Hello everyone. Today I will be giving my review of the oldest album I still have: the infamous Tubthumper by Chumbawamba.
Album: Tubthumper
Artist: Chumbawamba
Released: September 23 1997
Genres: Post-punk, alt rock, electronic
Obtained: 14 years ago, received cassette as a birthday present;
purchased digital album on iTunes in 2012
OVERVIEW
Looking at the bottom of the page, you will notice “Tubthumper” isn’t number 1 on my favorites list. That is because while it is a very upbeat and catchy tune, and I’ve probably, - scratch that – definitely listened to that song more than any of the others, it is hardly the most powerful or meaningful song in the Tubthumper catalogue.
I’ve had a lot of cassettes during my childhood, but this was the only one worth keeping. The others consisted of children’s sing-along tapes, Backstreet Boys (I was all about the Backstreet Boys when I was in kindergarten), Aqua, MuchDance compilations, etc.
What really fascinated me as a child listening to this tape were all the seemingly random samples used in the segues between each track, and the way they flowed almost flawlessly into the following tracks, to the point where sometimes I didn’t know where one track ended and the other began (remember, it was a cassette). This made listening to the album an adventure for me, and is probably where my love for gapless albums began.
I have had many years to think about this album and all the details therein, so I will try to go in depth with you, the reader, to show you that this album is worth so much more than just its hit single, “Tubthumping.”
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TUBTHUMPING
Many people believe this is a motivational song. Others believe it is merely a song about drinking. Well, it’s actually a mix of both. “Tubthumping” is a European term; it signifies the act of going out and getting drunk after a day of protesting. Not quite sure where they got the actual word from, but hey, they’re British…anything can happen =)
Great song, but it’s only the greatest Chumbawamba song to those who have only ever heard that one song. I can’t say much for the people who partied to this song in college or whatever, being that I was 5 when this became a hit, and all I remember is being wired on Kool-Aid at Hot Wheels themed slumber parties. =/
AMNESIA
The second single on the album, “Amnesia”, follows a ¾ time instrumental interlude (just for fun, I suppose). It bursts into a heavy dance rock riff and is sung entirely by Lou Watts, with other female vocalists. The meaning of this song is tough to decipher, but its simple yet somehow powerful chorus is what kept me interested mostly. I think it could be due to some sort of mass hysteria effect caused by the belligerent attitude of the music.
DRIP, DRIP, DRIP
I don’t know why, but when I personally think back on Chumbawamba, this is the song that usually comes to mind first. It’s smooth, it’s simple, its verses seem almost careless with its nonchalant political poetry, and the harmonies of the chorus are just plain beautiful. The more I listen, the more I pick up the little details in the composition as well, like the horns that play adjacent to the vocals in the chorus, and the random vocal samples that flash images of life in London.
THE BIG ISSUE
The vocals are just astounding in this song, from beginning to end. If I sing along to it, I feel like part of the choir. Every word is harmonized (the music, too, in fact), save for the poetic verses talking about a girl who apparently can’t seem to settle down, try as she may. The ending segue is funny and random, but perhaps the child’s song about being thankful for everything may be sending a message relative to this track.
THE GOOD SHIP LIFESTYLE
The next track is pretty chilled to start, but is balanced with a quick breakbeat underneath. The beat is softened, however, to compliment the smooth mellow melodies and maintain the sombre mood of the song. Underneath the metaphor of “sail[ing] away from the world” and “steer[ing] a course, a course to nowhere,” there a lies a statement against society, telling individuals to do what they think is right and not what their peers, community or media tell them to do/not to do. At least that’s what I got from it.
The segue succeeding this track is probably the longest on the album, and is cut in half, split between the end of track 5 (eerie electronica/voice samples of citizens lamenting against the British government) and beginning of track 6 (a mock choir singing about the failure of the union leader, portrayed as Pontius Pilate from the Bible, to help the British labour union). Both of these pieces are relevant to the 1995 Liverpool Dockers’ strike, which you can read about here.
