Rooty

Rooty
Studio album by Basement Jaxx
Released 25 June 2001 (2001-06-25)
Genre
Length 42:43
Label
Producer
  • Felix Buxton
  • Simon Ratcliffe
Basement Jaxx chronology
Remedy
(1999)		 Rooty
(2001)		 Kish Kash
(2003)
Singles from Rooty
  1. "Romeo"
    Released: 4 June 2001
  2. "Jus 1 Kiss"
    Released: 24 September 2001
  3. "Where's Your Head At"
    Released: 26 November 2001
  4. "Get Me Off"
    Released: 17 June 2002
  5. "Do Your Thing"
    Released: 2 December 2003 (Australia)

Rooty is the second studio album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, released in June 2001 by record labels XL and Astralwerks in the UK and US respectively.

Like its predecessor Remedy, Rooty was well-received critically and commercially. Five singles were released from the album: "Romeo", "Jus 1 Kiss", "Where's Your Head At", "Get Me Off" and the Australia-only single "Do Your Thing".

Background

Concept

The name of the album is taken from Basement Jaxx's regular club event held at a small bar in Brixton. "We've been doing the Rooty nights for a year,' says Felix Buxton. 'It's not geared to one specific vibe. Musically, we made it so that it wasn't just for cokeheads who wanted pounding beats all night. That gave us musical freedom." As the title for the album, it was explained by the duo as "raw" and "soulful," "It's to the root, to the essence. It's about being happy about things that don't fit in. About things that are a bit different. That's why the album's got an albino gorilla on the cover." That's Basement Jaxx and their Rooty pub crew: sticking to the carpet but reaching for the stars.[2]

Composition

Upon expressing admiration for the Basement Jaxx's debut album Remedy, Janet Jackson contacted the duo to collaborate.[3] Jackson was offered to record the Jaxx's single "Get Me Off" for the album, though declined.[4][5] "She told us she loved our stuff", recalls Buxton, "but she thought we were Zero 7. We wished her every success in hooking up with a British dance duo eventually and said, ‘Cheerio, Celine.'"[6]

Content

The cover art features Snowflake, the world's only known albino gorilla. His popularity was enhanced due to this appearance.[7]

Release

The album's first single, "Romeo", was released on 4 June 2001.

Rooty was released on 25 June 2001. Further singles released from the album were "Jus 1 Kiss", on 24 September, "Where's Your Head At", on 26 November, "Get Me Off", on 17 June 2002, and "Do Your Thing" in Australia only, on 2 December 2003.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Blender[10]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[11]
The Guardian[12]
NME8/10[13]
Pitchfork3.8/10[14]
Q[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
Spin8/10[17]
The Village VoiceA−[18]

Rooty has been well received by critics. John Bush of AllMusic gave it 5 out of 5 stars, calling it "so raw you can't believe they spent over an hour per track, so perfect you're glad they stopped noodling about long before most producers would, and so poppy they should get picked up by commercial radio in America as well as the rest of the world".[9] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave it an A– grade and called the album "where heart and feet meet and lovingly coexist".[11] Robert Christgau of Village Voice gave it the same grade, writing "no catchier collection of jingles has come to my attention since Steve Miller made his mint off jet airliners".[18] Billboard said the album "revels in exploiting rhythms that shouldn't work—but definitely do".[19] PopMatters's Andy Hermann was mixed, calling the album "either a brilliantly innovative record, or an unlistenable mess, depending on your point of view".[20]

Pitchfork's initial opinion on the album, however, was generally negative. While calling band members Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe "two of the weirdest, most innovative and talented house producers on the scene", reviewer Malcolm Seymour III's wrote that "[Basement Jaxx] have taken kitsch too far", noting that the music is "often so tacky that it's impossible to stomach."[14] However, Pitchfork would later name Rooty the 33rd best album of the 2000s.[21]

Q listed Rooty as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.[22] Kludge ranked it at number three on their list of top 10 albums of 2001.[23]

Track listing

All tracks written by Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe, except as indicated. 

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Romeo"    3:36
2. "Breakaway" (vocals by Felix)  3:22
3. "S.F.M."    2:39
4. "Kissalude"  
  • Buxton
  • Ratcliffe
  • Alma Duah
 0:20
5. "Jus 1 Kiss" (vocals by Felix)  4:24
6. "Broken Dreams"    3:07
7. "I Want U"    3:26
8. "Get Me Off"    4:49
9. "Where's Your Head At"    4:43
10. "Freakalude"    0:29
11. "Crazy Girl" (vocals by Felix)  3:20
12. "Do Your Thing"    4:41
13. "All I Know" (vocals by Felix)  3:47
Total length:
 42:43

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 15
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 41
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[27] 33
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[28] 59
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[29] 38
French Albums (SNEP)[30] 92
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31] 100
Irish Albums (IRMA)[32] 15
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[33] 15
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[34] 2
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 48
UK Albums (OCC)[36] 5
US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[37] 5

References

  1. ↑ Hermann, Andy. "Basement Jaxx: Rooty | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  2. ↑ McLean, Craig (June 25, 2001). "All right Jaxx". Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Janet Jackson on MTV TRL Pt1 - YouTube". YouTube. July 2000. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "All right Jaxx - Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. 25 June 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "New Jaxx Swing: Basement Jaxx". Inthemix.com.au. July 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "The pop idol's pop idols". The Scotsman. November 16, 2003. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  7. ↑ Woollaston, Victoria (June 19, 2013). "The world's only albino gorilla was the result of INCEST - and his lack of colour meant he died from skin cancer, claim scientists". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Reviews for Rooty by Basement Jaxx". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  9. 1 2 Bush, John. "Rooty – Basement Jaxx". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  10. ↑ Matos, Michaelangelo (June–July 2001). "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". Blender (1): 104. Archived from the original on 15 August 2004. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  11. 1 2 Browne, David (29 June 2001). "Rooty". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  12. ↑ Costa, Maddy (22 June 2001). "The real daft punks". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". NME: 38. 23 June 2001.
  14. 1 2 Seymour III, Malcolm (18 September 2001). "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  15. ↑ "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". Q (179): 122. August 2001.
  16. ↑ Blashill, Pat (11 June 2001). "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". Rolling Stone (872). Archived from the original on 11 November 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  17. ↑ Reynolds, Simon (August 2001). "Get Ur Freak On". Spin. 17 (8): 127–28. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  18. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (29 January 2002). "Consumer Guide: Throw Your Hands in the Air". The Village Voice. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  19. ↑ "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". Billboard. 7 July 2001. Archived from the original on 3 July 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  20. ↑ Hermann, Andy. "Basement Jaxx: Rooty". PopMatters. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  21. ↑ "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 50-21". Pitchfork. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  22. ↑ "The Best 50 Albums of 2001". Q: 60–65. December 2001.
  23. ↑ Perez, Arturo. "Top 10 Albums of 2001". Kludge. Archived from the original on 22 July 2004. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  25. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Rooty" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Rooty" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  27. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  28. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Basement Jaxx – Rooty" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  29. ↑ "Basement Jaxx: Rooty" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  30. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  31. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Basement Jaxx – Rooty" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  32. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 26, 2001". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  33. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  34. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  35. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Basement Jaxx – Rooty". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  36. ↑ "Basement Jaxx | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  37. ↑ "Basement Jaxx – Chart history" Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums for Basement Jaxx. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
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