Daily Staff Writer

“Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$”

Limp Bizkit

Interscope has been dishing out innovative alternative records right and left this summer, with releases from Smash Mouth, Artificial Joy Club, Jane Jensen, Pink Noise Test and now Limp Bizkit.

“Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$,” the debut release from Limp Bizkit, definitely carves its name into hard-core history. The record not only exposes some of the most angst-driven musical work to date, but is covered with vocals ranging from intense screams to groovy raps.

Discovered by Korn, the Jacksonville natives mix that kind of guitar work with a sound similar to the Deftones, a band Limp Bizkit toured with before recording.

DJ Lethal spins with the band and brings his House of Pain experience to the mesh of talent. On “Stuck,” one of the disc’s best songs, DJ Lethal mixes in bits of the Edie Brickell tune “What I Am,” which go perfectly with vocalist Fred Durst’s scream “You wanna play that game, bitch.”

“Sour” is interesting musical journey led by a funk-based bass line mixed with well-supported chorus. “Indigo Flow” is much more rap-oriented and sounds like the early N.W.A. days. An “I love you” scream breaks up the song toward the end and closes with a scratch marathon by DJ Lethal.

The highlight is the only song in which Durst didn’t write, a cover of George Michael’s “Faith.” The tune begins in normal Michael “ripped denim” fashion, but twists into something completely original when Durst roars into the “You gotta have faith” chorus.

“Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$” is one of the better hard-core/hip-hop records to date, beating out its lack-of-rap buddies Korn and the Deftones. It has all the elements and variety of Rage Against The Machine, plus a pretty wicked DJ.

4 stars out of five.

— Corey Moss