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159 of 168 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anger is a gift, April 27, 2002
Someone once confessed their envy of Jimmy Page because he'd written *all* the good guitar riffs, leaving nothing for the rest of us. Well, Rage Against The Machine appears to have stumbled on Jimmy's secret stash of leftovers. But calling these riffs leftovers is doing them an injustice. Each is a behemoth of intensity and groove, while being surprisingly simple and eminently catchy. They form a solid foundation for each song, easily allowing the rest of the band to fall into lock-step formation when needed, but also allowing ample room for variation. And each song is made up of at least four or five of them, all as strong as the first, to create epic five-minute-plus "agit-pop" tunes.When he's not anchoring the band with those regal riffs, Tom Morello is coaxing previously unheard of sounds from his Frankenstein guitar. "No samples, keyboards or synthesizers used in the making of this recording," claims the liner notes, and it's for Morello's offbeat work that this claim becomes necessary. Every fill and solo is unique, almost anti-guitar, in their sound. 'Bullet in the Head's solo begins with some echo-filled, mechanical sounding distortion. The solo on 'Know Your Enemy' could have been produced by a malfunctioning tape machine. 'Wake-Up' features a solo bathed in extreme echo and Frampton-style talk-boxing. Even his more conventional solos are enormous. 'Settle for Nothing' offers up some some languid jazz lines. 'Freedom' is a fine example of how tasty his playing can be when it's not trying to overwhelm you. And if you love Public Enemy-style sirens with your hip-hop, check out the variations Morello puts on that convention scattered throughout the album (most notably in his rhythm work on 'Fistful of Steel'). Bassist Timmy C gets several moments to shine as well. He slaps and pops the addictive intro to "Take the Power Back". Then, a lazy, loping 4-note theme serves as the delicate opening to "Settle for Nothing", before the heavens cave in ("Death is on my side... Suicide!"). On "Bullet in the Head", he provides a 7-note riff that's funky and confrontational (4-notes... 7-notes... See what I mean about simple and intense?). Drummer Brad Wilk combines the skin-pounding intensity of a Dave Grohl, with the Caucasian funkiness of the Chili Peppers Chad Smith, and the hardcore speed of Faith No More's Mike Bordin. He is much more versatile than you'd think, sprightly riding the high-hat in one verse, crashing the cymbals in the next, and then shimmering through with a snare roll. Wilk's work on this album, to this day, is my favourite to air-drum to. Frontman Zack de la Rocha may be focused (obsessed?) with social and racial injustice, so much so that those without his same political bent may feel excluded. But he's also aware enough of the power of a catchy rhyme to draw in those not in the choir, that he lays them out end to end through out the album ("Another funky radical bombtrack started as a sketch in my notebook / But now dope hooks make punks take another look" he raps on 'Bombtrack', essentially making this point for me). Zack raps with such passion and verve, and he has such a talent for succinct sloganeering, that he becomes the perfect frontman for this band of agitproppers. Witness his lyrics to 'Killing in the Name' (still my favourite track). The song starts with a distorted, almost Wagnerian, guitar overture. It settles into a quiet bass-guitar and cowbell section duet. And then the riff comes in. Finally, Zack begins to chant. And chant. And chant. He doesn't attempt to tell a story here, but instead just spouts slogan after slogan ("Now you do what they told ya", "F--- you I won't do what you tell me", etc.), repeating each over and over. It's the perfect song for a rowdy group of teenage boys to scream to. Which I suppose explains its enduring popularity. I've owned this album since 1992, when I was 17 years old. That year, I saw the Rage boys live in concert twice, and could have gone back for more. If a CD could show wear, like an old LP could, then I would have worn this one out by 1993. It rarely left my stereo that first year. Now, usually when one's love affair with an album burns so brightly at the outset, it's liable to fade quickly. That's hasn't happened yet here. I can still play this one all the way through, two or three times a day, for a solid week. And it still makes me want to move, and yell, and scream, and think. Now *that* is staying power.
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38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Early 90s classic, April 11, 2005
Rage Against the Machine were definitely one of the best bands from the 1990s, and their debut remains their strongest effort. When RATM made it big in the early 90s, they were a breath of fresh air. They borrowed sounds and styles from other bands, like the MC5 and Led Zeppelin, but were also distinctly groundbreaking and original.
