The Fat of the Land | ||||
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Studio album by The Prodigy | ||||
Released | 30 June 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1995–97 | |||
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Genre | ||||
Length | 56:24 | |||
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Producer | Liam Howlett | |||
The Prodigy chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Fat of the Land | ||||
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The Fat of the Land is the third studio album by English electronic music group The Prodigy. It was first released on 30 June 1997 by XL Recordings in the United Kingdom and on 1 July 1997 by Maverick Records in the United States.
The album received critical acclaim, and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide as of 2012.
The album title comes from the old English phrase 'living off the fat of the land', which means living well or being wealthy.
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, including a cover of the L7 song "Fuel My Fire" (from the 1994 album Hungry for Stink).
Released in the last week of June, the album hit #1 on the Billboard chart on 19 July 1997. It has since gone double platinum and sold 2,600,000 copies in the United States.
The album 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". "That record was for the fans," observed Liam Howlett. "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."
In 1999, The Fat of the Land entered the Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling UK album and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.