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The Fat of the Land
Studio album by The Prodigy
Released	July 1, 1997
Recorded	Earthbound Central
Genre	Techno, alternative rock, big beat, breakbeat, electronica
Length	52:21
Label	XL
Producer	Liam Howlett
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Pitchfork Media (7.9/10) link Q June 1997 Robert Christgau link
The Prodigy chronology
Music for the Jilted Generation (1994) The Fat of the Land (1997) The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One (1999)

The Fat of the Land is an album by The Prodigy. The album was released by XL Recordings on July 1, 1997 (and on June 30, 1997 in the UK) (see 1997 in music).

Contents 1 History 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 4 Chart positions 4.1 Album 4.2 Singles 5 References

The album caused some minor controversy in Britain. The video for the first single, "Firestarter", caused a minor uproar because of vocalist Keith Flint's appearance, and several people objected to the seeming misogyny of "Smack My Bitch Up", though the band maintains that it was a humorous poke at gangsta rap^{[citation needed]}.

This album entered the Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling UK album in 1999 and was also nominated for a Grammy Award.^[1] The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. This was an extremely rare feat as most electronic music albums fail to sell well in the U.S. The album has since gone double platinum selling over 2 million units in the U.S.

The album was nominated for the 1997 Mercury Music Prize.

"Mindfields" later appeared on the soundtrack of the film The Matrix, while "Smack My Bitch Up" has appeared in both Charlie's Angels and Closer. "Funky Shit" appeared in the trailers for the film Event Horizon and also played over the end credits.

"Serial Thrilla" features a sample of a riff by Skunk Anansie, "Funky Shit" features a sample from "Root Down" from the Beastie Boys album Ill Communication, "Fuel My Fire" is a cover of an L7 song from Hungry for Stink. "Smack My Bitch Up" takes a sample from an Ultramagnetic MCs song, "Give the Drummer Some", and thus the Prodigy invited Kool Keith to do the lyrics and vocals for another track, "Diesel Power." Matt Cameron of Soundgarden, who is falsely credited as "Mark" in the liner notes, is also understood to have contributed samples to the album, though it is not clear where.^[2]

In 1998 Q magazine readers voted The Fat of the Land the ninth greatest album of all time. In 2000 the same magazine placed it at number 47 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.

The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

1. "Smack My Bitch Up" (L. Howlett, M. Smith, C. Miller, K. Thornton, T. Randolph) – 5:42
2. "Breathe" (L. Howlett, K. Flint, Maxim) – 5:35
3. "Diesel Power" (L. Howlett, K. Thornton) – 4:17
4. "Funky Shit" (L. Howlett) – 5:16
5. "Serial Thrilla" (L. Howlett, K. Flint, Skin, Arran) – 5:11
6. "Mindfields" (L. Howlett) – 5:40
7. "Narayan" (L. Howlett, C. Mills) – 9:05
8. "Firestarter" (L. Howlett, K. Flint, T. Horn, A. Dudley, J. Jeczalik, P. Morley, G. Langan, K. Deal) – 4:40
9. "Climbatize" (L. Howlett) – 6:36
10. "Fuel My Fire" (D.J. Sparks, Walsh, James, Knight) – 4:19
11. "Molotov Bitch" (Japan bonus track) – 4:54
12. "No Man Army" (Japan bonus track) – 4:45

• Christian Ammann – photography
• Shahin Badar – vocals
• Jim Davies (Pitchshifter) – guitar
• Keith Flint – vocals
• Jake Holloway – illustrations
• Liam Howlett – producer, art direction, mixing
• Alex Jenkins – art direction, design, photography
• Kool Keith – vocals
• Maxim – vocals
• Crispian Mills (Kula Shaker) – vocals
• Neil McLellan – engineer
• Pat Pope – photography
• Saffron (Republica) – vocals
• Matt Cameron (Soundgarden) – drums [3]
• Alex Scaglia – photography
• Lou Smith – photography
• Terry Whittaker – photography
• Konrad Wothe – photography

Chart (1997)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart	1
Australian ARIA Albums Chart	1
U.S. Billboard 200	1
Canadian Albums Chart	1

Year	Song	Chart	Peak position
1996	"Firestarter"	UK Singles Chart	1
1996	"Breathe"	UK Singles Chart	1
1996	"Firestarter"	Australian ARIA Singles Chart	22
1996	"Breathe"	Australian ARIA Singles Chart	2
1997	"Smack My Bitch Up"	UK Singles Chart	8
1997	"Smack My Bitch Up"	Australian ARIA Singles Chart	41
1997	"Smack My Bitch Up"	Canadian Singles Chart	12
1997	"Firestarter"	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	30
1997	"Firestarter"	U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	11
1997	"Firestarter"	U.S. Modern Rock Tracks	24
1997	"Breathe	U.S. Modern Rock Tracks	18
1997	"Smack My Bitch Up"	U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	19

v • d • e The Prodigy
Liam Howlett · Keith Flint · Maxim Sharky · Leeroy Thornhill
Albums	Experience · Music for the Jilted Generation · The Fat of the Land · The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One · Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned · Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005
Singles	"What Evil Lurks" · "Charly" · "Everybody in the Place" · "Fire/Jericho" · "Out of Space" · "Wind It Up (Rewound)" · "One Love" · "No Good (Start the Dance)" · "Voodoo People" · "Poison" · "Firestarter" · "Breathe" · "Smack My Bitch Up" · "Baby's Got a Temper" · "Girls/Memphis Bells" · "Girls" · "Hotride" · "Spitfire" · "Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix)/Out of Space (Audio Bullys Remix)"
Related articles	Discography

Preceded by Spice by Spice Girls

Billboard 200 Number-one album July 19, 1997

Succeeded by Men in Black — The Album by Soundtrack