (L7 cover; featuring Saffron)
4:19
Total length:56:27
Japan bonus tracks[37]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Molotov Bitch"Howlett4:56
12."No Man Army"
4:10
2012 Reissue Bonus EP: The Added Fat EP
No.TitleLength
1."Smack My Bitch Up" (Noisia Remix)5:53
2."Firestarter" (Alvin Risk Remix)3:18
3."Breathe" (Zeds Dead Remix)4:36
4."Mindfields" (Baauer Remix)3:51
5."Breathe" (The Glitch Mob Remix)4:25
6."Smack My Bitch Up" (Major Lazer Remix)5:05

Personnel

Cover versions

Charts

Singles
Year Song Chart Peak
position
1996 "Firestarter" UK Singles Chart[78] 1
1996 "Breathe" UK Singles Chart[78] 1
1996 "Firestarter" Australian ARIA Singles Chart[79] 22
1996 "Breathe" Australian ARIA Singles Chart[79] 2
1997 "Smack My Bitch Up" UK Singles Chart[78] 8
1997 "Smack My Bitch Up" Australian ARIA Singles Chart[79] 41
1997 "Smack My Bitch Up" Canadian Singles Chart[80] 12
1997 "Firestarter" US Billboard Hot 100[80] 30
1997 "Firestarter" US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[80] 11
1997 "Firestarter" US Modern Rock Tracks[80] 24
1997 "Breathe" US Modern Rock Tracks[80] 18
1997 "Breathe" Canadian Singles Chart[81] 65
1997 "Smack My Bitch Up" US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[80] 19
1998 "Smack My Bitch Up" US Billboard Hot 100[80] 89

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[82] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[83] Gold 25,000*
Belgium (BEA)[84] Platinum 50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[85] 3× Platinum 300,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[86] Platinum 42,426[86]
France (SNEP)[87] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[88] Gold 250,000^
Italy (FIMI)[89] Gold 50,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[90] Platinum 200,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[91] 2× Platinum 200,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[92] Platinum 15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[93] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[94] Gold 25,000^
Sweden (GLF)[95] Platinum 80,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[96] 5× Platinum 1,500,000‡
United States (RIAA)[97] 2× Platinum 2,600,000[98]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[99] 2× Platinum 2,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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