Renegades (Rage Against the Machine album)

Renegades
RAGE Red letters on a Black-Blue background for the Renegades cover.
Studio album by
Rage Against the Machine
ReleasedDecember 5, 2000 (2000-12-05)
RecordedApril–September 2000
Studio
Genre
Length51:14
LabelEpic
Producer
Rage Against the Machine chronology
The Battle of Los Angeles
(1999) 		Renegades
(2000) 		Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium
(2003)
Singles from Renegades
  1. "Renegades of Funk"
    Released: February 20, 2001
  2. "How I Could Just Kill a Man"
    Released: October 20, 2001

Renegades is the fourth and final 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 Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Afrika Bambaataa, Minor Threat, Eric B. & Rakim, The Stooges, MC5, The Rolling Stones, Cypress Hill, Devo, and others.

Renegades is RATM's only album not to 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. The album cover is a take on Robert Indiana's Love artwork series.[3]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Alternative Press[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[7]
Melodic[2]
Melody Maker[8]
Mojo[9]
NME8/10[10]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[1]
Select[11]
Spin7/10[8]

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 "generally favorable reviews".[4] 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."[5] Alternative Press described the record as "a tour through three decades of sonic recalcitrance" and "the genome map of seditious sound".[6] 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."[7]

On Renegades, Mojo has remarked: "This crisp, Rick Rubin-produced outing packs away a machine that was well-oiled to the last."[9] Kitty Empire of NME labeled the record as "a brilliant archaeology" and "a sonic history lesson".[10] 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".[11]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Original artist (date)Length
1."Microphone Fiend"Eric Barrier, Rakim AllahEric B. & Rakim (1988)5:01
2."Pistol Grip Pump"Roger Troutman, Dino Hawkins, Adrian Miller, Eric Vidal, Nick VidalVolume 10 (1994)3:18
3."Kick Out the Jams"Wayne Kramer, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Rob Tyner, Michael Davis, Dennis ThompsonMC5 (1969)3:11
4."Renegades of Funk"Lance Taylor, Arthur Baker, John Miller, John RobieAfrika Bambaataa (1983)4:35
5."Beautiful World"Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald CasaleDevo (1981)2:35
6."I'm Housin"Erick Sermon, Parish SmithEPMD (1988)4:56
7."In My Eyes"Ian MacKaye, Jeff Nelson, Brian Baker, Lyle PreslarMinor Threat (1981)2:54
8."How I Could Just Kill a Man"Louis Freese, Senen Reyes, Lawrence MuggerudCypress Hill (1991)4:04
9."The Ghost of Tom Joad"Bruce SpringsteenBruce Springsteen (1995)5:38
10."Down on the Street"Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Dave AlexanderThe Stooges (1970)3:38
11."Street Fighting Man"Mick Jagger, Keith RichardsThe Rolling Stones (1968)4:42
12."Maggie's Farm"Robert ZimmermanBob Dylan (1965)6:34
Total length:51:14
Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artist (date)Length
13."Kick Out the Jams" (Live)Kramer, Smith, Tyner, Davis, ThompsonMC5 (1969)4:31
14."How I Could Just Kill a Man" (Live, featuring B-Real and Sen Dog)Freese, Reyes, MuggerudCypress 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[edit]

  • Rage Against the Machine – co-producer, art direction
  • Zack de la Rocha – vocals
  • Tom Morello – guitar
  • Tim Commerford (credited as "tim.com") – 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[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Weekly chart performance for Renegades
Chart (2000–2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 10
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 66
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[14] 13
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 25
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 47
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[17] 33
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] 59
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 49
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 71
US Billboard 200[21] 14

Year-end charts[edit]

2000 year-end chart performance for Renegades
Chart (2000) Position
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[22] 157
2001 year-end chart performance for Renegades
Chart (2001) Position
US Billboard 200[23] 121

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Renegades
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24] Platinum 70,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Tom Moon (November 21, 2000). "Renegades | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Hooper, Jason (April 22, 2011). "Melodic Net Review: Rage Against the Machine — Renegades". Melodic. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  3. ^ Schumacher, Mary Louise. "Sculpture Milwaukee placing Robert Indiana's 'LOVE' in front of Northwestern Mutual tower". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Renegades Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. December 5, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Bush, John (December 5, 2000). "Renegades – Rage Against the Machine : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  6. ^ a b A tour through three decades of sonic recalcitrance, Renegades is the genome map of seditious sound. [#151, p.90]
  7. ^ a b Rob Brunner (December 11, 2000). "Renegades Review | Music Reviews and News". EW.com. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c "Rage Against The Machine – Renegades CD Album". Cduniverse.com. December 5, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  9. ^ a b This crisp, Rick Rubin-produced outing packs away a machine that was well-oiled to the last. [Jan. 2001, p.107]
  10. ^ a b "NME Album Reviews – Renegades". NME. November 24, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  11. ^ a b Renegades is Rage's most satisfying record since their debut. [Jan 2001, p.104]
  12. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Rage Against The Machine – Renegades". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Rage Against The Machine – Renegades" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  14. ^ "Rage Against the Machine Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  15. ^ "Rage Against The Machine: Renegades" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Rage Against The Machine – Renegades" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  17. ^ "OLiS: sales for the period 8 January 2001 – 14.01.2001". OLiS.
  18. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  19. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Rage Against The Machine – Renegades". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  20. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  21. ^ "Rage Against the Machine Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  22. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Albums of 2000". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  23. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  24. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  25. ^ "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.
  26. ^ "American album certifications – Rage against the machine – Renegades". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links[edit]

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