Things Fall Apart (album)
Things Fall Apart | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 23, 1999 | |||
Recorded | 1997–1998 | |||
Studio | Electric Lady (New York City) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 70:32 | |||
The Grand Wizzards, Scott Storch, Jay Dee | ||||
The Roots chronology | ||||
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Singles from Things Fall Apart | ||||
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Things Fall Apart is the fourth
The album has been considered by music writers as the Roots' breakthrough album, earning praise from major publications and critics,
Recording
Recording for Things Fall Apart began in 1997 with engineer David Ivory and was completed in early 1998. Sessions for the album coincided with those for other
Music
The album's opening track, "Act Won", contains an excerpt from the
"You Got Me" was co-written by
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Alternative Press | 4/5[17] |
Entertainment Weekly | B[18] |
Muzik | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 8/10[20] |
Pitchfork | 9.4/10[21] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | 9/10[23] |
The Village Voice | B+[24] |
Upon its release, Things Fall Apart was widely regarded as the group's most fully realized work. Critics praised the album for its sobering themes, sonic quality, and fluid, cohesive sequencing, with Touré of Rolling Stone calling it a "top-flight record" and lead MC Black Thought a "lyricist's lyricist with a hard, earnest voice that doesn't flow like water but bobs and weaves with less-predictable rhythms".[8] Mojo commented that the album is "the stunner they've always promised: the first candidate for hip hop album of 1999 ... in a hip-hop world dominated by well-worn pop samples and rap rewrites of 80's chart hits, such risk-taking should be cherished".[25] Marie Elsie St. Léger of Barnes & Noble wrote in her review that the album had "Unfussy yet precise production, irresistible beats, and smooth rhymes. Few albums manage to simultaneously be this informative, political, and downright groovy."[26] Spin's Neil Kulkarni suggested that "the Roots have created perhaps rap's first melancholy masterpiece", noting "a downered, fragmented feel to the music that weaves through the lyrics' bleak resignation to instill real poignancy and effect."[23]
Steve Jones of
Retrospect
AllMusic critic Steve Huey hailed Things Fall Apart as "one of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap", believing that it was "the point where the Roots' tremendous potential finally coalesced into a structured album that maintained its focus from top to bottom".[1] Writing for The Root in 2018, Panama Jackson described "Act Too (The Love of My Life)" as "one of the best beats in hip-hop history...it's so ethereal and beautiful and fit perfectly with the verses".[29] In 2020, the album was ranked number 416 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[30]
Track listing
All tracks produced by The Grand Wizzards, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | |
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54. | "Act Won (Things Fall Apart)" | Mos Def) | Thompson, Trotter, Gray, Brown, Jenkins, Jones, Hubbard, Dante Smith, James Poyser | Poyser (co.) | 5:51 |
63. | "Act Too (The Love of My Life)" (featuring Common) | Thompson, Trotter, Gray, Brown, Jenkins, Jones, Hubbard, Poyser, Lonnie Lynn | 4:55 | ||
64. | "100% Dundee" | Thompson, Trotter, Gray, Brown, Jenkins, Jones, Hubbard, Abdul-Bassit | Gray, Rahzel | 3:54 | |
65. | "Diedre vs. Dice" (featuring Dice Raw) | Thompson, Jenkins, Diedre Murray | 0:47 | ||
66. | "Adrenaline!" (featuring Dice Raw and Beanie Sigel) | Thompson, Trotter, Gray, Brown, Jenkins, Jones, Hubbard, Abdul-Bassit, Storch, Dwight Grant | Storch (co.) | 4:28 | |
67. | "3rd Acts: ? vs. Scratch 2... Electric Boogaloo" | Thompson, Gray, Hubbard, Abdul-Bassit | 0:51 | ||
68. | "You Got Me" (featuring Erykah Badu and Eve) | Thompson, Trotter, Gray, Brown, Jenkins, Jones, Hubbard, Storch, Jill Scott | Storch (co.) | 4:19 | |
69. | "Don't See Us" (featuring Dice Raw) | Thompson, Trotter, Gray, Brown, Jenkins, Jones, Hubbard, Abdul-Bassit, Poyser | 4:30 | ||
70. | "The Return to Innocence Lost" (featuring Ursula Rucker) | Thompson, Rucker, Anthony Tidd | 5:40 | ||
71. | "Act Fore... The End?" | Thompson, Trotter | Questlove | 4:45 |
- The track listing on some album releases denotes the first track as track #54, combining the track totals from Organix (17 tracks), Do You Want More?!!!??! (16 tracks), and Illadelph Halflife (20 tracks), making 53 total tracks. The rest of the tracks continue upward from 54 to Act Fore... The End? (being track #71)
- An edited version of the album exists in which The Return of Innocence Lost is substituted for a different spoken word outro, titled "Things Fall Apart...The Center Will Not Hold". Additionally, it uses a completely different hidden track, however it retains the title of "Act Fore...The End?".[31]
