Ministry


Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs

Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs is an album by the band Ministry. It was released in 1992 through Sire Records. The actual title of the album is ΚΕΦΑΛΗ ΞΘ (a Greek word roughly pronounced as “ke-fa-lay,” meaning “head” or “leader”, and the number 69 in Greek numerals), though Psalm 69 is used for simplicity’s sake.

The song “N.W.O.” (New World Order) features samples of George H. W. Bush and was used in the Ralph Bakshi half live action/half animated film Cool World. It is frontman Al Jourgensen’s critical take on the state of world affairs after the Gulf War and the end of the Cold War and an uncertain future. “Jesus Built My Hotrod” features guest vocals by Gibby Haynes, from the Butthole Surfers.

“N.W.O.” was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1993.

 

Track listing

  1. "N.W.O." - 5:31 (Jourgensen, Barker)
  2. "Just One Fix" - 5:11 (Jourgensen, Barker, Rieflin, Balch)
  3. "TV II" - 3:04 (Jourgensen, Barker, Scaccia, Rieflin, Connelly)
  4. "Hero" - 4:13 (Jourgensen, Barker, Rieflin)
  5. "Jesus Built My Hotrod" - 4:51 (Jourgensen, Barker, Balch, Rieflin, Haynes)
  6. "Scare Crow" - 8:21 (Jourgensen, Barker, Scaccia, Rieflin, Balch)
  7. "Psalm 69" - 5:29 (Jourgensen, Barker)
  8. "Corrosion" - 4:56 (Jourgensen, Barker)
  9. "Grace" - 3:05 (Jourgensen, Barker)

 

Samples

Samples.[1]

N.W.O.

  • "Alright, it's alright!" - Apocalypse Now
  • "What we are looking at is good and evil, right and wrong.", "A new world order!", "We're not about to make that same mistake twice.", "God bless America! (crowd cheering)", "Wait... Watch and learn.", "I believe in freedom." - President George H. W. Bush
  • "I'm not setting myself above any law." - Senator Joseph McCarthy

Just One Fix

  • "Give me that thorazine man... " - The Trip
  • "Jesus Wept." - Hellraiser
  • "Noooooooo!" - Hellbound: Hellraiser II
  • "Never trust a junkie." - Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) from Sid and Nancy
  • "I wanna fix, gimme a fix", "Just one fix" - Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra) from The Man with the Golden Arm

Hero

  • Contains many samples from the cartoon G. I. Joe

"Jesus Built My Hotrod"

  • "Let's hit... the fuc'...kin' road!" - Blue Velvet
  • [Tires squealing] - Blue Velvet
  • "Nobody with a good car needs to worry about nothin', do you understand." - Wise Blood
  • "Nobody with a good car needs to be justified." - Wise Blood
  • "I come a long way since I believed in anything, and I come halfway around the world." - Wise Blood
  • "What are you talking about? Where you came from is gone, where you thought you were going to weren't never there, and where you are ain't no good unless you can can get away from it..." - Wise Blood

Psalm 69

  • "I feel like my heart is being touched by Christ" - Altered States
  • "Liar! Blasphemer!" - The Pit and the Pendulum
  • "STOP IT!" - Suspiria

 

Singles

  • "Jesus Built My Hotrod" was released in 1991 on 12" and CD, featuring "Jesus Built My Hotrod (Redline/Whiteline Version)", "Jesus Built My Hotrod (Short, Pussillanimous, So-They-Can-Fit-More-Commercials-On-The-Radio Edit)", and "TV Song," and on 7", omitting "Jesus Built My Hotrod (Redline/Whiteline Version)"
  • "N.W.O." was released in 1992 on 12" and CD, featuring "N.W.O. (Extended Dance Mix)", "Fucked", and "N.W.O."
  • "Just One Fix" was released in 1993 on 12" and CD, featuring "Just One Fix (12" Edit)", "Quick Fix" (a remix of "Just One Fix") and "Just one Fix (Video Edit)"

 

Charting positions

Album

Year Chart Position
1992 Top Heatseekers 1
1992 The Billboard 200 27

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1992 Jesus Built My Hotrod Modern Rock Tracks 19
1992 N.W.O. Modern Rock Tracks 11

Music certifications

Year Country Award Copies sold
1992 Canada Gold 50,000
1993 USA Gold 500,000
1995 USA Platinum 1,000,000
2006 Australia Gold 35,000

 

Personnel

 

Ministry

  • Al Jourgensen – vocals, guitars, keyboards, producer
  • Paul Barker – bass, programming, vocals, producer

 

Additional Personnel

  • William Rieflin – drums
  • Mike Scaccia – guitar
  • Michael Balch – keyboards, programming
  • Howie Beno – programming
  • Louis Svitek – guitar
  • Gibby Haynes – vocals (5)
  • Jeff "Critter" Newell – engineer
  • Paul Manno – engineer


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ministry

Ministry, an American influential Grammy-nominated industrial metal group founded by frontman Al Jourgensen in 1981.

Ministry was originally a synthpop group but changed its style to industrial metal in the late 80s. During the early 90s, Ministry found mainstream success with their album Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs (1992). Al decided to retire Ministry in 2008 after 27 years of performing.

For a more detailed biography of the band, please visit the BIO.