Personnel: Julian Leaper, Emil Chakalov, Martin Burgess (violin); Nick Holland (cello); Andy Findon (duduk); Joe Auckland (trumpet); Simon Hale (piano); Amber L. Jolene (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Clive Langer; Alan Winstanley.
Recording information: The Yard, Miloco; ToeRag Studios.
Photographer: Paul Rider.
Madness never disappeared but they faded away, spending years playing summer festivals and other oldies venues befitting an act specializing in nostalgia, an impression that their 2005 covers album did nothing to assuage. All this makes this 2009 release--the band's first album of original material in ten years--to feel fully realized, even surprising. The element of surprise is not in the music, which is firmly within the 2-Tone tradition they laid down in the early '80s, but rather that they've found a way to deepen their nutty sound, to offer nothing less than a mature, middle-aged spin on 2-Tone. This album is about London, and is steeped in classic British pop, using the Kinks as ground zero for a series of wry, keenly observed pop songs about the people and places in London Town. While Madness may be trading on the sound that brought them to the top of the charts, it never sounds like a vain, desperate stab at reviving their youth; they play and write as the middle-aged men they are, finding sustenance within the music of their youth, then adapting it to their lives now, finding as much mirth as melancholy in what they see.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.86) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n infectious love for their hometown and a sound that brings in soul, pop ballads, polka, Jamaica and Steely Dan makes this Wikipedia workout actually feel inclusive."
Spin (p.90) - "It all looks back unabashedly -- fitting for a band formed 30-plus years ago -- but no less resonant."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.93) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "At times it's classic Madness: opener 'We Are London' is brimming with brio, a call for togetherness and bristling with energy..."
Uncut (magazine) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Ambitious, tuneful, exciting, wise, and with a finale that kicks them up a level into an undreamed-of musical dimension."
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Reviews
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I bought this cd chiefly because I have been a fan of Madness from their earliest days. Not quite sure what to expect, I was thrilled to hear a fabulous work. This is a group that has gone from strength to strength. I dont want to sound too melodramatic but, comparing this album to what went before would best be equated to hearing the Beatles before and after the 'Revolver/Rubber Soul' axis. This is a mature band hitting their peak. A marvellous collection of short stories & vignettes spiced with elements of music drawn from the native and immigrant generations that made London. At times the eeriness of the title track made me think of 'Kiko' (Los Lobos), at times the sense of history is so palpable.
I couldnt help thinking that this would make a brilliant stage musical.
Just Brilliant
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