Seo Taiji and Boys IV

"Come Back Home" was a foray into gangsta rap. Seo Taiji wrote the song about his own experiences running away from home.{{cite web |last1=Han |first1=Hyun-woo |script-title=ko:[Why] [한현우의 히든트랙] 돌아온 서태지 단독 인터뷰 |trans-title=[Why] [Han Hyeon-Woo's Hidden Track] Seo Taiji's return solo interview |url=https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/10/03/2008100300472.html |website=The Chosun Ilbo |access-date=December 1, 2021 |language=ko |date=October 4, 2008}} The third track, "Pilseung" (필승, lit. Must Triumph), was a hit with its alternative rock sound. "Goodbye" on this album is instrumental. A version with vocals was later released on their 1996 compilation, entitled Goodbye Best Album. "Free Style" was written and composed by Seo and his former Sinawe bandmate Kim Jong-seo. Kim provides vocals on the track, appears in its music video and included it on his own 1995 album, Thermal Island. Lee Juno later stated that group leader Seo made the decision to disband Seo Taiji and Boys himself while recording their fourth album, much to the surprise of Yang Hyun-suk and himself.{{cite web|title=Way Back Wednesday: Seo Taiji & Boys - "Nan Arayo"|url=http://www.allkpop.com/article/2010/11/way-back-wednesdays-seo-taiji-boys-nan-arayo|work=allkpop.com|date=November 18, 2010|accessdate=July 2, 2016}}

In April 1996, Billboard reported that the album was nearing the 2 million copies sold mark.{{cite magazine|title=Seoul Music: Rockin' in Korea; April 20, 1996|url={{Google books|iw0EAAAAMBAJ|page=18|plainurl=yes}}|page=18|magazine=Billboard}} The album has sold over 2.4 million copies, making it the group's best selling album.{{Cite news|url=http://www.kookje.co.kr/news2011/asp/newsbody.asp?code=0500&key=20180131.99099014398|title=이주노와 양현석...이들 활동했던 '서태지와 아이들'에 관심 집중|last=Lee|first=Seung-ryun|date=January 31, 2018|work=Kookje Shinmun|access-date=August 30, 2018|language=ko}}{{Cite web|url=http://music.bugs.co.kr/musicpd/albumview/6794|title = 1995년 베스트 가요 콜렉션 / 연도별가요}} Kyunghyang Shinmun ranked the album number 36 on its 2007 list of the Top 100 Korean Albums of All Time.{{cite web|title=[대중음악 100대 명반]36위 서태지와 아이들 '서태지와 아이들IV'|url=http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=200712270922101&code=900307&s_code=at031|language=Korean|work=Kyunghyang Shinmun|date=December 27, 2007|accessdate=July 2, 2016}} Chuck Eddy of Spin wrote that on their fourth album, Seo Taiji and Boys "were all over the map: horse-whinnying Cypress Hill–style nasal frat-hop, Rancid-like surf-guitared ska-punk, metal shrieking, blues-rock solos, flutes, Brazilian percussion, turntable-scratching of acid-rock riffs, smooth-jazz interludes with doo-woppish sha-la-las."{{cite web|title= K-pop: The polyglot fizz of K-pop conquers Asia, and prepares to spray the West. |url=http://www.spin.com/2011/11/k-pop/|work=Spin|date=November 1, 2011|accessdate=July 2, 2016}}

"Come Back Home" has been criticized for being similar to Cypress Hill's 1993 hit "Insane in the Brain". However, Cypress Hill member B-Real later explained they were aware of the controversy but "we were cool about shit like that".{{cite web|title=I'm B-Real, the Frontman of Cypress Hill and Co-Founder of BREAL.TV - Ask Me Anything (LIVE BROADCAST)|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1zu05h/im_breal_the_frontman_of_cypress_hill_and/cfwzshx|work=Reddit|date=2014|accessdate=July 2, 2016}} "Sidae Yugam" (시대유감, lit. Regret of the Times) was rejected by the Public Performance Ethics Committee for having lyrics that criticized the government. Seo Taiji declined to alter the cited lyrics and instead, the album includes only an instrumental version of the song.{{cite magazine|title=Tri-Lingual Radio for Malaysia, Censorship Exemption in Korea; August 10, 1996|url={{Google books|wgcEAAAAMBAJ|page=45|plainurl=yes}}|page=45|magazine=Billboard}}{{cite book|last1=Mitchell|first1=Tony |title=Global Noise: Rap and Hip Hop Outside the USA|url={{Google books|itcAedBA5CIC|page=251|plainurl=yes}}|page=251|publisher=Wesleyan University Press|date=January 1, 2002}} The lyrics below were requested be removed/altered, after being translated into English:

