Chaos and the Calm

Chaos and the Calm is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter James Bay. It was released on 23 March 2015 by Republic Records and produced by Jacquire King.

Chaos and the Calm
Studio album by James Bay
Released	23 March 2015 (2015-03-23)
Recorded	2013–14 in Nashville, Tennessee[1]
Genre	Americana[2][3] indie rock[3] folk rock[4] blues[2] soul[2] soft rock[2] pop rock[5]
Length	48:13
Label	Virgin Republic
Producer	Jacquire King
James Bay chronology
Other Sides (2015) Chaos and the Calm (2015) Electric Light (2018)
Singles from Chaos and the Calm
"Let It Go" Released: 15 September 2014 "Hold Back the River" Released: 17 November 2014 "Scars[6]" Released: 28 August 2015 "If You Ever Want to Be in Love" Released: 29 October 2015 "Best Fake Smile" Released: 2 March 2016 "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

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	58/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Clash	7/10[9]
Diffuser.FM	Positive[10]
The Guardian	[11]
Pop Matters	[12]

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

The Official Charts Company reported that Chaos and the Calm debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart on 29 March 2015, having sold over 64,000 copies in the first week of release.[13]

Track listing

Chaos and the Calm — Standard version

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Craving"	James Bay Iain Archer	Jacquire King	3:47
2.	"Hold Back the River"	Bay Archer	King	3:59
3.	"Let It Go"	Bay Paul Barry	King	4:21
4.	"If You Ever Want to Be in Love"	Bay Jimmy Hogarth Steve McEwan	King	3:58
5.	"Best Fake Smile"	Bay Archer	King	3:26
6.	"When We Were on Fire"	Bay Jon Green	King	3:59
7.	"Move Together"	Bay Jamie Hartman	King	4:37
8.	"Scars"	Bay	King	4:32
9.	"Collide"	Bay Thomas EP Hull	King	3:24
10.	"Get Out While You Can"	Bay Ed Harcourt	King	4:43
11.	"Need the Sun to Break"	Bay Joel Pott	King	3:46
12.	"Incomplete"	Bay Jake Gosling Chris Leonard	King	3:41

Chaos and the Calm — Deluxe version (bonus tracks)[1]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Running"	Bay	Bay	3:36
14.	"Clocks Go Forward"	Bay Martin Brammer	Green	4:10
15.	"Stealing Cars"	Bay Green	Green	3:43

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic:[14]

• James Bay – guitar, piano, vocals
• Eli Beaird – bass
• Eric Darken – percussion
• Ian Fitchuk – drums, keyboards, percussion
• Jonathan Yudkin – cello, viola

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2015–17) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 3 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 2 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 10 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 34 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] 4 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[20] 16 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 5 French Albums (SNEP)[22] 86 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 3 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[24] 38 Irish Albums (IRMA)[25] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[26] 13 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] 6 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[28] 12 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[29] 46 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[30] 22 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[31] 37 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 6 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[34] 1 US Billboard 200[35] 15 US Digital Albums (Billboard)[36] 5 US Folk Albums (Billboard)[37] 1 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[38] 2 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[39] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[40] 17 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[41] 101 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[42] 37 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[43] 44 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[44] 28 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[45] 29 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[46] 25 UK Albums (OCC)[47] 8 US Billboard 200[48] 167 US Billboard Folk Albums[49] 12 US Billboard Top Rock Albums[50] 49 Chart (2016) Position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[51] 31 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[52] 42 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[53] 37 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[54] 46 UK Albums (OCC)[55] 19 US Billboard 200[56] 59 Chart (2017) Position Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[57] 66 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[58] 77 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[59] 79 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position UK Albums (OCC)[60] 68

Certifications

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 Denmark)[64]	Platinum	20,000
Germany (BVMI)[65]	Gold	100,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)[66]	Gold	30,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[67]	Gold	7,500^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[68]	Gold	10,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[69]	2× Platinum	824,540[70]
United States (RIAA)[71]	Gold	500,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Ireland	20 March 2015	CD digital download	Virgin Republic
United Kingdom[72]	23 March 2015

