Renegades (Rage Against the Machine album)

Renegades is the fourth and final studio album by the American rock band Rage Against the Machine, released on December 5, 2000, by Epic Records. It consists of covers of songs by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Afrika Bambaataa, Minor Threat, Eric B. & Rakim, the Stooges, MC5, the Rolling Stones, Cypress Hill, Devo and others. The cover is a take on Robert Indiana's Love artwork series.^[3]

Renegades
Studio album by Rage Against the Machine
Released	December 5, 2000 (2000-12-05)
Recorded	April–September 2000
Studio	Cello Studios, Hollywood, California The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Rap rock[1][2] rap metal[1] nu metal[2]
Length	51:14
Label	Epic
Producer	Rick Rubin Brendan O'Brien Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine chronology
The Battle of Los Angeles (1999) Renegades (2000) Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium (2003)
Singles from Renegades
"Renegades of Funk" Released: February 20, 2001 "How I Could Just Kill a Man" Released: October 20, 2001

Unlike other Rage Against the Machine albums, Renegades was not accompanied by a supporting tour due to the band splitting up almost two months before its release. It was certified platinum a little over a month after release. Shortly after the release, the band members, guitar player, Tom Marello, formed a new band, Audioslave, with the former Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Alternative Press	[6]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[7]
Melodic	[2]
Melody Maker	[8]
Mojo	[9]
NME	8/10[10]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[1]
Select	[11]
Spin	7/10[8]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Renegades has an average score of 78 based on 26 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[4] AllMusic critic John Bush wrote that the record "works well with just a bare few exceptions, in part because Rage Against the Machine is both smart enough to change very little and talented enough to make the songs its own."^[5] Alternative Press described the record as "a tour through three decades of sonic recalcitrance" and "the genome map of seditious sound".^[6] Entertainment Weekly's Rob Brunner described the record as "a remarkably diverse, if not exactly surprising, mix of heavy rock, hip hop and protest music". He said it "would still be a raging success even if this disc does nothing but introduce a new generation to the joys of Bob Dylan and Minor Threat".^[7]

Mojo wrote: "This crisp, Rick Rubin-produced outing packs away a machine that was well-oiled to the last."^[9] Kitty Empire of NME labeled the record "a brilliant archaeology" and "a sonic history lesson".^[10] TheRolling Stone critic Tom Moon said the band executed "diverse tracks" such as Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad", the Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man", Afrika Bambaataa's "Renegades of Funk" and Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" with "the roaring, fearless spirit that’s been missing in action since these songs were new",^[1] while Select regarded it as their "most satisfying record since their debut".^[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original artist (date)	Length
1.	"Microphone Fiend"	Eric Barrier, Rakim Allah	Eric B. & Rakim (1988)	5:01
2.	"Pistol Grip Pump"	Roger Troutman, Dino Hawkins, Adrian Miller, Eric Vidal, Nick Vidal	Volume 10 (1994)	3:18
3.	"Kick Out the Jams"	Wayne Kramer, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Rob Tyner, Michael Davis, Dennis Thompson	MC5 (1969)	3:11
4.	"Renegades of Funk"	Lance Taylor, Arthur Baker, John Miller, John Robie	Afrika Bambaataa (1983)	4:35
5.	"Beautiful World"	Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale	Devo (1981)	2:35
6.	"I'm Housin"	Erick Sermon, Parish Smith	EPMD (1988)	4:56
7.	"In My Eyes"	Ian MacKaye, Jeff Nelson, Brian Baker, Lyle Preslar	Minor Threat (1981)	2:54
8.	"How I Could Just Kill a Man"	Louis Freese, Senen Reyes, Lawrence Muggerud	Cypress Hill (1991)	4:04
9.	"The Ghost of Tom Joad"	Bruce Springsteen	Bruce Springsteen (1995)	5:38
10.	"Down on the Street"	Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Dave Alexander	The Stooges (1970)	3:38
11.	"Street Fighting Man"	Mick Jagger, Keith Richards	The Rolling Stones (1968)	4:42
12.	"Maggie's Farm"	Robert Zimmerman	Bob Dylan (1965)	6:34
Total length:				51:14

Personnel

• Rage Against the Machine – co-production, art direction
• Zack de la Rocha – lead vocals
• Tom Morello – guitars
• Tim Commerford (credited as "tim.com") – bass, backing vocals
• Brad Wilk – drums
• Sen Dog – vocals on the live version of "How I Could Just Kill a Man"
• B-Real – vocals on the live version of "How I Could Just Kill a Man"
• Rick Rubin – production
• Brendan O'Brien – production on "The Ghost of Tom Joad"
• Jim Scott – engineering
• David Schiffman – engineering
• Rich Costey – mixing
• D. Sardy – mixing on "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and "Street Fighting Man"
• Katie Teasdale – assistant engineering
• Darren Mora – assistant engineering
• Matt Marin – assistant engineering
• Mike Scotella – assistant engineering
• Geoof Walcha – assistant engineering
• Rich Veltrop – assistant engineering
• Greg Fidelman – digital editing
• Mark Moreau – digital editing
• Aimee Macauley – art direction
• Lindsay Chase – production coordination
• Jake Sexton – political coordination
• Jake Koppell – inside booklet

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Renegades

Chart (2000–2001)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12]	10
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13]	66
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[14]	13
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15]	25
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16]	47
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[17]	33
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18]	59
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19]	49
UK Albums (OCC)[20]	71
US Billboard 200[21]	14

Year-end charts

2000 year-end chart performance for Renegades

Chart (2000)	Position
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[22]	157

2001 year-end chart performance for Renegades

Chart (2001)	Position
US Billboard 200[23]	121

Certifications

Certifications for Renegades

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24]	Platinum	70,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[25]	Gold	100,000*
United States (RIAA)[26]	Platinum	1,000,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Tom Moon (November 21, 2000). "Renegades | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
2. Hooper, Jason (April 22, 2011). "Melodic Net Review: Rage Against the Machine — Renegades". Melodic. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
3. Schumacher, Mary Louise. "Sculpture Milwaukee placing Robert Indiana's 'LOVE' in front of Northwestern Mutual tower". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
4. "Renegades Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. December 5, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
5. Bush, John (December 5, 2000). "Renegades – Rage Against the Machine : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
6. A tour through three decades of sonic recalcitrance, Renegades is the genome map of seditious sound. [#151, p.90]
7. Rob Brunner (December 11, 2000). "Renegades Review". EW.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
8. "Rage Against The Machine – Renegades CD Album". Cduniverse.com. December 5, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
9. This crisp, Rick Rubin-produced outing packs away a machine that was well-oiled to the last. [Jan. 2001, p.107]
10. "NME Album Reviews – Renegades". NME. November 24, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
11. Renegades is Rage's most satisfying record since their debut. [Jan 2001, p.104]
12. "Australiancharts.com – Rage Against The Machine – Renegades". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
13. "Austriancharts.at – Rage Against The Machine – Renegades" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
14. "Rage Against the Machine Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
15. "Rage Against The Machine: Renegades" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
16. "Offiziellecharts.de – Rage Against The Machine – Renegades" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
17. "OLiS: sales for the period 8 January 2001 – 14.01.2001". OLiS.
18. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Rage Against The Machine – Renegades". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
21. "Rage Against the Machine Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
22. "Canada's Top 200 Albums of 2000". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
23. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
24. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
25. "British album certifications – Rage against the machine – Renegades". British Phonographic Industry.
26. "American album certifications – Rage against the machine – Renegades". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• Renegades at Discogs (list of releases)