Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$ came out on 1 July 1997, after sessions with Ross Robinson at Indigo Ranch. The producer and studio connect it to early Korn, but the five members of Limp Bizkit worked very differently together.
Listen To What Each Member Is Doing
John Otto and Sam Rivers give the rhythms their swing and abrupt stops. Wes Borland adds texture as often as riffs, and DJ Lethal's scratches and samples are part of the arrangements. Fred Durst moves between muttering, rapping and a cracked shout. Counterfeit is a good place to hear it all come together.
Faith Brought People In
The George Michael cover Faith and its video brought Limp Bizkit to a larger audience. The rest of the album is less playful. Pollution, Stuck and Sour are anxious, confrontational songs that often make you sit with the tension.
The sales came later
The album went Platinum in 1999 and double Platinum in 2001 as the band's later success sent listeners back to the debut. The turntables, hip-hop rhythms and low-tuned guitars were already working together here.
Later Limp Bizkit were brighter, louder and easier to quote. This version is less settled, and that's part of the appeal. You can hear a band finding out how far they can take each idea.
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