Customer Reviews

Renegades

5 star:		(94)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

1. Microphone fiend - Eric B and Rakim
2. Pistol grip pump - Volume 10
3. Kick out the jam - MC5
4. Renegades of funk - Afrika Bambattaa
5. Beautiful world - Devo
6. I'm housin' - EPMD
7. In my eyes - Minor Threat
8. How could I just kill a man - Cypress Hill
9. The ghost of Tom Joad - Bruce Springsteen
10. Down on the street - The Stooges
11. Street fighting man - The Rolling Stones
12. Maggies farm - Bob Dylan

...Note that the 'bonus tracks' arent Australia only. 'Maggies Farm' and 'How I Could Just Kill a Man' are also on the U.S. version(they just arent listed as tracks). Since this one is alot more dough than the U.S. version, and they are basically the same, you would want that version instead.

i've always been a fan of Rage, but this cd just blew me away! it was so sad to see zach leave the band, but what a cool way to go out!

1. Microphone Fiend: 10/10 Awesome way to start an album, this song will be in your head for days.

2. Pistol Grip Pump: 9/10 I'm not normally a huge rap fan, but zach really connects with the band on this one, great rythym!

3. Kick out the Jams: 8/10 Another incredible song, not about politics, but a great one to just bounce to at a party.

4. Renegades of Funk: 10/10 Deserves all the radio play it got, another amazing party beat, but with very meaningful lyrics if you listen to them.

5. Beautiful World: 5/10 Not one of my favorites. It's cool that the band tried to do something different, but this is just a little to different for me.

6. I'm Housin: 9/10 Excellent bass at the beginning, very mellow until the chorus, which makes you wanna yell along. One of my favorites.

7. In My Eyes: 7/10 I don't dislike this song, i just don't like it as much as all the others. But still good, don't get me wrong.

8. How I could just Kill a Man: 9/10 Amazing! They do a better job with this song than i think Cypress Hill did! Awesome beat, great lyrics, another headbanger.

9. The Ghost of Tom Joad: 10/10 A tie with microphone fiend for my favorite song of the album! meaningful lyrics, great beat and rythym, Tom Morello just outdoes himself every time.

10. Down on the street: 8/10 Just plain cool, hear it for yourself!

11. Street Fighting Man: 9/10 Another great one, luv the lyrics, zach puts the beat down like no other!

12. Maggie's Farm: 10/10 I never thought i'd see Rage cover Bob Dylan, but they do it and are great at it! Very deep and meaningful lyrics to go along with great music!

13. Kick out the Jams(live):9/10 better than the studio version, sounds more crazy and fun!

14. HOw i could just kill a man (live): 10/10 what a great way to end this great album, by bringing in cypress hill! i've never been a real cypress hill fan, but they have awesome chemistry with zach and the rest of the band!

BUY THIS CD NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Even though "Renegades," Rage Against The Machine's last album, was merely a cover album, it still solidifies the band's career and legendary status as the most active and unique protest rock band for Generation X and as innovators of the ill-fated rap-rock movement. All 12 covers -- spanning from hip-hop to punk to classic rock -- fit perfectly into Rage Against The Machine's songbook, keeping a clear message and not sacrificing one ounce of intergrity or energy. Although the rumors of frontman Zach De La Rocha's disdain for the release of the album have been blamed for the break-up of the band, "Renegades" still stands as yet another exercise in fist-pumping power and excellent and inventive musicianship. Truly, Rage Against The Machine in top form once again.

Hearing Zach spit out rhymes on hip-hop classics such as "Microphone Friend" and "How I Could Just Kill A Man" sounds only natural, but it's when the band ventures into other, less predictable territories that this album really shines. Perfect example would be their cover of Devo's "Beautiful World," a haunting, moving and surprisingly melodic commentary on the state of the world that still holds up today, just as it did in the 80's, and takes the Rage sound into a new realm. On the flipside, "Kick Out The Jams" (originally by MC5), is a brilliant merger of the signature Rage style with the fury of old-school punk. One of the more energetic tracks, this song is truly the point where the album takes shape. "In My Eyes" (originally by Minor Threat) takes on the same tone as "Kick Out The Jams," and remains another highlight, but elsewhere, on the Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen covers, "Maggie's Farm" and "The Ghost Of Tom Joad," the band shows some true influences that never really stood out before. The 12 song set is supported by two bonus live tracks: "Kick Out The Jams" and "How I Could Just Kill A Man," which just further solidify Rage's reputation as one of the best live bands of their time. The latter even features a guest appearance by B-Real and Sen Dog of Cypress Hill.

