Fly or Die
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
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.
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 MTV 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".
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| PopMatters | (favorable) link |
| NME |   link |
| Slant |   link |
| The Times | link |
| Allmusic |  link |
| Entertainment Weekly | (A-) link |
| The Guardian | link |
| Stylus | (C+) link |
| Uncut | link |
| Rolling Stone | link |
Fly or Die went on sale on March 23, 2004. The lead single "She Wants to Move" 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.
Track listing
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Featured guest(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Don't Worry About It" | The Neptunes | 3:41 | |
| 2 | "Fly or Die" | The Neptunes | 3:30 | |
| 3 | "Jump" | The Neptunes | Joel Madden & Benji Madden | 3:55 |
| 4 | "Backseat Love" | The Neptunes | 2:48 | |
| 5 | "She Wants to Move" | 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 |