''Swingin' with Raymond'' is the seventh studio album by anarchist punk band Chumbawamba.Chumbawamba – Swingin' With Raymond (CD, Album) at Discogs
/ref> The album cover features a photograph of Raymond Mills.Chumbawamba – Swingin' With Raymond (Cassette, Album) at Discogs
/ref>

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 Mus ...

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 Mus ...

'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 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 ...

, spending only one week on the tally.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chumbawamba.

Personnel

* Lou Watts * Harry Hamer * Paul Greco * Boff Whalley * Dunstan Bruce * Mavis Dillon * Danbert Nobacon * 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