Anarchy (Chumbawamba album)
| Anarchy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 25 April 1994 | |||
| Recorded | January 1994 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:32 | |||
| Label | One Little Indian/London | |||
| Producer | Chumbawamba, Neil Ferguson | |||
| Chumbawamba chronology | ||||
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Anarchy is the sixth studio album by anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba. Many of the tracks address specific social issues, such as homophobia, strikes or fascism.
Its graphic cover, depicting a baby's head emerging from a vagina, prompted the record to be banned from some shops and stocked in plain sleeves in others.[2] The iTunes version of the album replaces the baby picture with a painting of several flowers.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau |  [3] |
| Select | 2/5[4] |
In a review for AllMusic, Chris Nickson praised the album's "intelligence" and stylistic diversity, but the album was only awarded three stars.[1] Music critic Robert Christgau regarded the album as "transient punk-style agitprop with announcements," awarding the album two honourable mention stars, and praising "Timebomb" and "Mouthful" as highlights.[3] Gina Morris gave it 2 out of 5 in the June 1994 issue of Select and called it "disappointingly uninspired, pretty rather than poignant and flooded with lame clichés and, for the most part, feeble subjects."[4]
Commercial performance
The album was a commercial success, giving the group their first top-40 album on the UK Albums Chart. The album debuted and peaked at number 29 on the chart dated 7 May 1994; it spent a total of three weeks on the chart before exiting the top 100.[5]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Chumbawamba
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Give the Anarchist a Cigarette" | 4:07 |
| 2. | "Timebomb" | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Homophobia" | 2:31 |
| 4. | "On Being Pushed" | 0:31 |
| 5. | "Heaven/Hell" | 2:26 |
| 6. | "Love Me" | 3:51 |
| 7. | "Georgina" | 2:26 |
| 8. | "Doh!" | 0:21 |
| 9. | "Blackpool Rock" | 0:28 |
| 10. | "This Year's Thing" | 4:06 |
| 11. | "Mouthful of Shit" | 3:45 |
| 12. | "Never Do What You Are Told" | 1:22 |
| 13. | "Bad Dog" | 4:31 |
| 14. | "Enough Is Enough" (featuring Credit to the Nation) | 4:34 |
| 15. | "Rage" | 2:50 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Homophobia" (Sisters Mix) | 4:35 |
Song details
- The title of Give The Anarchist A Cigarette comes from a scene in the Bob Dylan documentary Dont Look Back in which Dylan's manager Albert Grossman tells him "They're calling you an anarchist now", to which Dylan replies "Give the anarchist a cigarette".[6]
- The line "give the fascist man a gunshot" from Enough is Enough was referenced by Asian Dub Foundation in their song "TH9".
- The lyrics to Georgina reference the Peter Greenaway movie The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
- The title to the track "Doh!" is named after the catchphrase used by the cartoon character Homer Simpson. The catchphrase is heard at the end of the track.
Personnel
Chumbawamba
- Harry Hamer
- Danbert Nobacon
- Paul Greco
- Lou Watts
- Dunstan Bruce
- Boff Whalley
- Alice Nutter
- Mavis Dillon
Additional personnel
- Neil Ferguson
- MC Fusion
- Simon "Commonknowledge" Lanzon - Accordion
- Kerry and Casey - "Georgina" intro
- Geoff Reid - Mandolin
References
- ^ a b c Allmusic review
- ^ Chumbawamba website
- ^ a b Robert Christgau review
- ^ a b Select review
- ^ "Chumbawamba Chart History". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ Uneasy Listening CD booklet.
