What Does Anything Mean? Basically

What Does Anything Mean? Basically is the second studio album by the English rock band The Chameleons. It was recorded in January 1985 and released on 20 May 1985 by record label Statik.

What Does Anything Mean? Basically
Studio album by The Chameleons
Released	20 May 1985
Recorded	January 1985
Studio	Highland, Inverness, Scotland
Genre	Post-punk, gothic rock[1]
Length	41:34
Label	Statik
Producer	The Chameleons Colin Richardson
The Chameleons chronology
Script of the Bridge (1983) What Does Anything Mean? Basically (1985) Strange Times (1986)
Singles from What Does Anything Mean? Basically
"Singing Rule Britannia (While the Walls Close In)" Released: 1 August 1985

One single was released from the album: "Singing Rule Britannia (While the Walls Close In)".

Recording

What Does Anything Mean? Basically was recorded in January 1985 at Highland Studios in Inverness, Scotland.^[2]

Release

The album's sole single, "Singing Rule Britannia (While the Walls Close In)", was released on 1 August 1985.^[3] This song used uncredited Lennon-McCartney lyrics, with the final passage of the song quoting key lyrics of the Beatles song "She Said, She Said".

What Does Anything Mean? Basically was released 20 May 1985 on record label Statik.^[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[6]
MusicHound Rock	[7]
OndaRock	7/10[8]

What Does Anything Mean? Basically has been generally well received by critics.

In his retrospective review, Ned Raggett of AllMusic called it "[a] rarity of sophomore albums, something that at once made the band all the more unique in its sound while avoiding a repetition of earlier work. [...] an astounding record."^[5] Trouser Press called it "even better" than Script of the Bridge, "with much stronger production underscoring both the band's direct power and the ghostly atmospherics of its icy church keyboards and delay-ridden guitars".^[9]

Chris Jenkins, in the book The Rough Guide to Rock, however, called it "as half-baked as its title".^[10]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Silence, Sea and Sky"	1:59
2.	"Perfume Garden"	4:36
3.	"Intrigue in Tangiers"	5:17
4.	"Return of the Roughnecks"	3:26
5.	"Singing Rule Britannia (While the Walls Close In)"	4:17

All lyrics are written by Mark Burgess; all music is composed by the Chameleons (Burgess, Dave Fielding, Reg Smithies and John Lever).

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"On the Beach"	4:10
2.	"Looking Inwardly"	4:29
3.	"One Flesh"	4:28
4.	"Home Is Where the Heart Is"	4:54
5.	"P.S. Goodbye"	4:02

CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"In Shreds"	4:03
12.	"Nostalgia"	5:23

Personnel

The Chameleons

• Mark Burgess – vocals, bass guitar, strings, production
• Dave Fielding – guitar, ARP String Ensemble, production
• Reg Smithies – guitar, acoustic guitar, album cover illustration, production
• John Lever – drums, production

Technical

• Colin Richardson – production
• Ian Caple – engineering
• Martin Kay – sleeve design