Waking Up with the House on Fire | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Culture Club | ||||
Released | November 1984 | |||
Recorded | October 1984 | |||
Genre | New Wave | |||
Length | 36:52 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer | Steve Levine | |||
Culture Club chronology | ||||
|
Waking Up with the House on Fire is the third album by New Wave band Culture Club, released in 1984.
Contents |
While Waking Up with the House on Fire did reach platinum status in the US it was considered to be a disappointment compared to the 4X platinum status of the groups last album Colour by Numbers. It sold more than 4 millions copies worldwide, being gold or platinum in many countries, and being 2 X Platinum in Canada.
Despite a strong first single, "The War Song" which became a number 2 hit in the UK and a top 20 hit in the US in the Autumn of 1984, the album didn't achieve the level of success expected. The other two singles were "The Medal Song" (#32 in UK), (with its B-side, "Don't Go Down That Street" being released as a single from a subsequent EP in Japan but only reaching #69 in the charts) and "Mistake No.3" (#33 in US). In Mexico, "Don't Talk About It" was a single.
On the VH1 program Behind the Music, the narrator states, “Today, the band admits the album was a hurried and halfhearted effort.” Many music insiders also feel that Culture Club and Boy George may have fallen victim to overexposure in both the British and American press by the end of 1984. Subsequently, Culture Club decided to change direction for the next album, From Luxury to Heartache, by choosing a new producer and moving in a dance-oriented direction.
In 2008, this album was re-released in Japan, as a special collector "mini-LP" edition. That version is a CD in a cardboard sleeve (featuring booklets) as a miniature version of the original vinyl album.
The album's cover can be seen in the 2008 film Sex and the City as part of Carrie Bradshaw's collection of LPs from the 1980s.
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | (B)[2] |
Rolling Stone | [3] |
Reviews for Waking Up with the House on Fire have been mixed. Allmusic's Lindsay Planer rated the album two out of five stars. She noted that "overexposure in the media, the ever-changing tides and trends of pop music, and, quite frankly, a less than laudable collection of songs resulted in [the album] receiving a less than enthusiastic response." She also explained that it "was in no way aided by the irony-laden yet undeniable banality of the emphasis track [...], "The War Song"." However, she stated: "Two of the more interesting cuts are the vintage R&B "Crime Time" and the upbeat and soulful "Mannequin," blending Beach Boys-esque vocal harmonies with a distinctly Carolina beach and shag flavor."[1] Robert Christgau rated it a B, stating: "Since I had even less use for the dismissive because-he-wears-dresses theory than for the ridiculous new-Smokey analysis, I could never figure out [Boy George's] means of commercial propulsion". He also stated that "this calls for concerted protest – which might be easier to whip up if the latest album weren't part three of more-of-the-same."[2]
All tracks composed by Culture Club
Side One
Side Two
2003 CD re-issue
The Chilean cassette edition starts with an extended version of "The War Song".
Chart (1984) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Albums Chart | 2 |
U.S. Billboard 200 | 26 |
U.S. Top R&B Albums | 55 |
Single | Chart (1984/1985) | Peak position |
---|---|---|
"The War Song" | UK Singles Chart | 2 |
"The War Song" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 17 |
"The War Song" | U.S. R&B Chart | 87 |
"The War Song" | U.S. Hot Dance Club Play | 7 |
"The Medal Song" | UK Singles Chart | 32 |
"Mistake No. 3" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 33 |
"Mistake No. 3" | U.S. R&B Chart | 61 |
"Mistake No. 3" | U.S. Adult Contemporary | 18 |
Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
1984 | Virgin | CD | 91392 | |
LP | 39881 | |||
1996 | CD | 86181 | ||
2003 | CD | 92406 |
|