American Made Music to Strip By

Background

Rob Zombie first rose to fame as the vocalist for heavy metal band White Zombie. With the band, Zombie released four studio albums, two of which earned multi-platinum status in the United States. Zombie released his first solo recording in 1996, earning a Grammy award nomination for the effort. Work on Zombie's debut studio album was announced in 1998. Zombie wrote all of the material for Hellbilly Deluxe, and worked with producer Scott Humphrey for the album's production work. Hellbilly Deluxe was released on August 25, 1998. The album was met with a generally positive critical reception, and went on to gain the title of a "shock rock classic" in later years. Hellbilly Deluxe was a commercial success, going on to sell over three million copies worldwide and earning record certifications in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The release spawned three singles, all of which received extensive radio airplay upon release. Both "Dragula" and "Living Dead Girl" entered the top ten of the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, while "Superbeast" earned a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. Since its release, Hellbilly Deluxe has been regarded as Zombie's most successful album both critically and commercially.

Charlie Clouser was confirmed to be working on remixes for three of the album's songs in September 1999; Clouser had previously worked with Zombie on early recording sessions for Hellbilly Deluxe, and is credited as producer on the song "Superbeast". The same article reported that Chris Vrenna had been brought on to remix "Return of the Phantom Stranger". On September 24, it was reported that Jeff Turzo of God Lives Underwater had worked on a new remix for Rob Zombie. MTV reported on September 29 that Zombie had begun mastering an upcoming remix album that consisted of songs from his debut solo effort. The article confirmed the track listing for the album, and revealed that Zombie had filmed a music video for Clouser's remix of "Superbeast". Despite this announcement, a music video for the remix was not released. The "Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare Mix" of "Dragula" had previously been released under the title "Hot Rod Herman Remix", and had appeared on the soundtrack The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture (1999). The remix also appeared on promotional releases for "Dragula" upon its initial release as a single. Similarly, the "Subliminal Seduction Mix" of "Living Dead Girl" had appeared as the "Naked Exorcism Mix" on promotional releases for the single.

Release and artwork

American Made Music to Strip By was released on Compact disc (CD), LP record, Compact Cassette, and for digital download on October 26, 1999. Little promotion was put forth prior to the release of the project. The album served as Zombie's second release through Geffen Records as a solo artist. Much like its parent album, American Made Music to Strip By featured a Parental Advisory label, affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to identify explicit content. Despite the album receiving the label, the only song to feature explicit lyrics is "The Ballad of Resurrection Joe and Rosa Whore". The cover art features Zombie's then-girlfriend Sheri Moon naked and tinted green, while wearing a cowboy hat and high heels. The album's booklet consisted of twenty-eight pages, features images of a "scantily-clad" Sheri Moon along with tour photos and original artwork by Zombie. Zombie filmed a new music video for the "Subliminal Seduction Mix" of "Living Dead Girl", which had previously received an official single release earlier that year. The new video features the same setting as the original, though sees Zombie and his band performing the song while dressed as mummies. Sheri Moon Zombie, who portrayed the living dead girl in the original video, does not appear in the remixed edition. The Spookshow Baby Remix-a-Go-Go promotional LP was released on November 30, 1999. The album consists of five remix, four of which had previously appeared on American Made Music to Strip By. The fifth and final remix was an additional remix of "Spookshow Baby". The vinyl release has since went out of print, though is available through third-party sellers online.

Critical reception

Upon its initial release, American Made Music to Strip By was met with a mixed critical reception. Heather Phares of Allmusic gave the album three out of five stars, and wrote "The sexy, sleazy, horror-movie vibe of Hellbilly Deluxe is amplified on a remix of 'What Lurks on Channel X?' by the Spacetruckers, Rammstein's reworking of 'Spookshow Baby,' and the "Poly 915" remix of 'Demonoid Phenomenon.' Clouser turns in revamped versions of 'Superbeast,' 'Dragula,' and 'Living Dead Girl' that expand on the songs' creepy yet hard-hitting feel." Rob O'Connor of Yahoo! Music praised the album's artwork and booklet, though criticized the album by writing "Besides, if Mr. Zombie is so hands-on about his artistic statements, then how can he stand the idea of having all these other klutzes messing with his sound?"

Rolling Stone gave the album two stars. The article claimed "Charlie Clouser's versions of 'Dragula' and 'Living Dead Girl' liberate Zombie's music from the verse-chorus-verse structure, giving the songs an eerier, more-consuming edge", though later added "many of these remixes are like one sequel too many to a horror film - the same predictable elements simply rearranged." Legends Magazine gave the album a strong review, stating "Every song on this disk is superb. Any song that sucked on Hellbilly [Deluxe] is now re-built and vastly improved - proof that you can shine poop. The previously disappointing 'How to Make a Monster', which was mixed to almost inaudible levels on Hellbilly [Deluxe], has been resurrected and repackaged by God Lives Underwater into a sleazy-swank, KMFDM-esque dance-floor romp." In their review of the album, New Musical Express (NME) gave the album one out of ten stars, going on to say "Just another greedy ruse in metal's lucrative electronic revolution? Oh yes. But it's the incestuous choice of remixers that really makes it such an exercise in futility."

Commercial performance

On the week ending November 13, American Made Music to Strip By debuted at number thirty-eight on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. The first week sales for the project were not released by Nielsen SoundScan. The album fell to number sixty-three in its second week, and fell once more to ninety-nine the following week. American Made Music to Strip By fell to number one hundred thirty-one in its fourth charting week. The album was number one hundred eighty-eight (188) in its fifth week, and fell off the chart the following week. The album re-entered the charts for the week ending January 15, 2000, charting at number one hundred and sixty-seven (167) for the week; it fell off the chart the week after. American Made Music to Strip By had sold an estimated 234,631 copies in the United States as of June 2000. In Canada, the album failed to appear on the official albums chart in the country. Despite this, American Made Music to Strip By received a gold certification from Music Canada, denoting sales of 40,000 copies. The album entered the official albums chart in the United Kingdom at number one hundred seventy-nine.

Track listing

Personnel