Chaos and the Calm
2015 studio album by James Bay
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Chaos and the Calm is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter James Bay. It was first released on 23 March 2015 via Republic Records.
Released23 March 2015
Recorded2013–2014
| Chaos and the Calm | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 March 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2013–2014 | |||
| Studios | Blackbird, The LBT (Nashville, Tennessee)[1][2] | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 48:11 | |||
| Label | Republic | |||
| Producer | ||||
| James Bay chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Chaos and the Calm | ||||
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The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album, while the song "Hold Back the River" was nominated for Best Rock Song and Bay for Best New Artist.
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 58/100[7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [8] |
| Clash | 7/10[9] |
| The Guardian | [10] |
| PopMatters | 6/10[11] |
Chaos and the Calm received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 58, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 9 reviews.
Commercial performance
Chaos and the Calm debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart on 29 March 2015, having sold over 64,000 copies in the first week of release.[12]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Craving" | Jacquire King | 3:47 | |
| 2. | "Hold Back the River" |
| King | 3:59 |
| 3. | "Let It Go" |
| King | 4:21 |
| 4. | "If You Ever Want to Be in Love" |
| King | 3:58 |
| 5. | "Best Fake Smile" |
| King | 3:26 |
| 6. | "When We Were on Fire" |
| King | 3:59 |
| 7. | "Move Together" | King | 4:37 | |
| 8. | "Scars" | Bay | King | 4:32 |
| 9. | "Collide" |
| King | 3:24 |
| 10. | "Get Out While You Can" |
| King | 4:43 |
| 11. | "Need the Sun to Break" |
| King | 3:46 |
| 12. | "Incomplete" |
| King | 3:41 |
| Total length: | 48:11 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Running" | Bay | Bay | 3:36 |
| 14. | "Clocks Go Forward" |
| Green | 4:10 |
| 15. | "Stealing Cars" |
| Green | 3:43 |
| 16. | "Scars" (live at iTunes Festival 2014; digital bonus track only) | 4:43 | ||
| Total length: | 64:23 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Move Together" (The Dark of the Morning Version) |
| Green | 4:45 |
| 2. | "Need the Sun to Break" (The Dark of the Morning Version) |
| Green | 3:37 |
| 3. | "When We Were on Fire" (The Dark of the Morning Version) |
| Green | 3:59 |
| 4. | "Stealing Cars" |
| Green | 3:43 |
| 5. | "Clocks Go Forward" |
| Green | 4:10 |
| 6. | "Sparks" |
| Bay | 3:07 |
| 7. | "Wait in Line" |
| Bay | 4:00 |
| 8. | "Running" | Bay | Bay | 3:36 |
| 9. | "Hear Your Heart" | Robson | 3:02 | |
| 10. | "Heavy Handed" |
| Bay | 3:29 |
| Total length: | 84:00 | |||
Personnel
Musicians
- James Bay – lead vocals, background vocals, guitars, piano (4), bass (13), drums (13), keyboards (13)
- Eli Beaird – bass (1–12)
- Ian Fitchuk – keyboards (1–12), drums (1–12), percussion (2, 7, 8, 12)
- Eric Darken – percussion (1, 3–6, 9–11)
- Jonathan Yudkin – cello and viola (7)
- Gerry Morgan – drums and percussion (13)
- Jon Green – keyboards and vocals (14, 15)
Technical personnel
- Lowell Reynolds – engineer (1–12)
- Sean Badum – assistant engineer (1–12)
- James Oleksyk – assistant engineer (1–12)
- Michael H. Brauer – mixing (1–12)
- Mark Bengtson – mixing assistant and ProTools engineer (1–12)
- Bob Ludwig – mastering (1–12)
- Mark Bishop – engineer and mixing (13)
- Jon Green – engineer and mixing (14, 15)
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[62] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[63] | Gold | 7,500* |
| Canada (Music Canada)[64] | 2× Platinum | 160,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[65] | 3× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Germany (BVMI)[66] | Platinum | 200,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[67] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[68] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[69] | 2× Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[70] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| Singapore (RIAS)[71] | Gold | 5,000* |
| Sweden (GLF)[72] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[73] | Gold | 10,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[74] | 3× Platinum | 824,540[75] |
| United States (RIAA)[76] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 20 March 2015 | ||
| United Kingdom[77] | 23 March 2015 |