{{Blockquote|Lips stained black. Gone is the era of honest people. [...] How far do you think you can fly with these broken wings of yours? I wish for a new world that will overturn everything. [...] I hope that I can avenge the grudge in my heart.{{cite book|title=The Korean Popular Culture Reader|url={{Google books|SWdhAwAAQBAJ|page=302|plainurl=yes}}|page=302|publisher=Duke University Press|date=March 7, 2014}}}}

The backlash from the fans was immense, and the system of 'pre-censorship' (사전심의제) was abolished in June 1996, partially as a result of this. An EP titled Sidae Yugam and including the original vocal version of the song was released a month after the system was abolished.

{{track listing

| headline = Seo Taiji and Boys IV track listing

| all_writing = Seo Taiji, except track 9, which is co-written with Kim Jong-seo.

| title1 = Yo! Taiji

| length1 = 1:05

| title2 = Sad Pain

| note2 = 슬픈 아픔

| length2 = 5:35

| title3 = Must Triumph

| note3 = 필승 (必勝)

| length3 = 3:45

| title4 = Come Back Home

| length4 = 3:54

| title5 = Regret of the Times

| note5 = 시대유감 (時代遺感)

| length5 = 3:23

| title6 = 1996, When They Conquered the World

| note6 = 1996, 그들이 지구를 지배했을 때

| length6 = 3:38

| title7 = Taiji Boys

| length7 = 1:27

| title8 = Good Bye

| length8 = 5:01

| title9 = Free Style

| length9 = 3:53

| title10 = Inabilisnabi

| note10 = 이너비리스너비

| length10 = 1:11

| total_length = 32:52

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Seo Taiji and Boys IV {{nobold|— 15th Anniversary Edition}}

| title11 = Sad Pain ('04 Zero Live)

| note11 = 슬픈 아픔 ('04 Zero Live)

| length11 = 6:00

| title12 = Must Triumph ('04 Zero Live)

| note12 = 필승 ('04 Zero Live)

| length12 = 3:55

| title13 = '07 Come Back Home (Remix)

| length13 = 3:55

| total_length = 13:50

}}

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes booklet.

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

; Seo Taiji and Boys

• Seo Taiji – vocals, arrangement, guitar (2, 3, 7, 9, 10), bass (7, 9)
• Yang Hyun-suk – vocals
• Lee Juno – vocals

; Additional musicians

• Kim Jong-seo – vocals (9)
• Michael Landau – guitar (1, 5)
• Tim Pierce – guitar (2, 3, 9)
• Josh Freese – drums (1, 2, 3, 5)
• Neil Stubenhaus – bass (1, 2, 3, 5)
• DJ Ralph M. – scratching (4, 9)
• Lee Jeong Sik – saxophone (8)

{{col-2}}

; Technical personnel

• Seo Taiji – producer, recording, mixing (7, 10)
• Kook Kim – co-producer, recording, mixing (7, 10)
• Capital Record Tower Mastering (Los Angeles) – mastering studio
• Sound Vision (Seoul) – mastering studio
• Jason Arnold – mastering
• Kim Ho Jung – mastering
• Larrabee Studio – mixing studio
• Image Studio (Los Angeles) – mixing studio
• Jason Roberts – recording, mixing (except tracks 7, 8, 10)
• John Ven Nest – mixing (8)
• Michael Scotella (Ocean Way Studio) – assistant engineer
• Lamont Hyde (Larrabee Studio) – assistant engineer
• Kim Chul, Lee Sang Chul, Lee Ji Woon, Lee Kyung Mi – management
• Kim Bum Lae – design, computer graphics
• Janice Ha (Team Ace) – design, computer graphics, photography
• Chae Song-ah – copywriter

{{col-end}}

{{reflist}}

• {{youTube|6ZTFcnRS3b0|Music video for "Sad Pain"}}
• {{youTube|g9JapbJsvZo|Music video for "Pilseung"}}
• {{youTube|q3xy4p2JTfU|Music video for "Come Back Home"}}
• {{youTube|oOEbTr1S06g|Music video for "Free Style"}}

{{Seo Taiji}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1995 albums

Category:Seo Taiji and Boys albums