Chaos and the Calm

Summary

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.

Chaos and the Calm
Studio album by
Released23 March 2015
Recorded2013–2014
StudioBlackbird (Nashville)[1][2]
Genre
Length48:11
LabelRepublic
Producer
James Bay chronology
Chaos and the Calm
(2015)
Electric Light
(2018)
Singles from Chaos and the Calm
  1. "Let It Go"
    Released: 15 September 2014
  2. "Hold Back the River"
    Released: 17 November 2014
  3. "Scars"
    Released: 28 August 2015
  4. "If You Ever Want to Be in Love"
    Released: 29 October 2015
  5. "Best Fake Smile"
    Released: 2 March 2016
  6. "Running"
    Released: 11 March 2016

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 edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic58/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [8]
Clash7/10[9]
The Guardian     [10]
PopMatters6/10[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 edit

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 edit

Chaos and the Calm standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Craving"Jacquire King3:47
2."Hold Back the River"
  • Bay
  • Archer
King3:59
3."Let It Go"King4:21
4."If You Ever Want to Be in Love"
King3:58
5."Best Fake Smile"
  • Bay
  • Archer
King3:26
6."When We Were on Fire"
  • Bay
  • Jon Green
King3:59
7."Move Together"King4:37
8."Scars"BayKing4:32
9."Collide"King3:24
10."Get Out While You Can"King4:43
11."Need the Sun to Break"King3:46
12."Incomplete"
King3:41
Total length:48:11
Chaos and the Calm deluxe version
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Running"BayBay3:36
14."Clocks Go Forward"
Green4:10
15."Stealing Cars"
  • Bay
  • Green
Green3:43
16."Scars" (live at iTunes Festival 2014; digital bonus track only)  4:43
Total length:64:23
Chaos and the Calm deluxe edition – disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Move Together" (The Dark of the Morning Version)
  • Bay
  • Hartman
Green4:45
2."Need the Sun to Break" (The Dark of the Morning Version)
  • Bay
  • Pott
Green3:37
3."When We Were on Fire" (The Dark of the Morning Version)
  • Bay
  • Green
Green3:59
4."Stealing Cars"
  • Bay
  • Green
Green3:43
5."Clocks Go Forward"
  • Bay
  • Brammer
Green4:10
6."Sparks"
  • Bay
  • Barry
Bay3:07
7."Wait in Line"
  • Bay
  • Harpoon
Bay4:00
8."Running"BayBay3:36
9."Hear Your Heart"Robson3:02
10."Heavy Handed"
  • Bay
  • Harcourt
Bay3:29
Total length:84:00

Charts and certifications edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[61] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[62] Gold 7,500*
Canada (Music Canada)[63] 2× Platinum 160,000
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[64] 2× Platinum 40,000
Germany (BVMI)[65] Gold 100,000
Italy (FIMI)[66] Gold 25,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)[67] Gold 30,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[68] Gold 7,500^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[69] Gold 15,000*
Singapore (RIAS)[70] Gold 5,000*
Sweden (GLF)[71] Gold 20,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[72] Gold 10,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[74] 3× Platinum 824,540[73]
United States (RIAA)[75] Platinum 1,000,000

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history edit

Region Date Format Label
Ireland 20 March 2015
United Kingdom[76] 23 March 2015

References edit

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  67. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type James Bay in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Chaos And The Calm in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
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