Readymades is the tenth studio album by Chumbawamba. It also features vocal samples from contemporary and traditional folk artists, some of whom Chumbawamba would go on to work with in the future. The album's title refers to the use of everyday objects as art by Marcel Duchamp.
The album's artwork pays a homage to the I Have Nothing to Say And I'm Saying It poster designed by Alan Fletcher, which was in turn a self-portrait of German Dadaist John Heartfield (born Helmut Herzfelde).
Critical reception The album was met with mixed reviews from critics. Writing for AllMusic, critic Michael Gallucci awarded the album three stars out of five; Gallucci praised the album's consistency and noted that it "basically follows the pattern laid out on their previous two albums," adding that "the pop is a little more forward, as is the political theorizing." Music critic Robert Christgau dismissed the album as containing "faux-slick truths about real world horror", singling out "All in Vain" and "Don't Pass Go" as highlights. The album holds a rating of one and a half stars in the Rolling Stone Album Guide, which called the album "skippable" and commented that it was "a vacant, hookless dud: folk song samples and bland singing pasted onto prefab dance grooves."
Release The album was released on 18 June 2002. A special version of the album, Readymades And Then Some was released in 2003. It came with bonus track–peace anthem "Jacob's Ladder (Not in My Name)" and a bonus DVD.
Track listing All tracks written, arranged and produced by Chumbawamba, except where noted.
# Song name Length Samples Notes1"Salt Fare, North Sea"4:28Lal Waterson & Olly Knight ("Salt fare, north sea"), from their song "Some Old Salty""Readymades" album bookletReleased as a promotional single2"Jacob's Ladder"2:52Harry Cox's vocals from the song "The Pretty Ploughboy" the album A Century of Song ("And they sent him down into the war to be slain, be slain... / And they sent him down into the war to be slain.") Guitar from Davey Graham's song "Anji""(Not in My Name)" version released as single; Written by Chumbawamba & Davey Graham3"All in Vain"4:15Janet Russell ("I wish, I wish, but it's all in vain...")4"Home With Me"3:56 Originally contained a sample from "Say Yes" by Elliott Smith ("I'm in love with the world...") at the beginning of each verse, but the band could not get the sample cleared and changed the line to "your world, my world".5"If It Is to Be, It Is Up to Me"4:42Coope, Boyes & Simpson, lyrics ("And as we sail, blows wild the gale") from the poem "Bound for Van Diemen's Island" by Jock Purdon6"Don't Try This at Home"4:02Was promoted as a single on the exterior of some releases of the album; song was never officially released, though it was later used as the theme song to the film Revengers Tragedy.7"Song for Len Shackleton"3:36Belle StewartSee Len Shackleton8"Without Reason or Rhyme (The Killing of Harry Stanley)"3:45Joe Heany Janet Russell ("I wish, I wish, but it's all in vain...") Spoken introduction by Jeremy HardySee Harry Stanley9"Don't Pass Go"4:18Coope, Boyes & Simpson ("Didn't he know it was a waste of time / All stitched up by a thin blue line")See Satpal Ram10"One Way or the Other"4:02Dick Gaughan's song "Prisoner 562" (also known simply as "Prisoner"), written by Oswald Andrae ("Peace won't come by words alone")11"When I'm Bad"4:21Coope, Boyes & Simpson, lyrics ("They try in vain our minds to chain") from the poem "Bound for Van Diemen's Island" by Jock PurdonVocals by Sally Riozzi12"Sewing Up Crap"3:45Vocals by Michelle Plum & Abi Riozzi13"After Shelley"4:29Kate Rusby ("Sho lo, lu la lo, sho lo, lu la") The Fight Game, a 1963 radio ballad, opening quote ("Anybody can press a button")Written by Chumbawamba & Kate Rusby
Album detail In a statement on their website, Chumbawamba stated that "When we decided to mimic Moby's sampling of traditional black American blues singers on his album Play, we turned to British folk music and its great voices. Kate Rusby, Dick Gaughan, Coope, Boyes & Simpson, Harry Cox. Our album Readymades was put together in a skewed homage to some of those voices. We half expected criticism from the folk world for messing around with the music, but found that the folk audience is assuredly open to change and diversity. Since then – even in the last four or five years – the modern folk voices and players have multiplied and expanded, folkies are looking younger and cooler and there are loads of new folk albums out every month. Good or bad, the music's often inspiring and exciting. That there's still a radical voice in folk music (and especially in its audience) makes it easy for us to write and play the way we're doing right now. Trying to be part of a radical tradition that, for us, encompasses our own histories (mostly northern working towns, The Beatles and punk rock!) and the history of rebel songs in the places we've lived."
Personnel
Jude Abbott – Trumpet, vocals Dunstan Bruce – Vocals, bruitist sound collages Lou Watts – Vocals, keyboards Boff Whalley – Guitar, merz Neil Ferguson – Bass, mouse Alice Nutter – Vocals, propaganda Harry Hamer – Drums, programming Danbert Nobacon – Vocals, ukulele
with Simon Pugsley – Trombone Toby Greenwood – Saxophone Rrose Selavy – Acoustic guitar James Reiss – Scratching Richard Mutt – Tea-chest bass Michelle Plum (credited as Michelle Plumb), Abi Riozzi, Sally Riozzi & Janet Russell – vocals
References