ONE BY ONE
This track is a very sad-sounding, piano-laden tune, sung by the females, and is actually relevant to the preceding interludes. The gloomy nature of this track really does a fine job in making the listener feel the feelings that were felt during that time. On the cassette version, this track ends Side A with a solo piano playing in a minor key until fadeout, leaving the listeners’ emotions in shambles (okay, that may be a *slight* exaggeration).
OUTSIDER
Outsider is more music than words. If you took all the repetition out of the lyrics, this is what you’d get:
Outsider
You’re not alone
You see me, you hear me
There are millions think just like me
In case you don’t get the meaning behind these 3 lines it is this: “If you feel alienated from society, fear not; you are not alone. Join us in protest, and you will have the sense of belonging that you seek.” A very inspirational track, one which well portrays the emotions felt by the people it targets.
CREEPY CRAWLING
I also had trouble deciphering the meaning of this song; surely it can’t be as obvious as the Boogeyman horror story laid out in the grotesque poetry between choruses, whose most powerful line is “How can stealing candy from a baby seem alright?”
MARY, MARY
This song contains two allusions: the “Hail Mary” prayer and the nursery rhyme “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary.” The song, with its heavy grunge-metal guitar riffs and female yelling verses, make reference to these allusions to acknowledge the lost innocence of youth and the wild behaviours they demonstrate as a result. I could go on about this, but I think it’s pretty straight forward.
SMALLTOWN
The rich harmonies of this track are juxtaposed by the fast beat and frantic-sounding lyrics which cry out “I have to leave somehow, before they run me out of town.” Not the strongest track on the album by any means, but somehow I would feel this collection incomplete without it.
I WANT MORE
That this track would start with the famous Oliver Twist! line, “Please sir, I want some more,” could not have been more easily predictable; the loud, angry electro riff to introduce the piece was quite unexpected, however. This piece is pure hostility through to the end of the song – from the barking two-line-poetic verses shouting about random things like “bite-sized china” and “luke-warm whisper[s]” to the sinister chorus. The words show no regret, no sugar-coating, and no mercy from the group's bitter feelings of angst toward the materialistic high society.
SCAPEGOAT
The theme behind this song is pretty self-explanatory; the song as a whole, on the other hand, is rather ironic, in two ways: 1) It blames other people for blaming other people for the problems they face; 2) its serious subject matter is almost drowned out by the happy-go-lucky tone of the music, a mixture of pop beats, bubbly synths and alt-rock lead guitars, which go on cheerfully until the fade-out at around 5:00.
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The way this track flows so brilliantly reminds me of the plot of a story. It starts with the protagonists and audience in a rather good mood during the Tubthumping tune; the circumstances in which they live are presented in Amnesia, Drip, and The Big Issue; the action rises up until I Want More, which may be the climax, if you think of the way it goes off with a bang and dwindles down near the end just before the final track. In Scapegoat, the entire mood shifts back to what it was in the beginning, and, if not showing a picture of a “happy ending”, at the very least it shows that the group has accepted its circumstances for now, and are looking bravely on to the next chapter.
Unfortunately, I have not even heard a sample of the album that came next, so I cannot possibly comment on that one, nor do I at this point feel any desire to go and look. Perhaps the only reason I feel so fond of this particular album is based solely on the fact that I grew up with it, we’ve shared many memories, and it’s taught me a lot of new things over the years. If any of that information makes me seem biased, then I am truly sorry.
I simply feel this is an under-rated album, and even though I recently purchased the album on iTunes for the sake of hearing it in better quality, the tape cassette is still with me and shall remain so for the years to come.
Big thanks to those who read all of this, and have a great day =)
Favorite Tracks:
1. Drip, Drip, Drip
2. Outsider
3. The Big Issue
4. Tubthumping
5. Amnesia
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