Cover artwork
For a limited time period, Things Fall Apart was made available with a choice of five different front covers. One such cover displays a photograph taken during a riot in the
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[42] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] | Silver | 60,000* |
United States (RIAA)[44] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Personnel
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Notes
- ^ a b c d e Huey, Steve. "Things Fall Apart – The Roots". AllMusic. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ Anon. (February 14, 2020). "Common". uDiscover. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
- ^ Pitchfork Staff (September 28, 2022). "The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
...Things Fall Apart sounds like—if not pop exactly—then the impressionistic shape of art-pop to come. –Marc Hogan
- ^ Aaron, Charles (June 2008). "The Spin Interview". Spin. Vol. 24, no. 6. pp. 83–88. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ Brackett & Hoard 2004, pp. 702–03.
- ^ a b c "RIAA – Searchable Database: The Roots". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
- ^ "Santana's Grammy glory". BBC News. February 24, 2000. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
- ^ a b c Touré (February 8, 1999). "The Roots: Things Fall Apart". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ Welte, Jim. "The Roots: Things Fall Apart". Ink Blot Magazine. Archived from the original on November 3, 1999. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
- ^ Washington State University study guide Archived June 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Peisner, David (August 2008). "Body & Soul". Spin. Vol. 24, no. 8. pp. 64–72. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ a b Questlove 1999, p. 6.
- ^ Landy, Ben. "Review: Things Fall Apart". The Yale Herald. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2006.
- ^ Questlove 1999, p. 8.
- ^ Questlove 1999, p. 10.
- ^ Questlove 1999, p. 11.
- ^ "The Roots: Things Fall Apart". Alternative Press. No. 131. June 1999. p. 108.
- ^ Weingarten, Marc (February 19, 1999). "Things Fall Apart". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ McPhail, Pete (March 1999). "The Roots: Things Fall Apart (MCA)". Muzik. No. 46. p. 82.
- ^ Fadele, Dele (March 23, 1999). "The Roots – Things Fall Apart". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ Moore, Marcus J. (August 28, 2016). "The Roots: Things Fall Apart". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
- ^ "The Roots: Things Fall Apart". Q. No. 152. May 1999. p. 114.
- ^ a b Kulkarni, Neil (March 1999). "Prince Paul: A Prince Among Thieves / The Roots: Things Fall Apart". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 3. p. 142. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (March 16, 1999). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "The Roots: Things Fall Apart". Mojo. No. 66. May 1999. p. 108.
- ^ "Things Fall Apart, The Roots, CD". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2007.
- ^ Jones, Steve (February 23, 1999). "The Roots' latest rap sets itself 'Apart' Fourth album elevates hip-hop with literate, thoughtful grooves". USA Today. p. 02.D. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "The Roots: The Paybacks". XXL. August 18, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
- ^ Jackson, Panama (February 16, 2018). "Perfect Music Moments in Black History: The Roots and Common 'Act Too (The Love of My Life)'". The Root. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "Things Fall Apart". Spotify. February 23, 1999.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Roots – Things Fall Apart". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – The Roots – Things Fall Apart". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Roots – Things Fall Apart" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "The Roots Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
- ^ "The Roots Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
- ^ "The Roots Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – The Roots – Things Fall Apart". Music Canada. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ "British album certifications – The Roots – Things Fall Apart". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 28, 2023. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Things Fall Apart in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "American album certifications – The Roots – Things Fall Apart". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
References
- Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Questlove (1999). Things Fall Apart (liner notes). The Roots. MCA Records. MCADE-11948.
External links
- Things Fall Apart at Discogs
- Album Review at RapReviews
- Album Review at Yahoo! Music
- Things Fall Apart: 10 Years Later at Phoenix New Times