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 | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 23 March 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2013–2014 | |||
Studio | Blackbird (Nashville)[1][2] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 48:11 | |||
Label | Republic | |||
Producer |
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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.
Aggregate scores | |
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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.
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]
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 |
Weekly charts edit
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Year-end charts edit
Decade-end charts edit
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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. |
Region | Date | Format | Label |
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Ireland | 20 March 2015 | ||
United Kingdom[76] | 23 March 2015 |