I'll Sleep When You're Dead is the second solo studio album by American hip hop artist El-P. It was released through Definitive Jux on March 20, 2007. It peaked at number 78 on the Billboard 200 chart,[1] selling about 11,000 copies in its first week.[2] Music videos were created for "Flyentology"[3] and "Smithereens".[4]
| I'll Sleep When You're Dead | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 20, 2007 | |||
| Studio | Gotham (New York City) | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 55:07 | |||
| Label | Definitive Jux | |||
| Producer | El-P | |||
| El-P chronology | ||||
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| Singles from I'll Sleep When You're Dead | ||||
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Production
editDespite his usual dislike of "records that have a bunch of (featuring so and so) after every song title",[5] El-P has explained the more organic nature of the collaborations on I'll Sleep When You're Dead:
My collaborations for the most part come from friendships I have with people who happen to be in the vicinity while I'm making my shit. Little splashes of other peoples voices, talents, energy used in subtle ways is the way I usually like to freak it. Rob does some back ups, Sweeny plays some guitar, Aes drops a verse, James plays some bass... whatever works at the time. It's the South Park theory: when George Clooney appeared on South Park it was as a gay dog. That's the type of shit that makes my day.[5]
El-P has compared the overall sound of the album's music to "a psychedelic Boogie Down Productions record", and like "Scott LaRock and Ced Gee take acid".[6]
The bird on the album's cover is based on a drawing that Alexander Calder made on a wooden toy airplane for El-P as a child.[7]
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 80/100[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| The A.V. Club | B[10] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[11] |
| The Guardian |  [12] |
| The Independent | [13] |
| NME | 7/10[14] |
| Pitchfork | 8.0/10[15] |
| Rolling Stone | [16] |
| Spin | [17] |
| Uncut | [18] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, I'll Sleep When You're Dead received an average score of 80 based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]
John Bush of AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, calling it "one of the most powerful hip-hop albums of 2007."[9] Dave Heaton of PopMatters gave the album 8 stars out of 10, saying: "The genius of I'll Sleep When You're Dead -- and the reason it deserves to be considered as a progressive step in El-P's journey as an artist -- is that the tracks are just as dense and complex as on his other albums, but in a new, fresh way."[19] Andy Battaglia of The A.V. Club gave the album a grade of B, saying, "nobody makes hip-hop as textured and atmospheric as El-P, and he manages to temper his disorienting noise with soulful suggestions this time out."[10]
Consequence of Sound placed it at number 42 on the "Top 50 Albums of 2007" list.[20]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tasmanian Pain Coaster" (with Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala) | 6:56 |
| 2. | "Smithereens (Stop Cryin')" | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Up All Night" | 2:38 |
| 4. | "EMG" | 4:33 |
| 5. | "Drive" | 4:15 |
| 6. | "Dear Sirs" | 1:34 |
| 7. | "Run the Numbers" (with Aesop Rock) | 4:43 |
| 8. | "Habeas Corpses (Draconian Love)" (with Cage) | 4:36 |
| 9. | "The Overly Dramatic Truth" | 4:32 |
| 10. | "Flyentology" (with Trent Reznor) | 4:03 |
| 11. | "No Kings" | 3:07 |
| 12. | "The League of Extraordinary Nobodies" | 2:36 |
| 13. | "Poisenville Kids No Wins / Reprise (This Must Be Our Time)" (with Chan "Cat Power" Marshall) | 7:00 |
Personnel
editCredits adapted from liner notes.
- El-P – vocals, production, executive production
- Omar Rodríguez-López – vocals (1)
- Cedric Bixler-Zavala – vocals (1)
- Matt Sweeney – guitar (1)
- Wilder Zoby – synthesizer (1, 7)
- Mr. Dibbs – turntables (1, 2, 7, 8)
- Hangar 18 – vocals (2)
- Mr. Lif – vocals (3)
- Big Wiz – turntables (4)
- Aesop Rock – vocals (7)
- Cage – vocals (8)
- Daniel Kaufman – lute (8)
- Mr. Len – vocals (8)
- Victoria Allen – vocals (8)
- Daryl Palumbo – vocals (9), keyboards (9)
- Camu Tao – vocals (9)
- Trent Reznor – vocals (10), additional production (10)
- Atticus Ross – programming (10)
- Rob Sonic – vocals (10)
- Tame One – vocals (11)
- Joey Raia – vocals (12), recording, mixing
- Slug – vocals (12)
- Murs – vocals (12)
- Chan "Cat Power" Marshall – vocals (13)
- Kareem Bunton – guitar (13)
- Ikey Owens – keyboards (13)
- Michael Sarsfield – mastering
- Brad Smith – layout, design
- Timothy Saccenti – photography
- Amaechi Uzoigwe – executive production
- Jesse Ferguson – project management
Charts
edit| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[21] | 158 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC)[22] | 10 |
| US Billboard 200[1] | 78 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[23] | 6 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[24] | 55 |
References
edit- ^ a b "El-P: Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ Hasty, Katie (March 28, 2007). "Modest Mouse Steers Its 'Ship' To No. 1 Debut". Billboard. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ Watercutter, Angela (February 27, 2007). "Lords of the Fly". Wired. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ "El-P". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ a b "I'll Sleep When You're Dead Blog - a brief list of some of the people who appear in some form on my record..."
- ^ "I'll Sleep When You're Dead Blog - SCOTT LAROCK AND CED GEE TAKE ACID".
- ^ Christopher, Roy (March 15, 2007). "El-P: Wake Up. Time to Die". RoyChristopher.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ a b "Reviews for I'll Sleep When You're Dead by El-P". Metacritic. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ a b Bush, John. "I'll Sleep When You're Dead – El-P". AllMusic. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ a b Battaglia, Andy (March 27, 2007). "El-P: I'll Sleep When You're Dead". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (March 16, 2007). "I'll Sleep When You're Dead". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ Batey, Angus (March 16, 2007). "El-P, I'll Sleep When You're Dead". The Guardian. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ Gill, Andy (March 16, 2007). "Album: El-P". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 28, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
- ^ Miller, Alex (March 16, 2007). "El-P: I'll Sleep When You're Dead". NME. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ Chennault, Sam (March 16, 2007). "El-P: I'll Sleep When You're Dead". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ Hoard, Christian (March 20, 2007). "El-P: I'll Sleep When You're Dead". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ Ryan, Chris (March 2007). "El-P: I'll Sleep When You're Dead". Spin. 23 (3): 91–94. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
- ^ "El-P: I'll Sleep When You're Dead". Uncut (119): 99. April 2007.
- ^ Heaton, Dave (April 12, 2007). "El-P: Ill Sleep When Youre Dead". PopMatters. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2007 (page 3 of 12)". Consequence of Sound. January 23, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ "Chart Log UK: E-40 – E-Z Rollers". Zobbel.de. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40: 25 March 2007 - 31 March 2007". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ "El-P: Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ "El-P: Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
External links
edit- I'll Sleep When You're Dead at Discogs (list of releases)
- I'll Sleep When You're Dead at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- El-P's blog chronicling the album's recording process