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The Gift of Game

Summary

The Gift of Game is the debut studio album by American band Crazy Town. It was released on November 9, 1999, in the U.S. by Columbia Records. The album yielded the band its biggest hit to date with "Butterfly" which reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100[6] on March 24, 2001.

The Gift of Game
Studio album by
Crazy Town
ReleasedNovember 9, 1999 (1999-11-09) (US)
Recorded1999
StudioWestlake (Los Angeles)
Genre
Length45:17
LabelColumbia
ProducerJosh Abraham
Crazy Town chronology
The Gift of Game
(1999) 		Darkhorse
(2002)
Singles from The Gift of Game
  1. "Toxic"
    Released: September 9, 1999
  2. "Darkside"
    Released: June 10, 2000
  3. "Butterfly"
    Released: February 20, 2001 (physical release)[5]
  4. "Revolving Door"
    Released: August 14, 2001

Worldwide the album sold more than 2.5 million units,[7] with more than 1.6 million in the US alone.[8]

Background edit

The band refused to cede its official website to Columbia Records (as per a contract clause), so the record label barred the group from advertising it on the album's artwork.[9] The band circumvented the ban by adding a last-minute outro to the album, titled after the website (www.crazytown.com), and in which the URL is repeating multiple times.[9]

The girl licking the lollipop on the cover of the album is a fictional character created by Crazy Town, known as "Little Lolita". Both the album title and the picture of Little Lolita are based on lyrics from the song "Lollipop Porn". The album cover was designed by co-lead singer Shifty Shellshock's father and uncle.[10] A song titled "Lolita" later appeared on Shellshock's solo album Happy Love Sick and her image reappears on Crazy Town's third album The Brimstone Sluggers.

Reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [4]
Kerrang!     [11]
NME3/10[2]
Panorama      [12]
Wall of Sound65/100[13]

Steve Huey at AllMusic described the album as "similar to many other rap-inflected alternative metal albums in that it concentrates on sound over structure, creating macho, aggressive grooves with grinding, noisily textured guitars and the underlying feel of squared-off hip-hop beats". Huey argued that despite signs of Limp Bizkit's "juvenile humor", the album "shows promise".[4] April Long of NME criticized the album for its generic guitar riffs, and containing "some of the most Neanderthal lyrics ever written".[2]

About the album's lyrics, Shifty Shellshock said: "We're just having a good time. We're not like political or anything. I can be very sarcastic just like a little punk, we talk a lot of trash. We have some points, like 'learn from your mistakes', 'check yourself', you know, 'don't get taken advantage of'. Real simple things, nothing too overwhelming".[14]

Track listing edit

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro"Shifty Shellshock, Doug Miller0:25
2."Toxic"Shellshock, Miller, Bret Mazur2:48
3."Think Fast" (featuring Dirty Unit)Shellshock, Mazur, Miller, Rust Epique, Torshawn Roland, Percy Washington3:52
4."Darkside"Shellshock, Mazur3:52
5."Black Cloud" (featuring Jay Gordon)Shellshock, Mazur, Miller, Epique, Gordon, Bernard Williams5:02
6."Butterfly" (sampled Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Pretty Little Ditty")Shellshock, Mazur, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, John Frusciante3:36
7."Only When I'm Drunk" (Tha Alkaholiks cover)Tash, J-Ro, E-Swift2:47
8."Hollywood Babylon" (featuring Mad Lion)Shellshock, Mazur, Mad Lion4:23
9."Face the Music"Shellshock, Mazur3:24
10."Lollipop Porn"Shellshock, Mazur, Nicole Lorenzo3:54
11."Revolving Door"Shellshock, Mazur3:40
12."Players (Only Love You When They're Playing)" (featuring Jenny Sipprelle)Shellshock, Mazur, Williams, Anthony Valli4:13
13."B-Boy 2000" (featuring KRS-One)Shellshock, Mazur, KRS-One, Williams, Valli, Miller, Epique4:27
14."Outro www.crazytown.com" 1:19
32."Untitled Hidden Track" 0:50
  • Tracks 15 to 31 are blank, and are each 5 seconds in length.

