Anarchy
a photo of a baby’s head emerging from a vagina. “Chumbawamba” is written in red all-caps on a blue background in the upper left corner; “Anarchy” is written in the same style in the lower right corner.
Studio album by
Chumbawamba
Released25 April 1994
RecordedJanuary 1994
Genre
Length41:32
LabelOne Little Indian/London
ProducerChumbawamba, Neil Ferguson
Chumbawamba chronology
Shhh
(1992)		 Anarchy
(1994)		 Showbusiness!
(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 of the album replaces the baby picture with a painting of red roses.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert Christgau(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[3]
Select2/5[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.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
16."Homophobia" (Sisters Mix)4:35

Song details

Personnel

Chumbawamba

Additional personnel

  • Neil Ferguson
  • MC Fusion
  • Simon "Commonknowledge" Lanzon - Accordion
  • Kerry and Casey - "Georgina" intro
  • Geoff Reid - Mandolin

References

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