First and foremost, they were just such a killer band. Drummer Brad Wilk and bass player Timmy G were an exciting and dynamic rhythm section. Guitarist Tom Morello came up with some of rock's best riffs and solos in years. Singer Zack De La Rocha singing/rapping was intense and urgent, and his lyrics were intelligent and insightful, yet never simplistic or pretentious. The lyrics will make you think, will make you question your life and your values, and societal values and norms. The band sounds raw and intense, yet the production is clean and crisp, so it's easily assessable.
Rage Against the Machine is band that should appeal to all different types of people. There's definitely an element of rap/hip-hop, punk, as well as classic rock. This album never lets up. From the opening "Bombtrack" to the closing "Freedom," every song is intense, and has an infectious groove and catchy riff. It's really impossible to choose any standout, because really the entire CD is quite excellent.
Rage Against the Machine's other two albums "Evil Empire," "The Battle For Los Angeles," and the cover album "Renagades" are also quite good, but I'd start off with the classic debut. Easily their best album and one of the decade's best CDs.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rage's most essential album, July 8, 2002
This is, and always will be, considered Rage Against the Machine's most important work. Rage's signature sound, featuring Tom Morello's belligerent, aggressive guitar riffs and turntable-esque noise, Tim Bob's funky bass, and Zack de la Rocha's vitriolic raps, is fully defined on this album. Their two subsequent albums, although excellent in their own right, do little to improve upon their debut's formula. Unlike most great bands, Rage was fully grown even in its infancy, and was signed after doing only 10 power-packed shows in Los Angeles. Although they presented fresh, worthy material, there was little room for improvement to the band's style, and very little experimentation would have been possible without fundamentally altering the band's sound. This album, therefore, not only has the advantage of being their first album, but it also has the most start to finish quality. Every tune is a highly explosive ball of energy, none of which is clearly superior to any of the others. Rage Against the Machine also plays the most successful rock-rap fusion ever put on tape. In the current rap-metal feeding frenzy, most bands have opted to mimic Korn (the other band whose work is often referred to as the most representative rap-rock fusion), who rarely sounds anything like rap, although their massive beats are infused with a rap-inspired appreciation for the visceral primacy of rhythm and sound. Also, unlike bands like Limp Bizkit and Incubus, Rage Against the Machine do not cop-out by including a DJ. You may not believe it when you listen to it, but all of the turntable-esque noises that accompany Zack's raps are created by Tom Morello's deft manipulation of his instrument (this information is prominently displayed in all of their albums). Also, Zack almost always raps and very rarely sings, and his street-smart and politically aware lyrics come closer to convincing hip-hop subject matter than anything other bands have written. Other bands have missed the fact that rhymes, lyrics, and credibility are more fundamental to rap than its sonics (although rap's "beat" is arguably more important to its white audience - the primary demographic for rap-rock). Limp Bizkit have incorporated mainstream rap's overconfident swagger, and this may sell albums, but its flaky, commerical character makes its impact on rap-rock's legitimacy as a subgenre marginal compared to Rage's. Therefore, Rage have successfully fused what is essential about both rock and rap into a unique form that is worthy of the title "fusion," and their work is probably respected by musicians of both genres more equally than any other band who has attempted this risky enterprise. That Rage organized a tour with Wu-Tang for a brief period is suggestive of this (note: Durst's guest appearances on his albums were probably more indicative of the size of his band's pocket book than genuine artistic respect. And Korn's alliance with Ice Cube. . . let's not even go there).
Unfortunately, this incarnation of Rage only made 3 albums, due to Zack's departure from the band. Whether this was motivated by egoistic hubris, a desire to leave no trace of "sell-out" on his band's legacy (a label that was becoming more and more appropriate by the juxtaposition of the band's huge commercial success with its anti-capitalist and anti-establishment lyrics), or something quite else, we probably won't ever know. What we do know is that Mr. de la Rocha was upset about the fact that his lyrics (the band's most important element to him) will never have as much impact as the stylistic and formal achievements this band makes on this album. Unquestionably a classic album - 5 stars, and one of the finer albums of the 90's. Future bands who successfully fuse rap and rock elements will cite this band, and this album particularly, as a primary influence.
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