References

1. "Chaos and the Calm (Deluxe Version) by James Bay". iTunes (UK).
2. "James Bay - Chaos And The Calm". Clash Magazine.
3. Helen Brown (21 March 2015). "Chaos and the Calm, James Bay, review: 'tiring'". Telegraph.co.uk.
4. "James Bay: Chaos and the Calm - Album Review". The Irish Times. 20 March 2015.
5. Tshepo Mokoena. "James Bay: Chaos and the Calm review – festival-ready and forgettably pleasant". the Guardian.
6. "NEWS // JAMES BAY RELEASES 'SCARS'". tmrw. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
7. "Chaos and the Calm Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
8. "James Bay 'Chaos and the Calm' review". AllMusic. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
9. "James Bay - Chaos And The Calm". Clash.
10. "ALBUM REVIEW: JAMES BAY, 'CHAOS AND THE CALM'". diffuser.fm.
11. "James Bay: Chaos and the Calm review – festival-ready and forgettably pleasant". The Guardian.
12. "James Bay: Chaos and the Calm". Pop Matters.
13. Jones, Alan (30 March 2015). "Official Charts Analysis: James Bay debuts at No.1 on Albums Chart". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
14. "Chaos and the Calm – James Bay – Credits". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
15. "Australiancharts.com – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
16. "Austriancharts.at – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
17. "Ultratop.be – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
18. "Ultratop.be – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
19. "James Bay Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
20. "Danishcharts.dk – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
21. "Dutchcharts.nl – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
22. "Lescharts.com – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
23. "Officialcharts.de – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
24. "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2015. 13. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
25. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 13, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
26. "Italiancharts.com – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
27. "Charts.nz – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
28. "Norwegiancharts.com – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
29. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
30. "Portuguesecharts.com – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
31. "Spanishcharts.com – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
32. "Swedishcharts.com – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
33. "Swisscharts.com – James Bay – Chaos and the Calm". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
34. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
35. "James Bay Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
36. "James Bay Chart History (Digital Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
37. "James Bay Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
38. "James Bay Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
39. "James Bay Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
40. "ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
41. "Jaaroverzichten 2015". Ultratop. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
42. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2015". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
43. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts (2015)". Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
44. "The Official NZ Music Charts - End of Year Charts 2015".
45. "Årslista Album – 2015". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
46. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2015". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
47. Copsey, Rob (5 January 2016). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Artist Albums of 2015 revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
48. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
49. "Folk Albums : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
50. "Top Rock Albums : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
51. "Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
52. "Album Top-100 2016" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
53. "Jaaroverzichten - Album 2016". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
54. "Årslista Album – 2016". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
55. White, Jack (30 December 2016). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Albums of 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
56. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
57. "Album Top-100 2017". Hitlisten. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
58. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2017". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
59. "Årslista Album – År 2017" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
60. Copsey, Rob (11 December 2019). "The UK's Official Top 100 biggest albums of the decade". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
61. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2015 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
62. "Austrian album certifications – James Bay – Chaos And The Calm" (in German). IFPI Austria.
63. "Canadian album certifications – James Bay – Chaos And The Calm". Music Canada.
64. "Danish album certifications – James Bay – Chaos And The Calm". IFPI Denmark. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2017 to obtain certification.
65. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (James Bay)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
66. "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 TÍTULO
67. "New Zealand album certifications". Recorded Music NZ.
68. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards 2015". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
69. "British album certifications". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. 
70. Jones, Alan (25 May 2018). "Charts analysis: Greatest Showman bests Bay on albums chart". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
71. "American album certifications – James Bay – Chaos And The Calm". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
72. "iTunes - Music - Chaos and the Calm (Deluxe Version) by James Bay". iTunes.