The Madness reviewed by J. Clinton

 

The Madness L.P. is available for £20 (free postage) via Music Magpie on eBay. It's not a perfect album but it is an interesting one. The press blurb says: ‘The Madness’ was the only studio album released under the short-lived iteration of Madness known as ‘The Madness’, with Mike Barson, Woody and Mark Bedford all out of the line-up. While it was panned at the time and flopped commercially, it contains some of Madness’s most interesting and experimental work, featuring the singles ‘I Pronounce You’ and ‘What’s That’. 180g vinyl reissue LP on BMG. Brand new liner notes by Chrissy Boy, Chas Smash and Lee Thompson.

Guests that feature on The Madness include members of The Specials, UB40 and Elvis Costello's Attractions plus the band's original drummer John Hassler. The B-Side of 'What's That?' was an amusing tribute to Bryan Ferry called 'F.B.F' The Madness album has a few great tracks; Song In Red, Nightmare Nightmare, and Beat The Bride all of these deserve to be rediscovered. The album was mixed by Hugh Padgham who has worked with Sting and Bowie. Some Madness fans would have wanted Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley in the producer's chair - Langer & Winstanley were the producers on every single one of Madness's many hits. You can see The Madness play 2 two the album tracks live: Here

1. nail down the days **
2. what’s that **
3. i pronounce you ***
4. oh **
5. in wonder **
6. song in red ****
7. nightmare nightmare ****
8. thunder and lightning **
9. beat the bride ****
10. Gabriel’s horn ***

Text by Josh clinton