ABCDEFG (album)
Encyclopedia
ABCDEFG is the 17th full-length studio LP by Chumbawamba
. It was officially released on March 1, 2010, but copies ordered from the band's website arrived the week before.
and Phil 'Ron' Moody.
The album's lyrical content focuses mainly on themes to do with music and singing.
"Wagner at the Opera" refers to a concentration camp survivor who disrupted a Wagner recital by swinging a football rattle.
"Torturing James Hetfield" is a response to James Hetfield
's approval of the use of Metallica
's music as a torture device against Iraqi prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
"You Don't Exist" is a song about the Klaus Renft Combo
, who were once informed by the East German government that their music was no longer allowed to be performed.
The song "Ratatatay" is about The Ursonate, a sound poem by Kurt Schwitters
.
Chumbawamba
Chumbawamba is a British musical group who have, over a career spanning nearly three decades, played punk rock, pop-influenced music, world music, and folk music...
. It was officially released on March 1, 2010, but copies ordered from the band's website arrived the week before.
Album information
ABCDEFG continues the five person line up of Lou Watts, Jude Abbott, Neil Ferguson, Boff WhalleyBoff Whalley
Allan Mark "Boff" Whalley is the lead guitarist for the band Chumbawamba.-Early life and education:Whalley was born Allan Mark Whalley in 1961 in Burnley, Lancashire...
and Phil 'Ron' Moody.
The album's lyrical content focuses mainly on themes to do with music and singing.
"Wagner at the Opera" refers to a concentration camp survivor who disrupted a Wagner recital by swinging a football rattle.
"Torturing James Hetfield" is a response to James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
's approval of the use of Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's music as a torture device against Iraqi prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
"You Don't Exist" is a song about the Klaus Renft Combo
Klaus Renft Combo
The Klaus Renft Combo is a veteran German rock band, formed in Leipzig, in what was then East Germany, in 1958. Founded by Klaus Renft, the band enjoyed significant success in East Germany until banned by the authorities in 1975. The band was reunited in 1990....
, who were once informed by the East German government that their music was no longer allowed to be performed.
The song "Ratatatay" is about The Ursonate, a sound poem by Kurt Schwitters
Kurt Schwitters
Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters was a German painter who was born in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including Dada, Constructivism, Surrealism, poetry, sound, painting, sculpture, graphic design, typography and what came to be known as...
.
Track listing
- Introduction – 1:01
- Voices, That's All – 3:30
- Pickle – 2:43
- Wagner at the Opera – 2:13
- Underground – 3:30
- Torturing James HetfieldJames HetfieldJames Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
– 2:17 - The Devil's Interval – 4:00
- Hammer, Stirrup & Anvil – 3:04
- Puccini Said – 2:02
- That Same So-So Tune – 2:35
- Singing Out the Days – 2:18
- You Don't Exist – 2:36
- The Song Collector – 3:26
- Missed – 1:40
- Ratatatay – 3:40
- New York Song – 1:13
- Dance, Idiot, Dance – 2:43
Personnel
- Chumbawamba: Neil Ferguson, Lou Watts, Boff Whalley, Jude Abbott & Phil Moody
- Ray 'Chopper' CooperOysterbandOysterband is a British electric folk or folk rock band formed in Canterbury in or around 1976.-Early history:...
– celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
on 3, 5 & 7, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
on 12 - Jon BodenJon BodenJon Boden is an multi-instrumental musician and English folk singer.-Career:Boden plays fiddle as part of the duo Spiers and Boden, the band Bellowhead and up until 2007, Eliza Carthy's band The Ratcatchers. In 2009 he toured with his new backing band The Remnant Kings. He has also written a...
– fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
on 2, 7 & 12 - Belinda O'HooleyBelinda O'HooleyBelinda O'Hooley is a British singer-songwriter and pianist with Irish roots, who was born in Leeds and went to university in Huddersfield,where she is now based...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
on 3, 6 & 7, backing vocals on 3 - Heidi Tidow – backing vocals on 3
- Harry Hamer – cajonCajónA cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front face with the hands.-Origins and evolution:...
on 2, 7 & 15 - Jo Freya – SaxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
on 10, 15 & 17 - 'Dance, Idiot, Dance' performed by "the massed No MastersNo MastersNo Masters is a British record label, based in the north of England, specialising in folk with a political edge.The label was founded in 1990 by John Tams and Jim Boyes. Originally working as singer, John Tams is now famous as an actor in the TV series "Sharpe". He does much of the production work...
Co-operativists" with Lester SimpsonLester SimpsonLester Simpson is a folk singer and radio presenter on BBC Local Radio in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. He features in the three-piece folk group Coope, Boyes and Simpson, and on the Folkwaves radio program with Mick Peat....
on lead vocals - Brass by Charlie Cake Marching Band, arr. Jude Abbott
- Strings by Whingate Ensemble, arr. Neil Ferguson