Idlewild (Outkast album)

Idlewild
Studio album by OutKast
Released August 22, 2006
Recorded 2005–2006
Genre Hip hop, blues, R&B, jazz, soul, funk
Length 77:52
Label LaFace, Jive
Producer André 3000 (also exec.), Big Boi (also exec.), Chuck Lightning, Janelle Monáe, Jeminesse Smith, Kevin Kendrick, Nate "Rocket" Wonder, Mr. DJ, Organized Noize, Whild Peach
OutKast chronology
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
(2003)		 Idlewild
(2006)
Singles from Idlewild
  1. "Mighty O"
    Released: June 27, 2006
  2. "Morris Brown"
    Released: August 14, 2006
  3. "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)"
    Released: November 9, 2006
  4. "Hollywood Divorce"
    Released: November 6, 2006
  5. "The Train"
    Released: December 5, 2006

Idlewild is the sixth studio album by American hip hop duo OutKast, released August 22, 2006 on LaFace Records. It also serves as the soundtrack album to the duo's musical film of the same name, released by Universal Pictures in August 2006. Containing themes relating to the music industry, the album also features songs not included in the film and incorporates blues, R&B, jazz, and soul musical elements.

The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 196,000 copies in its first week. It achieved minimal international charting and produced five singles that attained moderate Billboard chart success. Despite mixed criticism towards its unconventional musical style and loose thematic structure, Idlewild received positive reviews from most music critics upon its release. The album has been certified platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of one million copies in the United States.

Background

Though less a soundtrack and more of a companion album, the Idlewild album features seven songs from the Idlewild film: "Chronomentrophobia", "Makes No Sense at All", "PJ and Rooster", "Greatest Show on Earth", "When I Look in Your Eyes", and, from the end credits, "Morris Brown". Two snippets of film dialogue are also included on the album as interludes. The rest of the songs performed in the film were included on the earlier OutKast LPs Big Boi and Dre Present...Outkast and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. In an interview for Billboard, Big Boi stated "This is an OutKast album. It isn't like a soundtrack where we go get this person or that person".[1]

Commercial performance

Originally planned for early 2005, Idlewild's release date was pushed to December 2005, before being delayed into 2006.[1] The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 196,000 copies.[2] It also entered at number one on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums,[3] at number one on the Top Rap Albums,[4] and at number two on the Top Digital Albums chart.[5] The album dropped to number seven on the Billboard 200, selling 78,000 copies in its second week.[6] It spent nine weeks on the Billboard 200.[7] In the United Kingdom, Idlewild debuted at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart.[8] It fell to number 28 in its second week on the chart.[9] While it charted wihin the top-twenty in several other countries, the album spent a minimal amount of weeks on most charts.[10][11]

On August 26, 2006, the album was certified platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America, following shipments in excess of one million copies in the United States.[12] It was certified gold in sales by the Canadian Recording Industry Association in November 2006.[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[15]
Entertainment WeeklyB[16]
The Guardian[17]
MSN MusicA[18]
NME8/10[19]
Pitchfork Media6.7/10[20]
Q[21]
Rolling Stone[22]
Slant Magazine[23]
Uncut[24]

Idlewild received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72, based on 30 reviews.[25] Q called it "a dazzling album",[21] while Ben Williams of New York found it "entertaining and surprisingly consistent".[26] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis wrote that it "bulges with brilliant ideas... Ambitious but flawed, at turns stunning, maddening and confusing".[17] NME magazine's Dan Martin responded favorably to what he felt other critics might find "a bit long and uneven and self-indulgent".[19] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone compared Idlewild to Prince's Parade (1986), while praising its "deeply eccentric richness" and calling it "so suave on the surface, it takes a few spins to absorb how radical it is".[22] Although she felt it lacked cohesion and a "clear message", Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times found the album "sonically challenging and lyrically wide-ranging", including songs for "contemplation and booty-shaking".[27] In his consumer guide for MSN Music, Robert Christgau called Idlewild "a joyous mishmash" and praised each OutKast-member's distinct performance: "from the mainstream hip-hop Big Boi articulates with so much muscle to the retro swing Andre sings just fine, they sound happy to parade their mastery".[18] Uncut described it as "Stylish and substantial, it's a deft masterpastiche that dissolves history for its own entertainment".[24] Mojo stated, "Every time you think you've got Idlewild figured out, it zips off in a totally unexpected new direction".[24]

