''Swingin' with Raymond'' is the seventh studio album by anarchist punk band

Chumbawamba 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", " Enoug ...

.Chumbawamba – Swingin' With Raymond (CD, Album) at Discogs
/ref> The album cover features a photograph of Raymond Mills, whom the band selected for his tattooed hands.Chumbawamba – Swingin' With Raymond (Cassette, Album) at Discogs
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Musical style

The first half (tracks 1–6), entitled "Love It", features folk-styled love songs, sung by Lou Watts and featuring acoustic guitars and violin; Chris Nickson, an

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

critic, described the first half of the album as "ironic," commenting that the songs are "about the love of ideas -- even love itself becomes an idea." The second half (tracks 7–13), entitled "Hate It", features the other vocalists, faster rhythms, trumpet and louder guitars; Nickson felt that the second half contained "strong melodies and choruses." To complement the disparity between the two halves, the cover features a man on the album with "LOVE" and "HATE" tattooed on his knuckles. Some versions of the LP featured two separate discs, one for each part.

Critical reception

The album was met with mixed to positive reviews from critics.

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

's Chris Nickson felt that, although the instrumentation occasionally overpowers the lyrics, the album as a whole is artistically successful, concluding that "once again, pop meets politics and, as has to be the case with any good anarchist collective, the politics win -- but you can still think and dance while you listen."

Chart performance

The album was less successful in the UK than its predecessor, ''Anarchy'', which had entered the top 40. ''Swingin' with Raymond'' peaked at number 70 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 ...

, spending only one week on the tally.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chumbawamba.

Personnel

* Lou Watts * Harry Hamer * Paul Greco *

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 ...

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 ...

* Mavis Dillon *

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", " Enoug ...

* Alice Nutter * Dee Scholey – Violin on love songs * Simon Commonknowledge – Extra vocals on "Salome" * Babs Fox st The FFRWD – Live tape in middle of "Salome"

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swingin' With Raymond Chumbawamba albums 1995 albums One Little Independent Records albums