The Richest Man in Babylon (album)
The Richest Man in Babylon is the third studio album by American electronic music duo Thievery Corporation. It was first released on September 30, 2002 in Belgium and on October 1, 2002 in the United States by ESL Music. The album features contributions from Emiliana Torrini, LouLou, Pam Bricker, and Notch, and features both electronic and live instrumentation.[1] The album combines influences such as dub, jazz, dance music, rap, reggae, and Indian music, and incorporates protest music into the group's sound. A remix/dub version of the album was released in 2004 titled Babylon Rewound featuring the unreleased track "Truth And Rights".
The Richest Man in Babylon | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 30, 2002 | |||
Recorded | December 2000 – August 2002 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 56:58 | |||
Label | ESL | |||
Producer |
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Thievery Corporation chronology | ||||
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Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Pitchfork | 3.8/10 [3] |
Rolling Stone | [4] |
The critical reception was mixed. BBC's Collective magazine said that "This, their third 'proper' album, is certainly their most complete work to date, and arguably the first to be presented as one complete, cohesive whole. [... T]his ranks as Thievery Corporation's finest yet."[5] AllMusic's John Bush felt that the album "doesn't have the hooks or the production finesse to compete with The Mirror Conspiracy" but that "a few tracks on the backside do plow new ground, thanks in part to new guests".[2] Among fans the album is popular, peaking at number 9 on Billboard's Independent Albums list on October 19, 2002[6] and number 2 on the Dance/Electronic Albums list on October 26, 2002.[6] A month after the album was released, The Richest Man in Babylon had 25,000 sales in the United States.[7]
Track listing
No. | Title | Featuring | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Heaven's Gonna Burn Your Eyes" | Emilíana Torrini (vocals) | 4:10 |
2. | "Facing East" | Pam Bricker (vocals) Max Sadeghi (Santur) | 3:43 |
3. | "The Outernationalist" | Ras Pidow (vocals) | 3:30 |
4. | "Interlude" | 1:21 | |
5. | "Omid (Hope)" | LouLou Ghelichkhani (vocals) | 3:48 |
6. | "All That We Perceive" | Pam Bricker (vocals) | 3:46 |
7. | "Un Simple Histoire (A Simple Story)" | LouLou Ghelichkhani (vocals) | 3:45 |
8. | "Meu Destino (My Destiny)" | Patrick dos Santos (vocals) | 3:29 |
9. | "Exilio (Exile)" | Verny Varela (vocals & flute) | 3:03 |
10. | "From Creation" | 4:19 | |
11. | "The Richest Man in Babylon" | Notch | 3:50 |
12. | "Liberation Front" | 5:04 | |
13. | "The State of the Union" | Sleepy Wonder and Shinehead (vocals) | 4:28 |
14. | "Until the Morning" | Emilíana Torrini (vocals) | 3:56 |
15. | "Resolution" | 4:46 |
Charts
Chart (2002) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] | 40 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] | 45 |
French Albums (SNEP)[10] | 43 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] | 42 |
Italian Albums (FIMI)[12] | 22 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13] | 9 |
UK Albums (OCC)[14] | 139 |
US Billboard 200[15] | 150 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[16] | 9 |
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[17] | 2 |
Release history
Region | Release date |
---|---|
Belgium | September 30, 2002 |
United States | October 1, 2002 |
Australia | 2002 |
France | 2002 |
Russia | 2002 |
References
- The Richest Man In Babylon. Amazon.com. 2002. Last accessed 14 Dec 2011.
- The Richest Man in Babylon:Thievery Corporation. AllMusic. 2002. Last accessed December 14, 2011.
- Cooper, Paul (October 10, 2002). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
- Lechner, Ernesto (September 19, 2002). "The Richest Man in Babylon (Music release)". Rolling Stone. No. 905. p. 98.
- thievery corporation - the richest man in babylon. Collective (BBC). April 10, 2003. Last accessed December 14, 2011.
- The Richest Man in Babylon - Thievery...: 2002. Billboard. 2002. Last accessed December 14, 2011.
- K., M. (December 12, 2002). "Thievery Corporation". Rolling Stone. No. 911. p. 32.
- "Australiancharts.com – Thievery Corporation – The Richest Man in Babylon". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "Austriancharts.at – Thievery Corporation – The Richest Man in Babylon" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "Lescharts.com – Thievery Corporation – The Richest Man in Babylon". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Thievery Corporation – The Richest Man in Babylon" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "Italiancharts.com – Thievery Corporation – The Richest Man in Babylon". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "Charts.nz – Thievery Corporation – The Richest Man in Babylon". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "Chart Log UK 1994–2010: DJ T – Tzant". zobbel.de. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "Thievery Corporation Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "Thievery Corporation Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "Thievery Corporation Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2021.