Bang! (World Party album)

Bang! is the third studio album by Welsh-British group World Party, released by Ensign Records on 26 April 1993.

Bang!
Studio album by
Released26 April 1993 (1993-04-26)[1]
GenreRock
Length52:22
LabelEnsign
ProducerKarl Wallinger
World Party chronology
Goodbye Jumbo
(1990)
Bang!
(1993)
Egyptology
(1997)
Singles from Bang!
  1. "Is It Like Today?"
    Released: 29 March 1993[2]
  2. "Give It All Away"
    Released: 28 June 1993[3]
  3. "All I Gave"
    Released: 20 September 1993[4]
Alternative cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Chicago Tribune[6]
Los Angeles Times[7]
NME6/10[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10]

Overview edit

While previous World Party albums were essentially solo projects by multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger, for this album World Party officially became a three-person group: Wallinger (vocals, keyboards, guitars, basses, etc.), Dave Catlin-Birch (guitars), and Chris Sharrock (drums). As well, the band is aided by a number of guest artists.

Release edit

In 2000, the album was re-released by Papillon Records with new cover art. Since 2000 the reissues omitted the track "Give It All Away (Reprise)".

Track listing edit

All songs written by Karl Wallinger, except where noted.

  1. "Kingdom Come" – 5:27
  2. "Is It Like Today?" – 5:11
  3. "What Is Love All About?" – 4:06
  4. "And God Said..." (Wallinger, Guy Chambers) – 0:26
  5. "Give It All Away"[t 1] – 4:23
  6. "Sooner or Later" – 4:34
  7. "Hollywood" – 4:09
  8. "Radio Days" (Wallinger, Chambers, David Catlin-Birch) – 4:53
  9. "Rescue Me" – 6:06
  10. "Sunshine" – 4:31
  11. "All I Gave" – 3:47
  12. "Give It All Away (Reprise)"[t 2]

Notes:

  1. ^ "Give It All Away" is an extended mix of 8:34 in the UK version. The US version is shorter at 4:23.
  2. ^ There is a hidden track towards the end of Give It All Away (Reprise), a track only on the US release, entitled "Surfing in Kuwait City" or, more simply, "Kuwait City". It is a satirical song and a pastiche in the style of the Beach Boys. It makes a social commentary on the 1991 Gulf War.

Charts edit

Weekly chart performance for Bang!
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 40
Canadian Albums Chart[12] 49
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 55
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 69
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 29
UK Albums Chart[17] 2
US Billboard 200 126

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ "New Releases: Album". Music Week. 24 April 1993. p. 21.
  2. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 27 March 1993. p. 27.
  3. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 26 June 1992. p. 27.
  4. ^ "Singles Releases". Music Week. 18 September 1993. p. 25. Misprinted as the previous week, 13 September, on source.
  5. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bang! – World Party". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  6. ^ Kot, Greg (20 May 1993). "World Party: Bang! (Ensign)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  7. ^ Hochman, Steve (23 May 1993). "World Party 'Bang' Chrysalis". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  8. ^ Bailie, Stuart (17 April 1993). "Long Play: Exploding Drastic Inevitable". New Musical Express. p. 29.
  9. ^ Sutcliffe, Phil (May 1993). "Irresistible". Q. No. 80. p. 100.
  10. ^ Sprague, David (8–22 July 1993). "World Party: Bang". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Australiancharts.com – World Party – Bang!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 57, No. 21 Jun 05, 1993". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – World Party – Bang!" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – World Party – Bang!" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – World Party – Bang!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – World Party – Bang!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Artists". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  18. ^ "British album certifications – World Party – Bang". British Phonographic Industry.