Fly or Die
Encyclopedia
Fly or Die is the second album for rock band N*E*R*D consisting of Pharrell and Chad Hugo
of production team the Neptunes
and Shay Haley released on March 23, 2004.
News on December 9, 2003, "We're the ones playing the instruments live this time. I just started playing guitar last year so I'm learning as we go. Pharrell's playing drums. Last time, (on In Search Of...) we didn't have time to learn certain instruments so we got Spymob to help us out."
The band also recruited some assistance to record the album with Lenny Kravitz
and Questlove playing on the track "Maybe." Several of tracks concern issues of particular concern to adolescents including "Thrasher" about bullies, "Drill Sergeant" about rebellion and conscription, and first love on "Backseat Love".
" went into the Top 5 in U.K, top 10 in New Zealand
, top 20 in Norway
, Italy
, Ireland
and Denmark
and top 40 in Australia
and the Netherlands
as of March 2004. The album was certified gold in the U.S. for sales over 500,000 copies.
Rolling Stone
(4/15/04, p.147) - 3 stars out of 5 - "It's fascinating to hear these rap geniuses go undercover as a bar band you might hear rocking Journey covers in a bowling alley."
Entertainment Weekly
(4/2/04, p.62) - "Fly or Die is craftier and more multilayered than its predecessor....[A] set of clever, complex, studio-crafted pop--complete with musicianly, smooth-jazz licks--that doesn't owe allegiance to any one genre." - Rating: A-
Uncut
(p.91) - 5 stars out of 5 - "N*E*R*D can replicate machine hypersyncopation at the drop of a hi-hat. Prog-pop album of year."
Uncut
(p.74) - Ranked #18 in Uncut's "Best New Albums of 2004" - "[A]n object lesson in eclectic art-rock....[T]his prog-pop classic reveal further depths of detail with every repeated play."
Mojo
(p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 - "This is an enthusiastic hymn to the terminally uncool, an un-ironic celebration of nerd-culture....They make a party you want to be invited to."
It was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
.
Chad Hugo
Charles Edward Hugo is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as one half of the music production and writing duo The Neptunes and as a member of the funk/rock band N.E.R.D. He is a saxophonist, pianist and guitarist...
of production team the Neptunes
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...
and Shay Haley released on March 23, 2004.
Production
The band recorded its second album Fly or Die during 2003. The band actually learned the instruments needed to play the tunes, so they could perform live. As Chad Hugo told MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
News on December 9, 2003, "We're the ones playing the instruments live this time. I just started playing guitar last year so I'm learning as we go. Pharrell's playing drums. Last time, (on In Search Of...) we didn't have time to learn certain instruments so we got Spymob to help us out."
The band also recruited some assistance to record the album with Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
and Questlove playing on the track "Maybe." Several of tracks concern issues of particular concern to adolescents including "Thrasher" about bullies, "Drill Sergeant" about rebellion and conscription, and first love on "Backseat Love".
Reception
Fly or Die went on sale on March 23, 2004. The lead single "She Wants to MoveShe Wants to Move
"She Wants to Move" is a single by hip hop and rock group N*E*R*D from their album Fly or Die. It was written by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo....
" went into the Top 5 in U.K, top 10 in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, top 20 in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and top 40 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
as of March 2004. The album was certified gold in the U.S. for sales over 500,000 copies.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
(4/15/04, p.147) - 3 stars out of 5 - "It's fascinating to hear these rap geniuses go undercover as a bar band you might hear rocking Journey covers in a bowling alley."
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
(4/2/04, p.62) - "Fly or Die is craftier and more multilayered than its predecessor....[A] set of clever, complex, studio-crafted pop--complete with musicianly, smooth-jazz licks--that doesn't owe allegiance to any one genre." - Rating: A-
Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
(p.91) - 5 stars out of 5 - "N*E*R*D can replicate machine hypersyncopation at the drop of a hi-hat. Prog-pop album of year."
Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
(p.74) - Ranked #18 in Uncut's "Best New Albums of 2004" - "[A]n object lesson in eclectic art-rock....[T]his prog-pop classic reveal further depths of detail with every repeated play."
Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
(p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 - "This is an enthusiastic hymn to the terminally uncool, an un-ironic celebration of nerd-culture....They make a party you want to be invited to."
It was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...
.
Track listing
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Featured guest(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Don't Worry About It" | The Neptunes The Neptunes The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s... |
3:41 | |
| 2 | "Fly or Die" | The Neptunes | 3:30 | |
| 3 | "Jump" | The Neptunes | Joel Madden Joel Madden Joel Rueben Madden is an American singer, record producer, actor, DJ, and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, best known as the lead vocalist for the pop punk band Good Charlotte.-Early life:... & Benji Madden Benji Madden Benji Madden is an American guitarist and backup vocalist for the band Good Charlotte, which he co-founded with his identical twin brother, Joel Madden.-Early life:... |
3:55 |
| 4 | "Backseat Love" | The Neptunes | 2:48 | |
| 5 | "She Wants to Move She Wants to Move "She Wants to Move" is a single by hip hop and rock group N*E*R*D from their album Fly or Die. It was written by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo.... " |
The Neptunes | 3:33 | |
| 6 | "Breakout" | The Neptunes | 3:47 | |
| 7 | "Wonderful Place" / "Waiting for You" | The Neptunes | 7:09 | |
| 8 | "Drill Sergeant" / "Preservation" | The Neptunes | 6:54 | |
| 9 | "Thrasher" | The Neptunes | 2:51 | |
| 10 | "Maybe" | The Neptunes | 4:22 | |
| 11 | "The Way She Dances" | The Neptunes | 4:05 | |
| 12 | "Chariot of Fire" / "Find My Way" | The Neptunes | 8:15 |