Chumbawamba Readymades And Then Some CD

Chumbawamba's dalliance with the big time and novelty hit-single stardom came to an abrupt and fitting end with 2000s What You See Is What You Get. Rather than write a sequel to "Tubthumping," the famously anarchic group emptied the sack of barbs, slivers, and torn receipts acquired during their curious arc of international fame and glued them into a sticky, hooky, and cynical pop-culture mess. The record was standard operating procedure for Chumbawamba, but it spelled disaster for their deal with EMI, who had likely been hoping for "Son of Tubthumping: I Get Up Again, Again!" Well, bollocks to that. The group's major-label existence always seemed like an elaborate wool pull, anyway; its death was a perfect and expected punch line. After a hiatus, Chumbawamba has returned with Readymades (Koch), a collection of bitterly sarcastic, politically fed-up, and socially on-point modernist folk songs that rattle the brain as much with message as they do with melody. Chopped up guitar and horn samples and shuffleboard drum programming form the basis of "Jacob's Ladder," but the song unites around a timeless Harry Cox vocal sample. "And they sent him to the war to be slain," the revered English folk singer intones over the shimmering beats, and his presence aligns the song's contemporary antiwar message with a long history of protest. "After Shelley" taps the forlorn, soaring singing voice of Kate Rusby, matching it to pop-industrial flurry. Elsewhere, low-key, often lilting arrangements wrap melody around the plight of solitary people against monolithic government. And, in typical Chumbawamba fashion, they name names. "Without Reason or Rhyme (The Killing of Harry Stanley)" recounts the story of Stanley, a Scottish man killed by English police in a terrible case of mistaken identity. The track's swaying, almost balladic grace (and Joe Heaney sample) again connects Readymades to the longstanding folk tradition of the British Isles, where a beautiful melody makes a song's painful or angry lyrics that much more affecting. [This And Then Some version of the album includes a bonus DVD with excerpts from a film about the band, remixes of "Salt Fare, North Sea," and a version of "Tubthumping" performed by the Flaming Lips.] ~ Johnny Loftus

Once listeners accept that Chumbawamba got lucky and will never, ever have another "Tubthumping" in them, the better off they'll all be. And the sooner they recognize this, the sooner they can begin to enjoy the subtle charms of this anarchist combo. Because beneath the snarky, self-imposed label, Chumbawamba is a pretty smart pop band, heavy on hooks and even heavier on ideological grandstanding. Readymades basically follows the pattern laid out on their previous two albums. The pop is a little more forward, as is the political theorizing, but it's a consistent listen (more so than the Tubthumper album). Best moment: the wispy folk and anti-capitalist sentiment of "Don't Try This at Home." ~ Michael Gallucci

Additional personnel includes: Janet Russell, Michelle Plumb (vocals); Rose Selavy (acoustic guitar); Toby Greenwood (saxophone); Simon Pugsley (trombone); James Reiss (vinyl scratching).

This includes a bonus DVD.

Recorded between 2001 & 2002.

Recorded at Shabby Road Studio, Bradford, England.

Chumbawamba: Danbert Nobacon (vocals, ukelele); Lou Watts (vocals, keyboards); Dunstan Bruce, Alice Nutter (vocals); Boff (guitar); Jude Abbott (trumpet, background vocals); Neil Ferguson (bass); Harry Hamer (drums, programming).

Chumbawamba includes: Danbert Nobacon (vocals, ukulele); Lou Watts (vocals, keyboards); Alice Nutter, Dunstan Bruce (vocals); Boff (guitar); Jude Abbott (trumpet, background vocals); Neil Ferguson (bass); Harry Hamer (drums, programming).

Q (8/02, p.122) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...With catchy pop tunes, gorgeous use of breakbeats, polished harmonies and plaintive vocals...READYMADES is fine fare."
Mojo (Publisher) (8/02, p.104) - "...Deceptively gentle....featuring a whole range of well-chosen samples..."