Body Count

by Body Count

Overview

Divorced from the controversy that surrounded its release, Body Count's self-titled debut is a surprisingly tepid affair. Apart from the previously released "Body Count" (which appeared on Ice-T's 1991 album O.G. Original Gangster), the record is devoid of serious commentary, trading intelligence for a lurid comic book depiction of sex, violence, and "Voodoo." All of Ice-T's half-sung/half-shouted lyrics fall far short of the standard he established on his hip-hop albums. The controversial "Cop Killer" -- which is nothing more than a standard thrash metal chant -- stands out because it is one of the few tracks that doesn't rely on garish, cartoonish imagery. There's the saga of "Evil Dick," which tells Ice-T not to "sleep alone." There's "KKK Bitch," where he crashes a Ku Klux Klan meeting and screws the grand dragon's daughter. There's "Voodoo," where a witch doctor cripples our hero with a voodoo doll. There's "Mama's Gotta Die Tonight," where Ice-T offs his mother cause she's a racist. By the time the band works around to the power ballad "The Winner Loses" and Ice-T is crooning "My friend's addicted to cocaine," it's unclear whether the record is a parody or a horribly flawed stab at arena metal. It would help if the band wrote riffs that were memorable or if they conveyed a sense of kinetic energy instead of tossing out their riffs in a workmen-like fashion. Perhaps Body Count was intentionally humorous -- although the group's follow-up, Born Dead, suggests that it wasn't -- but in any case, the record was simply embarrassing. After "Cop Killer" was pulled from the album, it was replaced with a bland version of Ice-T's rap classic "The Iceberg" recorded with Jello Biafra. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	04/15/2002
Label:	Sire / Warner Bros.
UPC:	0093624513926

Tracks

1. Smoked Pork
2. Body Count's in the House
3. Now Sports
4. Body Count
5. A Statistic
6. Bowels of the Devil
7. The Real Problem
8. KKK Bitch
9. C Note
10. Voodoo
11. The Winner Loses
12. There Goes the Neighborhood
13. Oprah
14. Evil Dick
15. Body Count Anthem
16. Momma's Gotta Die Tonight
17. Freedom of Speech

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Body Count   Primary Artist
Jello Biafra   Primary Artist
Ice-T   Primary Artist,Vocals
Ernie C.   Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Mooseman   Bass
D-Roc   Guitar (Rhythm)
Beat Masters   Drums

Technical Credits

Randy Alexander   Photography
Rob Ruscoe   Assistant Engineer
Todd Gray   Photography
Tom Baker   Mastering
Tracy Chisholm   Assistant Engineer
Steve Stewart   Assistant Engineer
Ice-T   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Producer
Ernie C.   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Ulrich Wild   Assistant Engineer
Jello Biafra   Performer
Dave Halili   Art Direction
Dirk Walter   Design
Charlie Watts   Recording,Engineer
Afrika Islam   Producer
Robin Lynch   Art Direction
Eric Greedy   Assistant Engineer
Bernard Matthews   Engineer
Howie Klein   Executive Producer
Vic Z.   Art Direction