Overall, "Renegades" is a proper goodbye, that shows it's true roots and honors the band's influences with large amounts of respect and excellent musicianship. It's a shame that their last studio album wasn't original material, but this is just as good. With a Rage Against The Machine reunion on the horizon, who knows what the future will bring. But even if they don't make another album, "Renegades" still shows the band at their best, turning some classics into new anthems for the new millennium.

Reviewing RATM pretty pointless, as how many people are there out there who are interested in them but haven't actually heard them, and it seems like most people who have heard them tend to have extremely strong opinions, good or bad, and are very unlikely to be swayed by reviews. But hey, they're one of my favorite bands, it's ridiculous that I haven't gotten around to reviewing more of their work, so I better get at it.

Cover albums tend to be an odd proposition, particularly when done by metal/hard rock bands. Lots of the time, they just replicate the original song, or take it and make it sound like their original material. RATM seem to have found a middle ground here, sometimes replicating the original sound, (In My Eyes) sometimes making it into an RATM song (Maggie's Farm), and sometimes making something new. Still, most of it comes across as alt-metal, but it frequently has a different flavor than most of their previous work. This album marks the only all-out foray into rap-metal that RATM ever underwent. Sure, RATM were rap-metal innovators, to a degree, and they had some funky groove and Morello's squealing resembled scratching, but the fact of the matter is, Zack never really rapped much on the earlier albums. (And that's not all they did, anyway also contrary to popular opinion.) He just sorta barked, for the most part, more reminiscent of a hardcore punk or thrash vocalist. Here, however, the rap covers are true rap-metal songs, with more bass and groove, less emphasis on the riffs, and actual rap vocals. And, wouldn't you know it, they work damn well. Zack always was one of my favorite vocalists, and he's particularly good here, combining his intensity with some more subtlety and smoothness.

This album is not 100% consistent, and has a few throwaway tracks, but it's interesting enough as a whole, and has strong enough standout tracks to earn high marks from me. Microphone Fiend is perhaps the best song here. It all comes together, thunderous bass-lines, great, still innovative guitar work and some great vox. This basic description applies to Pistol Grip Pump, Renegades of Funk and How I Could Just Kill a Man too, though they aren't on quite the same level.(still very good to excellent, though) I'm Housin isn't as strong. It's got nice atmosphere and a good intro, but the core song isn't that exciting. Decent, but not great. Beautiful World is simple, short and atmospheric song, which doesn't necessarily go anywhere, but it works quite well, particularly in the context of the album. In My Eyes is totally great, maintaining all the rage and intensity of the original. The Ghost of Tom Joad is a real epic, as far as RATM is concerned, with a nice slow build to the enormous, crushing chorus riff. Maggie's Farm is a nice closer, a bit more of a classic Rage track. The main riff rules, as usual, and Zack gives some particularly fierce vocals, particularly when the song really picks up. As for all the tracks I didn't even mention, well they're decent, but not that memorable. Not bad, really, but not very interesting.

Buy it.

The idea of albums composed wholly of cover songs always seems to occur just as bands head toward self-destruction. Guns n' Roses had 'The Speghetti Incident': I was afraid that this album, released just after De La Rocha quit the band, would also be... well awful and sound the death-rattle of what has been for a long time one of my favorite bands.

And there is good and bad: this is a pretty well constructed album. Especially when they cover hip-hop acts, they are performing near as good as they ever have: 'How I Could Just Kill a Man' and 'Microphone Fiend' hit just as hard as the originals did; 'Street Fighting Man' is another classic. I'm still not so sure of what I think of the songs where De La Rocha sings: I'm not inclined to think that they're awful so much as I am to think that that is not where this bands strength lies. The Dylan cover of 'Maggie's Farm' is sung but just really, really good.

