''Anarchy'' is the sixth studio album by

anarcho-punk Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is an ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, ha ...

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, ...

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () was a British anarcho-punk band who 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 Brit Awards 1998. Other singles include "Amnes ...

. Many of the tracks address specific social issues, such as

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

, strikes or

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

. 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

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

and

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

Critical reception

In a review for

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 Mus ...

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

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

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. 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 the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. 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. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

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 ...

'' in which Dylan's manager

Albert Grossman Albert 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 and folk ...

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, ReggaeEDM, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bas ...

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

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

movie ''

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover ''The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' is a 1989 crime drama art film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren and Alan Howard in the title roles. An international co-production of ...

'' * 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 Homer Jay Simpson is the main protagonist of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Homer made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on April 19, ...

. 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

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