Tubthumper

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), 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. The band was targeted by many as being sell-outs and hypocrites, after having been sternly do-it-yourself for their fifteen-year history.

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."

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."

Singles and commercial performance

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, the UK, Sweden, Norway, and Belgium, and a number 1 hit in Canada, Italy, Ireland, and Australia. The follow-up single, "Amnesia", also proved a commercial success, managing to reach the top 10 in the UK and Canada. The album spawned a third single, "Drip Drip Drip", which failed to make an impression on any international chart but was met with positive critical reception.

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

Critical reception

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." Entertainment Weekly's review was similarly-positive, awarding the album a "B+" and stating that "social commentary never tasted so sweet." 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. 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."

Track listing

All tracks written by Chumbawamba.

Personnel

Adapted from album booklet and Allmusic.

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 public service announcement on Mad Cow Disease.