Employment (album)

Employment
Studio album by Kaiser Chiefs
Released 7 March 2005
Recorded Chapel Studios, Lincoln, Summer-December 2004
Genre Alternative rock, indie rock
Length 44:12
Label B-Unique
Producer Stephen Street, Stephen Harris
Kaiser Chiefs chronology
22
(2003)		 Employment
(2005)		 Yours Truly, Angry Mob
(2007)
Singles from Employment
  1. "Oh My God"
    Released: 17 May 2004
  2. "I Predict a Riot"
    Released: 1 November 2004
  3. "Everyday I Love You Less and Less"
    Released: 16 May 2005
  4. "Modern Way"
    Released: 7 November 2005
  5. "You Can Have It All"
    Released: Christmas 2005
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB[3]
The Guardian[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
Mojo[6]
Pitchfork Media6.7/10[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
SpinB+[10]
Uncut[11]

Employment is the debut studio album by English indie rock[12] band Kaiser Chiefs, released in March 2005 on B-Unique Records. Employment takes its inspirations from the Britpop and new wave movements, 1970s-era punk rock and Beach Boys-esque West Coast music.

The album originally charted at number three in the UK Albums Chart on 13 March 2005, but charted at number two almost a year after its release, due to the band's success at the Brit Awards. Employment went on to become the fourth best-selling album in the United Kingdom that year.

Background

It was Kaiser Chiefs themselves that chose to work with producer Stephen Street. According to Street he had been introduced to Nick Hodgson after an Ordinary Boys gig in which Kaiser Chiefs were the support act. Hodgson gave Street a demo CD and said that they would love to work with him.[13] The band's new label B-Unique suggested they try a test session with Street. In mid-August 2004 they visited the producer at a basement studio space at Olympic Studios he was renting with engineer Cenzo Townsend and recorded "I Predict a Riot".[13]

According to manager James Sandom in an interview with HitQuarters, the album was recorded in a rush because the band were under very tight time constraints and touring at the time. As a result, they did not have enough time to get to know Stephen Street and relax in his company.[14] The motorbike that appears at the beginning of "Saturday Night" is owned and 'played' by Graham Coxon. The sleeve notes read "Graham Coxon's motorbike, (1935 Kaiser 'Chief' 750cc Manx TT Works Racer) appears courtesy of Transcopic Records". "Caroline, Yes" is named in reference to The Beach Boys' song "Caroline, No". The track's original working title was called "Hail to the Chief", according to Kaiser Chiefs' book A Record of Employment.

A DVD titled Enjoyment, featuring music videos and live performances of the album's songs, was also released.

Reception

Track listing

All tracks written by Ricky Wilson, Andrew White, Simon Rix, Nick Baines, and Nick Hodgson. 

No. Title Length
1. "Everyday I Love You Less and Less"   3:37
2. "I Predict a Riot"   3:53
3. "Modern Way"   4:03
4. "Na Na Na Na Naa"   3:01
5. "You Can Have It All"   4:35
6. "Oh My God"   3:35
7. "Born to Be a Dancer"   3:30
8. "Saturday Night"   3:27
9. "What Did I Ever Give You?"   4:09
10. "Time Honoured Tradition"   2:45
11. "Caroline, Yes"   4:13
12. "Team Mate"   3:24

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2005-2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 60
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17] 88
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[18] 12
French Albums (SNEP)[19] 133
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 55
Irish Albums (IRMA)[21] 2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[22] 97
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 40
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 2

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Greece (IFPI Greece)[25] Gold 7,500^
Ireland (IRMA)[26] 3× Platinum 45,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] 6× Platinum 2,048,266[28]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[29] 2× Platinum 2,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ "Reviews for Employment by Kaiser Chiefs". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  2. ↑ Phares, Heather (15 March 2005). "Employment – Kaiser Chiefs". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Gunatilaka, Timothy (4 April 2005). "EW reviews two British bands". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  4. ↑ Lynskey, Dorian (4 March 2005). "Kaiser Chiefs, Employment". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Hochman, Steve (10 April 2005). "After a false start, the Chiefs ring true". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "Kaiser Chiefs: Employment". Mojo (138): 109. May 2005.
  7. ↑ Tangari, Joe (15 March 2005). "Kaiser Chiefs: Employment". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  8. ↑ "Kaiser Chiefs: Employment". Q (225): 120. April 2005.
  9. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (24 March 2005). "Kaiser Chiefs: Employment". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 January 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  10. ↑ Wood, Mikael (May 2005). "Kaiser Chiefs: Employment / British Sea Power: Open Season". Spin. 21 (5): 102–03. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "Kaiser Chiefs: Employment". Uncut (95): 105. April 2005.
  12. ↑ "BBC - Seven Ages of Rock "What the World Is Waiting For"". Seven Ages of Rock. 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  13. 1 2 "Interview with Stephen Street". HitQuarters. 27 Sep 2005. Retrieved 17 Nov 2010.
  14. ↑ "Interview with James Sandom". HitQuarters. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 17 Nov 2010.
  15. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  17. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  18. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  19. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  20. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  21. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week {{{week}}}, {{{year}}}". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  22. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  23. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  24. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  25. ↑ "Greek album certifications – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  26. ↑ "Irish album certifications – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  27. ↑ "British album certifications – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 March 2016. Enter Employment in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  28. ↑ Jones, Alan (7 April 2014). "Official Charts Analysis: Kaiser Chiefs almost double previous album's sales to hit No.1". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 17 March 2016. (subscription required (help)).
  29. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2005". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
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