Tubthumper

Tubthumper
Studio album by Chumbawamba
Released 23 September 1997
Recorded 1996-1997
Genre Dance-pop[1]
Length 58:49
Label EMI (UK)
Universal Records (US)
Chumbawamba chronology
Swingin' with Raymond
(1995)		 Tubthumper
(1997)		 WYSIWYG
(2000)
Singles from Tubthumper
  1. "Tubthumping"
    Released: 1997
  2. "Amnesia"
    Released: 23 September 1997
  3. "Drip, Drip, Drip"
    Released: June 1998

Tubthumper is the eighth studio album by the British band Chumbawamba. The album catapulted the group into the mainstream, released by EMI in the UK and in the US by Universal Records, and was noted for its departure from the group's typical style of outspoken alt-rock and dance in favor of a more mainstream sound.[1][2] Many of the tracks address specific social issues, such as homelessness, the Liverpool Dockers' Strike or racism; a fair number of them express the far-left/anarchist critiques of British liberals in "New Labour", which started in 1994. Tubthumper was the band's first major commercial success, and remains their most successful album, selling 3.2 million units in the United States alone, largely on the strength of the hit lead single "Tubthumping".[3] Cover design for the album's US release was designed by Michael Calleia[4] at Industrial Strength Design[5] in New York City.

The album was released as a CD,[6] and on cassette[7] in select regions.

EMI controversy

Following the success of their previous two albums ("Anarchy" and "Swingin' With Raymond," both of which reached the Top 75 on the UK Albums Chart),[8] Chumbawamba signed to EMI Records in hopes of reaching a larger audience. The move caused a huge upheaval in Chumbawamba's fan base, with many of their older fans feeling the band had trivialised all that they had stood for in signing to EMI.[9] The band was targeted by many as being sell-outs and hypocrites, after having been sternly do-it-yourself for their fifteen-year history.[9] The band, always more about the original punk ethos of challenging "normality" than the homogeneous strait-jacket of post-punk with its numerous rules and regulations, revelled in the controversy.

The band's actions were made the subject of a compilation EP released in 1998 titled The Anti-Chumbawamba EP, featuring music from other English acts. One of the songs from the EP was once available to download on the Chumbawamba official Web site, with accompanying text from the band stating, "It's all true."

Dunstan Bruce and Danbert Nobacon are shown reading hate mail from various fans and ex-fans in the 2000 Chumbawamba documentary, Well Done Now Sod Off. The letters are quite rude and severely critical of the actions undertaken by the band, with Bruce having trouble finishing one letter and laughingly exclaiming his amazement at the harshness.

The band's official FAQ has the following to say on the subject: "We signed to EMI/Universal not because we'd been co-opted into the 'If you can't beat capitalism ... join it' school of thought, but because experience had taught us that in a capitalist environment almost every record company operates on capitalist principles. Our previous record label One Little Indian didn't have the evil symbolic significance of EMI BUT they were completely motivated by profit. Our [Chumbawamba's] position was that whoever we signed with would want us not for our ideas but for the potential profit, so we'd battle for a contract where we still had autonomy."[10]

Singles & commercial success

"Tubthumper" was Chumbawamba's most successful album in several respects. It spawned the worldwide hit "Tubthumping," which was a Top 10 hit in the US,[11] the UK,[12] Sweden,[13] Norway,[14] and Belgium,[15] and a number 1 hit in Canada,[16] Italy,[17] Ireland,[18] and Australia.[19] The follow-up single, "Amnesia," also proved a commercial success, managing to reach the Top 10 in the UK[12] and Canada. The album spawned a third single, "Drip Drip Drip,"[20] which failed to make an impression on any international chart but enjoyed generally positive critical reception.[21]

The album sold extremely well, particularly in the US, where it hit number 3 on the Billboard 200;[22] Canada, where the album reached number 2;[23] and the UK, where the album reached number 19.[8] The album also placed at number 17 on the American tally of top-selling albums of 1997.[24] "Tubthumper" remains the group's highest-charting album in all three territories; its sales in the US stand at 3,200,000.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[25]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[26]
Robert Christgau[27]
Rolling Stone[1]

The album garnered praise from critics upon its release. Writing for Allmusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, noting that the album is "distinctive" and concluding that "there's a handful of cuts scattered throughout the record that make the album worthwhile."[25] Entertainment Weekly's review was similarly-positive, awarding the album a "B+" and stating that "social commentary never tasted so sweet."[26] Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album three stars, with the note "Tub as platform, tub as cornucopia, tub as slop bucket," noting "Amnesia" and "Tubthumper" as album highlights.[27] Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, noting "Softly polished to a nice sheen, the lyrics on 'Tubthumper' have traded the brusque directness of yore for oblique pathos," singling out "Smalltown" and "Tubthumping" and concluding "'Tubthumper' may not enlighten the masses, but it'll make them dance."[1]

Track listing

All tracks written by Chumbawamba. 

No.TitleLength
1."Tubthumping"  4:38
2."Amnesia"  4:08
3."Drip, Drip, Drip"  5:09
4."The Big Issue"  4:38
5."The Good Ship Lifestyle"  5:14
6."One by One"  4:46
7."Outsider"  5:09
8."Creepy Crawling"  4:04
9."Mary, Mary"  4:59
10."Smalltown"  3:14
11."I Want More"  4:02
12."Scapegoat"  5:08

Personnel

Adapted from album booklet[28] and Allmusic.[29]

with

also featuring

The track "The Good Ship Lifestyle" samples from the BBC Radio 4 Shipping Forecast. The interlude at the end of "Amnesia" was taken from a government-produced infomercial on Mad Cow Disease.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Archived 27 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Dahlen, Chris. "The Chumbawamba Factor". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 Chumbawamba Get Knocked Down, Break Up After 30 Years
  4. ↑ calleia.com
  5. ↑ istrength.com
  6. ↑ "Chumbawamba – Tubthumper". Discogs. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Chumbawamba – Tubthumper (cass.)". Discogs. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 "UK Albums Chart history". Official Singles. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  9. 1 2 TubThumping as the subject of an episode of the Podcast Surprisingly Awesome
  10. 1 2 Chumbawamba FAQ's... Sort of Thing at the Wayback Machine (archived 2 December 1998)
  11. ↑ "Chumbawamba Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Chumbawamba Singles Chart History". Official Singles. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "CHUMBAWAMBA - TUBTHUMPING (SONG)". Swedish Charts. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  14. ↑ "CHUMBAWAMBA - TUBTHUMPING (SONG)". NorwegianCharts.com. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "CHUMBAWAMBA - TUBTHUMPING (language: Dutch)". Ultratop. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  17. ↑ "The best-selling singles of 1997 (Language: Italian)". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  18. ↑ Gogan, Larry. ""Tubthumping" search results". The Irish Charts. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  19. ↑ "CHUMBAWAMBA - TUBTHUMPING (SONG)". Australian Charts.com. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  20. ↑ "Chumbawamba – Drip Drip Drip". Discogs. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  21. ↑ Flick, Larry. "Singles". Billboard. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  22. ↑ "Cumbawamba Billboard 200 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  23. ↑ "Chumbawamba chart history Billboard Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  24. ↑ "Chumbawamba chart history Billboard 200 albums (year-end)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  25. 1 2 Tubthumper at AllMusic
  26. 1 2 Tom Lanham (31 October 1997). "Album Review: 'Tubthumper'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  27. 1 2 Robert Christgau. "Chumbawamba". Consumer Guide. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  28. ↑ "Tubthumper" album booklet
  29. ↑ ""Tubthumper" credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
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