In a negative review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Jim DeRogatis viewed the album as unfocused and stated, "it's all about heavy-handed, faux Scott Joplin ragtime piano; showy but lame Cab Calloway horn arrangements; fake Rudy Vallee crooning (courtesy of Benjamin's nasal, off-key whine) and ultra-hammy vaudeville shucking and jiving".[28] The Washington Post's J. Freedom du Lac noted a "creative schism" in the duo and wrote, "For all of its flashes of greatness -- the brassy marching-band rap of 'Morris Brown', the psychedelic hip-hop flashback 'Train', the Stevie Wonder-inspired acoustic blues number 'Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)' -- the staggeringly eclectic 'Idlewild' includes too much filler and too many outright stink bombs to deserve a place alongside the best pop offerings of 2006, let alone 'Aquemini', et al".[29] Preston Jones from Slant Magazine called it "frustrating, uneven, and strained ... an interesting failure".[23] Spin magazine's Charles Aaron called it "a perplexing album", despite how it "grasps for a distinctive sound, departing almost entirely from rap per se" in favor of music from "the jazz/jump blues from the film's '30s/40's demimonde, as well as shades of Prince's most fitfully eclectic periods".[30]

Track listing

Writing and production credits for Idlewild adapted from Discogs.com.[31]

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Intro"     2:12
2. "Mighty 'O'"  André Benjamin, Antwan Patton, Cab Calloway, Clarence Gaskill, Dave Robbins, Irving Mills, Patrick Brown, Ray Murray, Rico WadeOrganized Noize 4:16
3. "Peaches" (featuring Sleepy Brown & Scar)Patton, Marvin Parkman, Mike Hardnett, P. Brown, Preston Crump, Murray, Wade, Terrence SmithOrganized Noize 3:10
4. "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)"  BenjaminAndré 3000 3:24
5. "Infatuation" (Interlude)   0:48
6. "N2U" (featuring Khujo)Patton, Mike Patterson, P. Brown, Murray, Wade, Robert Manzoli, Wallace Khatib, Willie KnightonOrganized Noize 3:40
7. "Morris Brown" (featuring Scar & Sleepy Brown)Benjamin, Patton, T. SmithAndré 3000 4:24
8. "Chronomentrophobia"  BenjaminAndré 3000 2:12
9. "The Train" (featuring Sleepy Brown & Scar)Patton, David Brown, Joi Gilliam, Kevin Kendrick, Myrna Crenshaw, P. Brown, T. SmithBig Boi 4:09
10. "Life Is Like a Musical"  BenjaminAndré 3000 2:14
11. "No Bootleg DVDs" (Interlude)   0:50
12. "Hollywood Divorce" (featuring Lil Wayne & Snoop Dogg)Benjamin, Patton, Calvin Broadus, Dwayne CarterAndré 3000 5:23
13. "Zora" (Interlude)   0:16
14. "Call the Law" (featuring Janelle Monáe)Patton, Charles Joseph II, Janelle Robinson, Nathaniel Irvin IIINate "Rocket" Wonder, Big Boi (co.), Chuck Lightning (co.), Janelle Monáe (co.) 4:51
15. "Bamboo & Cross" (Interlude)   0:55
16. "Buggface"  Patton, David Sheats, Jeminesse SmithJeminesse Smith, Mr. DJ 2:45
17. "Makes No Sense at All"  BenjaminAndré 3000 2:53
18. "In Your Dreams" (featuring Killer Mike & Janelle Monáe)Patton, Robinson, P. Brown, MurrayOrganized Noize 3:34
19. "PJ & Rooster"  Benjamin, PattonAndré 3000 4:27
20. "Mutron Angel" (featuring Whild Peach)Patton, D. Brown, M. BrownWhild Peach 4:18
21. "Greatest Show on Earth" (featuring Macy Gray)BenjaminAndré 3000 3:06
22. "You're Beautiful" (Interlude)   0:29
23. "When I Look in Your Eyes"  Benjamin, KendrickKevin Kendrick 2:43
24. "Dyin' to Live"  BenjaminAndré 3000 2:07
25. "A Bad Note"  Benjamin, KendrickAndré 3000 8:47
Notes
Sample Credits

