I love Madness. Living in Seattle, it was hard to stay up-to-date with British music trends in the 80's. Luckily, I had heard a few of the "Two Tone" bands at the time, because my hip friends would loan me their treasured copies of The (English) Beat, The Specials, and others. Then - I heard "Our House" by Madness. Blew my mind! I rushed out and bought the US single - eventually tracking down the Geffen US album. Over time, I managed to track down copies of their albums via my UK friends, but was saddened to learn that they had effectively broken up after "Waiting for the Ghost Train". Then I heard about the "Madstock" concerts, and really wished I could have traveled to England to see them. At least I had the CDs! When Wonderful came out, I was glad to hear they were working on new material, but still saddened I never got a chance to see them. Then - they did the Dangermen Sessions tour of the US. I checked the schedule - there was a Seattle date! I bought tickets, and went to the show. It was unbelievable. They played a tiny nightclub in Seattle - The Fenix Underground - on Sept. 24, 2005. Bands of that caliber never played small places like that in Seattle - they blew the doors off the place. Even Lynval Golding of the Specials (a recent Seattle transplant) joined them on stage. Sadly - setlist.fm doesn't list the show - but I'm guessing the setlist is similar to this one: Madness Setlist at Crystal Ballroom, Portland I'm probably about 1 or 2 albums behind at this point, due to life and other things - I think The Liberty of Norton Folgate was the last album I bought, but I'll have to double-check. Thanks for posting this thread - I'll enjoy catching up! Cheers, Paul
Great post. Apart from the part where I didn't know they were playing in Seattle and hence missed out.
Coming soon: Before We Was We: Madness by Madness (Hardcover) – 10 Oct 2019 by Mike Barson, Mark Bedford, Chris Foreman, Graham McPherson, Cathal Smyth, Lee Thompson, Dan Woodgate https://www.amazon.co.uk/Before-We-Was-Making-Madness/dp/0753553929/ And there's an audiobook version too: Madness on Instagram It's great to see Chas Smash is involved as an author
I forgot about this thread. I had to go back and see who had the brilliant idea to start it... well, there it is!
The first Madness record I bought was House of Fun and the first two LPs I ever owned were Complete Madness and Rise & Fall (all of which, I still have). I then went on to buy the back catalogue - 7", 12", picture discs etc. although I never managed to acquire the 12" of One Step Beyond. In fact, I've never seen one! I've just been recently acquiring all the 2CD re-issues and am gutted to learn how rare the 'Mad Not Mad' one is. I rate that album a lot although I did manage to pick up the original CD recently for less than a tenner off Fleabay. I've been a fan all my life, although I've only seen them once, which was in Cardiff (UK) around 1992. Fantastic gig, one of the best I've been to.
I've had the One Step Beyond 12" through my hands but it wasn't in great condition so I gave it away to a fan less fussy than me! It's an unusual one. On the A-side there's a wide groove halfway through the side, with a message scratched in, like run out grooves often do. After that it plays an alternate version of One Step Beyond that's unlisted on the sleeve or label, following the version we know and love.
I remember having the 7" for ages before finding the 12" and being excited to finally get "Nutty Theme," which didn't disappoint.
I can imagine you hunting out the 12". Up and down the high-road towards the crossroads just the find the sound that was bugging you. RIVVUMMM!
Very much so. It's the one that holds up best for me. Just a fantastic collection of songs. Have the sense that maybe they wanted it to be great, since it was going to be Barson's last LP with the group.
Interesting that the US [and pic disc] omit what I consider the two weakest tracks and replace them with the singles Wings of a Dove and The Sun And The Rain. They don't belong on the album in my mind, and the rest of the US tracklist is mixed up as well. I much prefer the aborted single mix of Victoria Gardens thatw as eventually released as a 12" bonus track on One Better Day. The US removed tracks are Waltz in to Mischief, which I find a bit too quirky and sounds more like B side fodder, and Time For Tea - a grim tale that just sounds a bit strained vocally. Prospects is under-appreciated in my opinion, but it bugs me that every CD re-issue has clipped the very beginning of the first chord off. Was it like that on the 1984 Stiff CD?
Never noticed the thing with Prospects... Also, yes, Geffen actually made the US version stronger with those two changes.
Oi! This is worth a butchers if you ain't already... It's a really nice interview from around the time of Rise & The Fall with a decent amount of live footage too. It looks like it's directed at an American audience. The footage of Elvis Costello singing Tomorrow's Just Another Day is an absolute treat as is the live version of Grey Day. Has the live stuff been released in full anywhere? It's some of the best live stuff I've seen of the band especially from this particular period. Such a great band. They were never complacent and always tried to 'keep moving'. I've got so much respect for them, a tight outfit with great, unique sounding records who didn't take themselves too seriously. I wish more bands were like Madness. 13 top ten hits in 3 years. God bless 'em.
I'm going to see Madness (and a bunch of other great Bands) at Punk Rock Bowling this May, and stoke levels are high. I was thinking of filling out my Madness collection a bit - I have One Step Beyond in the 2 disc deluxe issue and a couple of their albums on vinyl. Any thoughts on the new deluxe editions vs older pressings sound-quality wise? I'll probably need the 2-disc versions for the bonus tracks anyways, but if older pressings are significantly better I'd probably double up on at least a few of the albums.
Regarding CDs, it's definitely worth doubling up IMHO. The original Virgin releases sound best but the bonus tracks on later deluxe versions are worth seeking out too and reasonably priced. Regarding vinyl, I have only experienced UK first pressings, so can't comment so much on that.
