Waking Up with the House on Fire

Last updated

Waking Up with the House on Fire
Waking Up with the House on Fire CD cover.jpg
Studio album by
Culture Club
Released22 October 1984 [1] [2]
Recorded1984
StudioRed Bus Studios, London
Genre
Length36:52
Label Virgin (UK)
Epic (US)
Producer Steve Levine
Culture Club chronology
Colour by Numbers
(1983)		Waking Up with the House on Fire
(1984)		 From Luxury to Heartache
(1986)
Singles from Waking Up with the House on Fire
  1. "The War Song"
    Released: 24 September 1984
  2. "The Medal Song"
    Released: 19 November 1984 (UK, Japan, Europe)
  3. "Mistake No. 3"
    Released: 9 December 1984 (US, Canada, Australia, Africa)

Waking Up with the House on Fire is the third album by the English new wave group Culture Club, released on 22 October 1984. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the band's third top five album.

Contents

Overview

The first single, "The War Song", hit #2 in the UK and went Top 20 hit in the US in late 1984. While Waking Up with the House on Fire became the band's third consecutive Platinum seller in both the UK and the US. It less successful than the group's previous album, Colour by Numbers (1983). It was certified gold or platinum in many countries, even earning Double Platinum status in Canada.

The other two singles were "The Medal Song" (UK No. 32), (with its B-side, "Don't Go Down That Street" being released as a single from a subsequent EP in Japan but only reaching No. 69 in the charts) and "Mistake No. 3" (US No. 33). In Mexico, "Don't Talk About It" was released as a single in mid 1985 and charted at number eight. Billboard called "Mistake No. 3" "slow, lyrical musings on human weakness" that is "an unusually sad song" for Culture Club. [3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Robert Christgau B [5]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Smash Hits Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 2/10 [9]

Reviews for Waking Up with the House on Fire have been fairly negative. In Smash Hits magazine, reviewer Tom Hibbert stated the album was "a disaster of mediocrity" and that the majority of the tracks were "a characterless stodge of bland blue-eyed soul, slouching rhythms, pedestrian horns and nonchalant vocals...". [8]

AllMusic's Lindsay Planer retrospectively rated the album two out of five stars. He 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." He also explained that it "was in no way aided by the irony-laden yet undeniable banality of the emphasis track [...], "The War Song"." However, he 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 flavour." [4]

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." [5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Culture Club

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Dangerous Man"4:14
2."The War Song"4:13
3."Unfortunate Thing"3:08
4."Crime Time"2:59
5."Mistake No. 3"4:36
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."The Dive"3:47
7."The Medal Song"4:15
8."Don't Talk About It"3:17
9."Mannequin"2:53
10."Hello Goodbye"3:25
Total length:36:52
2003 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."La Cancion de Guerra" (Spanish version of "The War Song" & its original B-side)4:04
12."Love Is Love" (from Electric Dreams)3:51
13."The Dream" (from Electric Dreams)2:29
14."Don't Go Down That Street" (B-side to "The Medal Song")6:34
Total length:53:50

Personnel

Culture Club
Additional musicians

Production

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Waking Up with the House on Fire
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [28] 2× Platinum200,000^
France (SNEP) [29] Gold100,000*
Japan—229,770 [15]
New Zealand (RMNZ) [30] Platinum15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [31] Platinum499,000 [32]
United States (RIAA) [33] Platinum1,000,000^

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

Release details

CountryDateLabelFormatCatalog
1984 Virgin CD91392
LP 39881
1996CD86181
2003CD92406

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References

  1. ↑ Thrills, Adrian (13 October 1984). "Frankie Say: Beat It!". NME . London, England: 2.
  2. ↑ "Culture Club in a hot house" (PDF). Record Mirror . 20 October 1984. p. 4. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  3. ↑ "Reviews". Billboard. 15 December 1984. p. 72. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  4. 1 2 Planer, Lindsay. Waking Up with the House on Fire [Bonus Tracks] – Culture Club at AllMusic. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  5. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Reviews: Culture Club". The Village Voice. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  6. ↑ "Waking Up with the House on Fire". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 December 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  7. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 172–173.
  8. 1 2 "Hibbert, Tom (8 November 1984). "Album Reviews (Culture Club – "Waking Up...")". Smash Hits. Vol. 6, no. 22. EMAP Metro. p. 23.
  9. ↑ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 99–100.
  10. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0646119176.
  11. ↑ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 March 2012
  12. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Culture Club – Waking Up with the House on Fire". MegaCharts (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  13. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  14. 1 2 "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 1984" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4871310779.
  16. ↑ "charts.nz Culture Club – Waking Up with the House on Fire" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand . Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  17. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Culture Club – Waking Up with the House on Fire" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  18. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
  19. ↑ "swedishcharts.com Culture Club – Waking Up with the House on Fire" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  20. ↑ "Culture Club – Waking Up with the House on Fire – hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  21. ↑ "The Official Charts Company – Culture Club – Waking Up with the House on Fire" (PHP). Official Charts Company . Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  22. ↑ "AllMusic ((( Waking Up with the House on Fire > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
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  24. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1984". RPM. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  25. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1984 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
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  27. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1985". RPM. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  28. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Culture Club – Waking Up with the House on Fire". Music Canada . Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  29. ↑ "French album certifications – Culture Club – Waking Up with the House on Fire" (in French). InfoDisc.Select CULTURE CLUB and click OK. 
  30. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Culture Club – Waking Up with the House on Fire". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  31. ↑ "British album certifications – Culture Club – Waking Up with the House on Fire". British Phonographic Industry.
  32. ↑ "Frankie sets new record on advance sales" (PDF). Music Week . 1 November 1984. p. 1. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  33. ↑ "American album certifications – Culture Club – Waking Up with the House on Fire". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 3 March 2012.
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