Personnel

Credits for Idlewild adapted from Allmusic.[32]

  • Kory Aaron – Assistant Engineer
  • Malik Albert – Engineer, Audio Production
  • Victor Alexander – Drums
  • Vincent Alexander – Assistant Engineer
  • Kori Anders – Engineer, Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant
  • André 3000 – Executive Producer, Guitar, Piano, Arranger, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals, Background Vocals, Producer, Drum Programming, Keyboard Programming
  • Bamboo – Vocals
  • Warren Bletcher – Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant
  • Steven Boos – Drums
  • Jeff Bowdenv – Keyboards
  • Leslie Brathwaite – Mixing
  • David "Whild" Brown – Background Vocals
  • Myrna "Peach" Brown – Vocals
  • Sleepy Brown – Vocals, Background Vocals
  • Ralph Cacciurri – Engineer
  • Chris Carmouche – Engineer, Mixing, Audio Production
  • Preston Crump – Bass
  • Cutmaster Swift – Scratching
  • Regina Davenport – A&R
  • Sean Davis – Engineer, Audio Production
  • Dookieblossumgame – Vocals
  • Tom Doty – Mixing Assistant
  • Eddie Ellis – Conductor
  • Gary Fly – Engineer, Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant
  • Jerry Freeman – Cornet, Horn, Horn Arrangements
  • John Frye – Audio Production, Engineer, Mixing
  • Joi Gilliam – Vocals, Background Vocals
  • Macy Gray – Vocals
  • Bernie Grundman – Mastering
  • Robert Hannon – Engineer, Assistant Engineer
  • Mike Hardnett – Guitar
  • Tuesday Henderson – Percussion
  • John Holmes – Engineer, Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant, Audio Production
  • Aaron Holton – Assistant Engineer
  • Hot Tub Tony – Background Vocals
  • Josh Houghkirk – Mixing Assistant
  • Chris Jackson – Engineer
  • Kevin Kendricks – Keyboards, Producer
  • Kevin Kendrix – Synthesizer, Piano, Keyboards, Horn Arrangements
  • Debra Killings – Bass, Vocals, Background Vocals
  • Chuck Lightning – Arranger, Producer
  • Lil Wayne – Vocals
  • Ryan McDaniels – Assistant Engineer
  • Janelle Monáe – Arranger, Vocals, Background Vocals, Producer
  • Morris Brown College Gospel Choir – Instrumentation
  • Vernon Mungo – Engineer
  • Wyatt Oates – Assistant Engineer
  • Organized Noize – Programming, Producer, Drum Programming
  • Marvin "Chanz" Parkman – Keyboards
  • Mike Patterson – Bass, Guitar
  • Antwan Patton – Executive Producer
  • Josh Phillips – Assistant Engineer
  • Neil Pogue – Mixing
  • Chris Rakestraw – Mixing Assistant
  • Dave Robbins – Bass, Keyboards
  • Albey Scholl – Harmonica
  • Rob Skipworth – Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant
  • Skreechy Peachy – Vocals, Background Vocals
  • Terry Smith – Background Vocals
  • Snoop Dogg – Vocals
  • Matthew Still – Audio Production, Engineer, Assistant Engineer
  • Phil Tan – Mixing
  • Denise Trorman – Art Direction, Design
  • Uncoolgirlz Choir – Background Vocals
  • Johnny Vulture – Producer
  • David Whild – Guitar, Background Vocals
  • Melissa Zampatti – Vocals

