Body Count (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Body Count
Type = studio
Artist = Body Count


Released = Start date|1992|3|31
Recorded = September — December 1991
One-on-One Recorders, Syndicate Studio West
(North Hollywood, California)
Genre = Heavy metal, hardcore punk
Length = 52:59 (original version)
53:03 (re-release)
Label = Sire/Warner Bros.
26878 (original version)
45139 (modified version)
Producer = Ice-T
Ernie C.
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://wm08.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fbfrxql5ldje~T1 link]
* "Spin" Rating|9|10Weisbard & Marks, 1995. p.190]
*Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=2562&name=Body+Count link]
*Rolling Stone Rating|3|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/220871/review/5943705?utm_source=Rhapsody&utm_medium=CDreview link]
This album = "Body Count" (1992)
Next album = "Born Dead" (1994) Singles
Name = Body Count
Type = studio
single 1 = There Goes the Neighborhood
single 1 date = 1992

"Body Count" is the eponymous debut album of American heavy metal band Body Count. "Cop Killer" was originally intended to be the album's title, as evidenced by the tattoo on the original cover. Released in 1992, the album material focuses on various social and political issues ranging from police brutality to drug abuse. The album presents a turning point in the career of Ice T, who co-wrote the album's songs with lead guitarist Ernie C and performed as the band's lead singer. Previously known only as a rapper, Ice T's work with the band helped establish a crossover audience with rock music fans. The album produced one single, "There Goes the Neighborhood".cite book |last=Strong |first=Martin Charles |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=The Great Rock Discography |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition=7th edition |series= |date= |year=2002 |month= |publisher=Canongate |location= |language= |isbn=1841956155 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=pages 724—725 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= ]

"Body Count" is best known for the inclusion of the controversial song "Cop Killer," which was the subject of much criticism from various political figures, although many defended the song on the basis of the group's right to freedom of speech. Ice T eventually chose to remove the song from the album,cite book |last= |first= |author=Ice T |coauthors=Sigmund, Heidi |editor= |others= |title=The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck? |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date= |year=1994 |month= |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location= |language= |isbn=0312104863 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=pages 99—101; 108; 166—180 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= ] although it continues to be performed live. Although the album received mixed reviews, it was ranked among the "Village Voice"'s list of the "40 Best Albums of 1992",cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=The 40 Best Albums Of 1992 |url= |format= |work= |publisher=The Village Voice |id= |pages= |page= |date=March 2, 1993 |accessdate=2007-10-20 |language= |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= ] and is believed to have helped pave the way for the mainstream success of the rapcore genre,cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/icet/articles/story/6436921/body_count_guitarist_dead |title=Body Count Guitarist Dead |accessdate=2007-10-20 |last=Devenish |first=Colin |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=August 19, 2004 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Rolling Stone |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/9910/27/ice.t/index.html?iref=newssearch |title=No thaw for rapper Ice T |accessdate=2007-10-20 |last=Freydkin |first=Donna |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=October 27, 1999 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=CNN |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] although the album itself does not feature rapping in any of its songs.cite web |url=http://www.escapimusic.com/eu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=108&Itemid=31 |title=Body Count |accessdate=2007-10-20 |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Escapi Music Group |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

History

While Ice T is primarily known for his work in the hip hop genre, he had long been a fan of various genres of rock music and had sampled songs by Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, among other artists.cite web |last= |first= |url=http://www.the-breaks.com/search.php?term=Ice-T&type=6 |title=Ice-T Entry at The-Breaks.com |format= |work= |publisher= |accessdate=2007-10-20 ] He formed Body Count out of this interest. The band comprised musicians Ice T had known from Crenshaw High School.cite web |url=http://wm08.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wpfpxqt5ldje~T1 |title=Body Count Biography |accessdate=2007-10-20 |accessmonthday= |accessdaymonth= |accessyear= |author= |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Allmusic |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] Ice T states that "I knew we didn't want to form an R & B group. [...] Where am I gonna get the rage and the anger to attack something with that? [...] We knew Body Count had to be a rock band. The name alone negates the band from being R & B."

Ice T co-wrote the band's music and lyrics with lead guitarist Ernie C, and took on the duties of lead vocalist. Ice T states that "I knew I couldn't sing, but then I thought, 'Who "can" sing in rock 'n' roll?'" Aside from Ice T and Ernie C, the original line-up consisted of Mooseman on bass, Beatmaster V on drums and D-Roc on rhythm guitar. According to Ice T, "We named the group Body Count because every Sunday night in L.A., I'd watch the news, and the newscasters would tally up the youths killed in gang homicides that week and then just segue to sports. 'Is that all I am,' I thought, 'a body count?'"

Ice T introduced the band at Lollapalooza in 1991, devoting half of his set to his hip hop songs, and half to Body Count songs, increasing his appeal with both alternative rock fans and middle-class teenagers. [cite web |url=http://wm08.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=ICE-T&sql=11:gnfyxq85ld6e~T1 |title=Ice-T Biography |accessdate=2007-10-20 |accessmonthday= |accessdaymonth= |accessyear= |author= |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Allmusic |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] Many considered the Body Count performances to be the highlight of the tour. [cite book |last=Apter |first=Jeff |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=Fornication: The Red Hot Chili Peppers Story |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date= |year=2004 |month= |publisher=Omnibus Press |location= |language= |isbn=1844493814 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=page 250 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= ] The group made its first album appearance on Ice T's 1991 solo album "O.G. Original Gangster". The song "Body Count" was preceded by a staged interview in which the performer referred to the group as a "black hardcore band," stating that "as far as I'm concerned, music is music. I don't look at it as rock, R & B, or all that kind of stuff. I just look at it as music. [...] I do what I like and I happen to like rock 'n' roll, and I feel sorry for anybody who only listens to one form of music." [Ice-T (1991). "Body Count". "O.G. Original Gangster". Sire/Warner Bros. Records. ISBN 7599264922]

Recording sessions for the group's self-titled debut took place from September to December 1991.cite web |url=http://wm08.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fbfrxql5ldje~T1 |title="Body Count" review |accessdate=2007-10-20 |accessmonthday= |accessdaymonth= |accessyear= |author= |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |authorlink=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Allmusic |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] The album was released on March 31, 1992, on compact disc, vinyl, and audio cassette. Ice T states that "Body Count" was intentionally different from his solo hip hop albums in that "An Ice T album has intelligence, and at times it has ignorance. Sometimes it has anger, sometimes it has questions. But "Body Count" was intended to reflect straight anger. It was supposed to be the voice of the angry brother, without answers. [...] If you took a kid and you put him in jail with a microphone and asked him how he feels, you'd get "Body Count": 'Fuck that. Fuck school. Fuck the police.' You wouldn't get intelligence or compassion. You'd get raw anger." From the album, "There Goes The Neighborhood" was released as a single, while "Body Count's in the House" was featured in the film "Universal Soldier". [cite web |url=http://imdb.com/title/tt0105698/soundtrack |title=Soundtracks for "Universal Soldier" (1992) |accessdate= |accessmonthday= |accessdaymonth= |accessyear= |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Internet Movie Database |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

Musical style

Personnel

*Ice-T – lead vocals
*Ernie C. – lead and acoustic guitar
*Mooseman – bass
*D-Roc – rhythm guitar
*Beatmaster "V" – drums

References

Notes

*cite book
last= Weisbard
first= Eric
coauthors= Craig Marks
title= Spin Alternative Record Guide
publisher= Vintage Books
year= 1995
isbn= 0679755748