''Anarchy'' is the sixth studio album by anarcho-punk

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

Chumbawamba. Many of the tracks address specific social issues, such as homophobia, strikes or

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. 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. The iTunes version of the album replaces the baby picture with a painting of several flowers.

Critical reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, Chris Nickson praised the album's "intelligence" and stylistic diversity, but the album was only awarded three stars. 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. 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."

Commercial performance

The album was a commercial success, giving the group their first top-40 album on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. 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.

Track listing

Song details

* The title of ''Give The Anarchist A Cigarette'' comes from a scene in the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

documentary ''

Dont Look Back '' Look Back'' is a 1967 American documentary film directed by D. A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan's 1965 concert tour in England. In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library o ...

'' in which Dylan's manager

Albert Grossman Albert Bernard Grossman (May 21, 1926 – January 25, 1986) was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music and rock and roll scene. He was famous as the manager of many of the most popular and successful performers of folk an ...

tells him "They're calling you an anarchist now", to which Dylan replies "Give the anarchist a cigarette". Uneasy Listening CD booklet. * The line "give the fascist man a gunshot" from ''Enough is Enough'' was referenced by

Asian Dub Foundation Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English electronic music band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall, ragga, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bass and guit ...

in their song "TH9". * The lyrics to ''Georgina'' reference the

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are th ...

movie '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' * The title to the track "Doh!" is named after the

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

used by the cartoon character Homer Simpson. The catchphrase is heard at the end of the track.

Personnel

Chumbawamba * Harry Hamer *

Danbert Nobacon Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include " Amnesia", " Enou ...

* Paul Greco *

Lou Watts Louise "Lou" Watts (born 4 June 1962) is a British musician, perhaps best known for her work as the lead singer of anarcho-punk and later folk band, Chumbawamba. Born in Burnley, Watts was introduced to the band by friend and member Alice ...

Dunstan Bruce Dunstan Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English musician and filmmaker who is perhaps best known for his work with Leeds-based anarcho-pop band Chumbawamba, of which he was a founding member. He grew up in the northern industrial town of Bill ...

Boff Whalley Allan Mark "Boff" Whalley (born 1 January 1961) is an English musician and writer. Formerly the lead guitarist for the anarcho-punk and folk band Chumbawamba, he is now a playwright and the founder of Commoners Choir who released their first ...

* Alice Nutter * Mavis Dillon Additional personnel * Neil Ferguson * MC Fusion * Simon "Commonknowledge" Lanzon - Accordion * Kerry and Casey - "Georgina" intro * Geoff Reid - Mandolin

References

{{Authority control Chumbawamba albums 1994 albums One Little Independent Records albums Obscenity controversies in music