Renegades (Rage Against the Machine album)
Renegades is the fourth and most recent studio album by American rock band Rage Against the Machine (RATM), released on December 5, 2000 by Epic Records, almost two months after their first breakup. The album consists of covers of songs by artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Afrika Bambaataa, Minor Threat, Eric B. & Rakim, The Stooges, MC5, The Rolling Stones, Cypress Hill and Devo.
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| Released | December 5, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | April–September 2000 | |||
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| Length | 51:14 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
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Renegades is RATM's only album to not be accompanied by a supporting tour. Shortly after the release of the album, three of the four band members (minus vocalist Zack de la Rocha) formed a new band, Audioslave, with former Soundgarden vocalist/guitarist Chris Cornell. RATM did, however, release the live album Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in 2003, consisting of their final two concerts before their initial break-up.
The album achieved platinum status a little over a month after its initial release. It’s also the most recent album by the band as of 2021.
Artwork
The album's cover art is a parody of the pop art work LOVE by Robert Indiana, with the word "love" replaced with "rage" and the letter G at the bottom left corner slanted (in the original sculpture, the slanted letter O is at the top right corner). The album shipped with four different versions of the cover: either red lettering with black and either blue or green background, or with the red and black switched. The album's packaging also includes a poem by Josh Koppel. The artwork ends with a photograph of an American one dollar bill with the message "You are not a slave" written on the back.
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 78/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Alternative Press | [4] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[5] |
| Melody Maker |  [6] |
| Mojo | [7] |
| NME | 8/10[8] |
| Q | [6] |
| Rolling Stone | [1] |
| Select | [9] |
| Spin | 7/10[6] |
Renegades received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 78 based on 26 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."[2] AllMusic critic John Bush wrote that the record "works well with just a bare few exceptions, in part because Rage Against the Machine is both smart enough to change very little and talented enough to make the songs its own."[3] Alternative Press described the record as "a tour through three decades of sonic recalcitrance" and "the genome map of seditious sound."[4] Entertainment Weekly's Rob Brunner described the record's sound as "a remarkably diverse, if not exactly surprising, mix of heavy rock, hip hop and protest music," while remarking that it "would still be a raging success even if this disc does nothing but introduce a new generation to the joys of Bob Dylan and Minor Threat."[5]
On Renegades, Mojo has remarked: "This crisp, Rick Rubin-produced outing packs away a machine that was well-oiled to the last."[7] Kitty Empire of NME labeled the record as "a brilliant archaeology" and "a sonic history lesson".[8] Rolling Stone critic Tom Moon believed that the band executed "diverse tracks" such as Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad", the Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man", Afrika Bambaataa's "Renegades of Funk" and Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" with "the roaring, fearless spirit that’s been missing in action since these songs were new,"[1] while Select regarded it as the band's "most satisfying record since their debut."[9]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original artist (date) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Kick Out the Jams" (Live) | Kramer, Smith, Tyner, Davis, Thompson | MC5 (1969) | 4:31 |
| 14. | "How I Could Just Kill a Man" (Live, featuring B-Real and Sen Dog) | Freese, Reyes, Muggerud | Cypress Hill (1991) | 4:30 |
Best Buy limited edition Limited edition albums sold at Best Buy contained a bonus disc with live recordings of "People of the Sun" and "No Shelter". The songs were later released as part of Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in 2003, as was "Kick Out the Jams (live)".
Personnel
- Rage Against the Machine – co-producer, art direction
- Zack de la Rocha – vocals
- Tom Morello – guitar
- Tim Commerford – bass/backing vocals
- Brad Wilk – drums
- Sen Dog – vocals on the live version of "How I Could Just Kill a Man"
- B-Real – vocals on the live version of "How I Could Just Kill a Man"
- Rick Rubin – producer
- Brendan O'Brien – producer of "The Ghost of Tom Joad"
- Jim Scott – engineer
- David Schiffman – engineer
- Rich Costey – mixing
- D. Sardy – mixing of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and "Street Fighting Man"
- Katie Teasdale – assistant engineer
- Darren Mora – assistant engineer
- Matt Marin – assistant engineer
- Mike Scotella – assistant engineer
- Geoof Walcha – assistant engineer
- Rich Veltrop – assistant engineer
- Greg Fidelman – digital editing
- Mark Moreau – digital editing
- Aimee Macauley – art director
- Lindsay Chase – production coordination
- Jake Sexton – political coordinator
- Jake Koppell – inside booklet
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200[10] | 14 |
| Canadian Albums Chart[10] | 13 |
| Polish Albums Chart[11] | 33 |
| UK Albums Chart [12] | 71 |
| Top Internet Albums | 14 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Renegades of Funk" | Modern Rock Tracks | 9 |
| 2000 | "Renegades of Funk" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 19 |
| 2001 | "How I Could Just Kill a Man" | Modern Rock Tracks | 37 |
| 2001 | "How I Could Just Kill a Man" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 39 |
References
- Tom Moon (November 21, 2000). "Renegades | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- "Renegades Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. December 5, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- Bush, John (December 5, 2000). "Renegades – Rage Against the Machine : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- A tour through three decades of sonic recalcitrance, Renegades is the genome map of seditious sound. [#151, p.90]
- Rob Brunner (December 11, 2000). "Renegades Review | Music Reviews and News". EW.com. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- "Rage Against The Machine – Renegades CD Album". Cduniverse.com. December 5, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- This crisp, Rick Rubin-produced outing packs away a machine that was well-oiled to the last. [Jan. 2001, p.107]
- "NME Album Reviews – Renegades". NME. November 24, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- Renegades is Rage's most satisfying record since their debut. [Jan 2001, p.104]
- "Renegades – Rage Against the Machine". Billboard.com
- "OLiS: sales for the period 8 January 2001 – 14.01.2001". OLiS.
- "Rage Against the Machine". Official Charts. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020.
- "British album certifications – Rage against the machine – Renegades". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Renegades in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "American album certifications – Rage against the machine – Renegades". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
