Anarchy (Chumbawamba album)

Anarchy
Studio album by Chumbawamba
Released	25 April 1994
Recorded	January 1994
Genre	Alternative rock anarcho-punk pop[1]
Length	41:32
Label	One Little Indian/London
Producer	Chumbawamba, Neil Ferguson
Chumbawamba chronology
Shhh (1992) Anarchy (1994) Showbusiness! (1994)
Singles from Anarchy
"Enough Is Enough" Released: 1993 "Timebomb" Released: 1994 "Homophobia" Released: 1994

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 Spotify and iTunes version, as well as the Japanese physical edition of the album replaces the baby picture with a painting of red roses.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

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 of Shit" 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

Japanese edition bonus track

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

1. Allmusic review
2. Chumbawamba website
3. Robert Christgau review
4. Select review
5. "Chumbawamba Chart History". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
6. Uneasy Listening CD booklet.