This is a definate album for fans of Rage to buy; hip-hop heads would benefit, too, from hearing how this BAND took their samples and scratching and sold it through using mainly just guitars and basses (Tom Morello is the man....) It makes me mad that this is probably the last album from this group: I'm not so sure B-Real from Cypress Hill could pull off the Marxist angst that made this band so powerful; and it's a shame. .... Their album covers were always flat ... as far as providing reading material to strighten out conservative bias in America's media....

Ever since I heard RATM's versions of N.W.A.'s "F___ Tha Police" and Public Enemy's "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos" on the Live And Rare import, I wanted to hear what other hip-hop classics they could transform. I wasn't dissapointed. Evidently, the band has chosen songs from artists without whom there would have never been an RATM in the first place -- everything from Dylan, the Stones, the MC5 and the Stooges to Springsteen, EPMD(!), Cypress Hill, and Afrika Bambatta. and Their versions of Eric B. & Rakim's "Microphone Fiend" and Cypress Hill's "How I Could Just Kill A Man" in particular don't dissapoint at all. I was both surprised and pleased to not only hear RATM cover Minor Threat and Iggy & The Stooges ("Down On The Street"), but to hear Zach De La Rocha SING rather than rhyme on "Kick Out The Jams" and "Beautiful World" (although I honestly didn't expect RATM to turn the latter into a ballad!). This album could have been a milestone RATM release and a hint at their musical direction... unfortunately, unless Zach changes his mind and/or they settle their differences and get back to business, it could end up being the last, at least with the original lineup. Which is too bad, because with King George II waiting in the wings to destroy the country he is supposed to serve, we need more aware, conscious artists like Rage Against The Machine and the much missed Dead Kennedys (rather than ignorant slacker bands like Korn and Godsmack) to get through the next four years. God help us all if there's still an America left in 2004, or even 2001...

This is a monster cover album. Not many bands can do an album of cover versions and do justice to many songs, but Rage make these songs their own.
Zach's crisp strong vocals are gripping as always and the band is peaking here.

Highlights are Microphone Fiend, Beautiful World, In My Eyes & Maggies Farm.

Pure heavy funk, not just for Rage fans....

To put it bluntly, this album rocks. A lot. Rage has taken some of the music that inspired them and made it their own. Too often cover songs ape the original and don't add anything. This time, the songs stay true, but are stamped with Rage's signature. There are numerous reviews for this album on this website, so I won't try to say the same things.
Defiant and fierce, Zack de la Rocha's vocals match the intensity of the music. The Springsteen and Dylan songs work the best, putting a new twist on some good songs. There really isn't a "bad" track on here. One tune I have not seen much written about is "Housin'". The guitar riff during the chorus is a monster, and I can't help but feel a rush of power and the need to groove. "Pistol Grip Pump" offers an "I dare you" vibe, even if you're not from the streets. The attitude permeates the music, and that is what is most impressive. Make no mistake, this is not a Rage Against the Machine album. It comes across as a thank-you, both to the musicians past and present, as well as the fans. Even though I can't take this cd out of my player for very long, I cannot make the leap to calling this their best cd. They put it out, but it's not "theirs." If you're looking for pure Rage, any of their other three albums will do nicely.

I always enjoy it when bands cover songs by artists that influenced them. It gives some insight into where they are coming from, and demonstrates the continuing relevance of the artists they choose to cover. This album is a wide-ranging collection of rap, rock and folk (well, folk-rock anyway) songs given dynamic, modern interpretations. Musically, the playing is top-notch, a tight band at its best. Standouts: Springsteens's "Ghost of Tom Joad", the live version of the MC5's "Kick Out The Jams" Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" and EPMD's "Pistol Grip Pump" although all the tracks are great. De La Rocha is at his fire and brimstone best on many of these songs, particularly "Tom Joad", which in this version seems like their own song. One gripe: the liner notes don't identify the original artists, leaving the less knowledgeable in the dark. Overall, an excellent album that sadly is the band's last. Even if you don't share their politics, you have to admire their musicianship, attitude and sheer ability to rock.