Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Darkbeat Melodies and Sheer Ingenuity, November 22, 2003
After buying Tubthumber and WYSIWYG, I wasn't sure what to expect with Readymades..more pop/rock cynical satire? Not at all with this album. This cd sounds like it was created by Moby while on valium. It's dark, melodic, techno-inspired songs are both soothing and bitterly sardonic, quite a feat, really. I was blown away the first time I listened to it.
Tracks:
1. Salt Fare, North Sea: Invokes a kind of sad nostalgia with a soft piano melody and soothing vocals by Alice or Lou, don't know which. The eventually-introduced beat adds to the song's charm.
2. Jacob's Ladder: Kind of folky; more of the Chumbawamba I'm used to hearing. I'm not a big fan of this song, actually.
3. All In Vain: A kind of mournful dirge set to a clubby beat. The female vocals sound resigned and almost on the verge of tears. Quite a good song.
4. Home With Me: A song about traveling. It's catchy, but lacks charm.
5. If It Is To Be, It Is Up To Me: A more comical dancebeat-dittie, if you listen to the lyrics. "Sweet flows the water, yellow as royal piss..." I really enjoy this song.
6. Don't Try This At Home: Piano and a chorus of the group's voices starts off this song. Not as dance-inspired as the others, but still relevant and interesting.
7. Song For Len Shackleton: I'm not sure what to make of this one. A folk sampling starts off this tune. It's not too bad, but I'm not a big fan of this one.
8. Without Rhyme or Reason: A sad melody with little percussion to accompany the vocals and synth. There's a voiceover sample discussing police. I like this song.
9. Don't Pass Go: I really enjoy this one. The first thing you hear is a dark, almost angry sounding piano melody. When the beat and the vocals come in, you can tell that this is going to be the most bitterly sardonic track on the album. Listen to the words to get why: "the facts said yes, but the church said no..go straight to jail and don't pass go." The bitterness is done so well! Haha...
10. One Way Or The Other: I don't find this track particularly unique, but it is dark and relaxing.
11. When I'm Bad: "They try in vain our minds to chain.." Kind of a schizophrenic song, both happy and sad at the same time. The use of a child's voice with only synth backups in the middle of the song is eery and compelling. I really like this song.
12. Sewing Up Crap: I'm not a big fan of this one because I find it a bit boring compared to the others, but it is soothing and amusing. "Working for the Gap, sewing up crap." At the end a child sings a rhyme about child laborers that I found really interesting.
13. After Shelley: Heavy beat, good melody. The perfect way to end an album on a good note. Almost anthemic, even. Good song!Final Note: There is a lot of synth programming on this album compared to earlier albums, a move that I think was bold and an excellent choice. Juxtaposing folk samples with dance-inspired beats was quite a departure from earlier albums. I think that Chumbawamba is constantly changing and moving in different directions. Overall, this is an excellent album with relevant songs!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent CD, October 15, 2002
Their best work since Anarchy--if you like or have liked Chumbawamba, then you will like this CD. It's very cohesive, and all the tracks play well. No inter-track clutter, and no out-of-place tracks on the whole thing. Excellent.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Chumbas continue to show their musical flexibility, June 19, 2002
Readymades, like every Chumba album, is unlike any previous album. This music has a mellow quality that comes across as thoughtful. The lyrics are wonderful. You won't find them in the sleeve, but they might still be found on www.chumba.com, along with the story behind each song. Don't let the music mislead you into thinking the lyrics are toned down. Salt Fare North Sea is about mutinies for sailors' rights, Jacob's Ladder criticizes nations being too proud to ask for help when lives are at stake (there are 3 incarnations of this song), All in Vain and Don't Pass Go are about social prejudices, and Sewing Up Crap takes a shot at Gap and child labor. The songs aren't all about the evils of capitalism and human nature. Home With Me is probably the 'loveliest' Chumba song you'll ever hear. I don't see this album (or any other Chumba album) ever attaining half the "success" of Tubthumper, but I do think it is great in its own right. It's nice to hear socially and politically conscious music in a gentler way. In their own lyrics, "It's not how loud you sing / it's what you sing". But I can't help wondering how this album would sound if it was louder and more confrontational. I still give it 5 stars.
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by Chumbawamba 