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[41] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[42] Platinum 100,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[43] Gold 20,933[43]
Germany (BVMI)[44] Gold 150,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[45] Gold 7,500^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[46] Gold 10,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[47] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[48] Gold 100,000*
United States (RIAA)[49] Platinum 1,000,000^ / 1,600,000[8]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Singles edit

Year Single Peak chart positions
US
[50] 		US
Alt.
[50] 		US
Main.
[50] 		AUS
[51] 		NLD
[52] 		NZL
[53] 		FIN
[54] 		GER
[55] 		SWI
[56] 		UK
[57] 		SWE
[58] 		NOR
[59]
1999 "Toxic" — — — — — — — — — — — —
2000 "Darkside" — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Butterfly" 1 1 21 4 8 2 2 1 1 3 2 1
2001 "Revolving Door" — — — 76[60] 71 — 19 26 43 23 46 —
"—" denotes a single that didn't chart

Personnel edit

Crazy Town

Additional personnel

  • Troy Van Leeuwen – guitars on "Darkside"
  • Jay Gordon – keyboards on "Darkside", refrain in "Black Cloud"
  • Stephen Costantino – guitars on "Revolving Door" and "Hollywood Babylon"
  • KRS-One

References edit

  1. ^ "Winging It: a profile on the band Crazy Town". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Long, April (April 13, 2001). "Crazy Town : The Gift Of Game". NME. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  3. ^ Kitts, Jeff; Tolinski, Brad (2002). Guitar World Presents Nu-metal. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780634032875. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c The Gift of Game at AllMusic. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  5. ^ Pietroluongo, Sylvio (February 17, 2001). "Hot 100 Spotlight" (PDF). Billboard.
  6. ^ "Crazy Town - Bio". MTV. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  7. ^ "Crazytown - Darkhorse". Melodic. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Crazy Town Rides 'Darkhorse' On The Road". Billboard. December 20, 2002. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Band, Label Feud Over Web Site an overstatement, if not by much". The Los Angeles Times. November 3, 1999. Retrieved July 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Edwards, Gavin (March 15, 2001). "Q&A: Shifty Shellshock of Crazy Town". Rolling Stone. No. 864. p. 35.
  11. ^ Travers, Paul (February 26, 2000). "Albums". Kerrang!. No. 790. EMAP. p. 45.
  12. ^ "The Gift of Game – Limp Bizkit: Se Opp!". panorama.no. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  13. ^ Gulla, Bob. "Wall of Sound Review: The Gift of Game". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on April 5, 2001. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  14. ^ "Crazy Town". Ink 19. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022.
  15. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  16. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  17. ^ "Ultratop.be – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  19. ^ "Crazy Town Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  20. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  21. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  22. ^ "Eurochart Top 100 Albums - May 19, 2001" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18, no. 21. May 19, 2001. p. 14. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  23. ^ "Crazy Town: The Gift Of Game" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  24. ^ "Lescharts.com – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  26. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2001. 25. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  27. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Crazy Town". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  28. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  29. ^ "Charts.nz – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  30. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Crazy Town – The Gift Of Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  32. ^ "Crazy Town | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  33. ^ "Crazy Town Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  34. ^ "Crazy Town Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  35. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 2001". austriancharts.at. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  36. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Albums of 2001 (based on sales)". Jam!. Archived from the original on December 12, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  37. ^ "European Top 100 Albums 2001" (PDF). Music & Media. December 22, 2001. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  38. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  39. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2001". hitparade.ch. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  40. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  41. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  42. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Crazy Town – The Gift of Game". Music Canada. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  43. ^ a b "Crazy Town" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  44. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Crazy Town; 'The Gift of Game')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  45. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Crazy Town – The Gift of Game". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  46. ^ "Norwegian album certifications – Crazy Town – The Gift of Game" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  47. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('The Gift of Game')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  48. ^ "British album certifications – Crazy Town – The Gift of Game". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  49. ^ "American album certifications – Crazy Town – The Gift of Game". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  50. ^ a b c "Artist Chart History – singles". Billboard charts. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  51. ^ Australian Singles Charting
  52. ^ Dutch Singles Charting
  53. ^ New Zealand Singles Charting
  54. ^ Finnish Singles Charting
  55. ^ "German Singles Charting". Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  56. ^ Swiss Singles Charting
  57. ^ UK Charting Search for: "Crazy Town"
  58. ^ Swedish Charts – Crazy Town
  59. ^ Norway Charts – Crazy Town
  60. ^ "ARIA Report Issue 597 – Week commencing 6th August 2001" (PDF). Australian Web Archive. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2002. Retrieved April 13, 2013.

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