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[10] 27
Austrian Albums Chart[10] 56
Belgium Albums Chart[10] 24
Canadian Albums Chart[11] 6
Dutch Albums Chart[10] 32
Finnish Albums Chart[10] 20
French Albums Chart[10] 77
Irish Albums Chart[10] 19
German Albums Chart[10] 33
New Zealand Albums Chart[10] 13
Norwegian Albums Chart[10] 11
Swedish Albums Chart[10] 18
Swiss Albums Chart[10] 4
UK Albums Chart[8] 16
US Billboard 200[7] 2
US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[3] 1
US Billboard Top Rap Albums[4] 1

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by
The Phoenix by Lyfe Jennings		 US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums number-one album[3][33]
September 9, 2006 - September 15, 2006 		Succeeded by
Best Thang Smokin' by Young Dro
Preceded by
Port of Miami by Rick Ross		 US Billboard Rap Albums number-one album[4][34]
September 9, 2006 - September 15, 2006 		Succeeded by
Best Thang Smokin' by Young Dro

Certifications

Country Certification Sales
Canada Gold[13] 50,000
United States Platinum[12] 1,000,000

References

  1. 1 2 Mitchell, Gail. Outkast's 'Idlewild' Bumped To Next Year. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  2. ↑ Hasty, Katie. Danity Kane Sidesteps OutKast To Claim No. 1. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  3. 1 2 3 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Week of September 09, 2006. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  4. 1 2 3 Rap Albums - Week of September 09, 2006. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  5. ↑ Digital Albums - Week of September 09, 2006. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  6. ↑ Hasty, Katie. Dylan Earns First No. 1 Album Since 1976. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  7. 1 2 Chart History: OutKast - Billboard 200. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  8. 1 2 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive - 2nd September 2006. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  9. ↑ Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive - 9th September 2006. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Album Performance: Idlewild. acharts. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  11. 1 2 Billboard Albums: Idlewild. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  12. 1 2 Gold & Platinum - Searchable Database: Idlewild. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on 2010-05-09.
  13. 1 2 Search Certification Database: Idlewild. Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  14. ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/music/idlewild/outkast
  15. ↑ Kellman, Andy. Review: Idlewild. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-10-10.
  16. ↑ Kot, Greg (2006-08-25). Review: Idlewild. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-10-10.
  17. 1 2 Petridis, Alexis. Review: Idlewild. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2009-10-10.
  18. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Idlewild". MSN Music: December 2006. Archived from the original on 2009-10-10.
  19. 1 2 Martin, Dan. Review: Idlewild. NME. Retrieved on 2009-10-10.
  20. ↑ Harvell, Jess. Review: Idlewild. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2009-10-10.
  21. 1 2 Columnist. "Review: Idlewild". Q: 124. October 2006.
  22. 1 2 Sheffield, Rob (2006-08-23). Review: Idlewild. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-10-10.
  23. 1 2 Jones, Preston. Review: Idlewild. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-07-30.
  24. 1 2 3 Idlewild (2006): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-07-09.
  25. ↑ Idlewild (2006): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-07-09.
  26. ↑ Williams, Ben. Review: Idlewild. New York. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  27. ↑ Powers, Ann. Review: Idlewild. Los Angeles Times. Archived on 2010-05-10.
  28. ↑ DeRogatis, Jim. Review: Idlewild. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  29. ↑ Lac, J. Freedom du. Review: Idlewild. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  30. ↑ Aaron, Charles. "Review: Idlewild". Spin: 99. September 2006.
  31. ↑ OutKast - Idlewild (CD, Album). Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-29.
  32. ↑ Credits: Idlewild. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-05-10.
  33. ↑ Top Hip-Hop and R&B Albums & Charts – Week of September 16, 2006. Billboard. Retrieved on 2011-04-29.
  34. ↑ Rap Albums – Week of September 16, 2006. Billboard. Retrieved on 2011-04-29.

External links

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