B-side "Kraut" Recorded ??? Length 4:11 | Released February 28, 1995 Genre Industrial rock Label Wax Trax!/TVT | |
"Juke Joint Jezebel" is a song by industrial rock group KMFDM from their 1995 album Nihil. It is KMFDM's most widely known song to date, with around three million copies of the song sold in various forms.
Contents
Background
The music for the song was written primarily by KMFDM frontman Sascha Konietzko, who asked returning band member Raymond Watts to write the lyrics for "Juke Joint Jezebel" as well as a few other tracks from Nihil. Also credited as authors are En Esch and Günter Schulz.
Release
"Juke Joint Jezebel" was initially released on February 28, 1995. After the release of Nihil, a second version of the single was released with additional remixes by Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder. The Canadian release of Juke Joint Jezebel: The Giorgio Moroder Mixes includes a bonus CD titled The Year Of The Pig Collection, which feature one track each from KMFDM's previous six studio albums, as well "Fuck Me" from Sin Sex & Salvation. "Juke Joint Jezebel" was also released on a 12" entitled Year of the Pig.
One of the two music videos for the song uses animations extensively from the Patlabor 1 manga movie. The original version of the song is in the 1995 movie Bad Boys, while the "Giorgio Moroder Metropolis Remix" of the song is featured in the Mortal Kombat movie and soundtrack. Both soundtracks eventually went platinum. The album version of the song can also be heard in the "Home is Where the Tart Is" episode of Beverly Hills, 90210.
The original single version was re-released as a 7" in 2009. On October 25, 2010, "Juke Joint Jezebel" was made available as a downloadable song for the game Rock Band.
Critical reception
"Juke Joint Jezebel" has received significant critical acclaim. Heidi MacDonald of CMJ New Music Monthly called the song "nearly flawless". Andy Hinds of Allmusic called it "an enduring and indispensable dancefloor favorite at goth/industrial clubs around the world." Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune said it "swaggers like a Bourbon Street hooker, with crunching guitars and a swooping, gospelish chorus". "Juke Joint Jezebel" was listed at No. 23 on COMA Music Magazine's "101 Greatest Industrial Songs of All Time" feature in 2012.