Product Description

Part of the late-1970's 2-tone ska revival, Madness have enjoyed huge chart success, including spending 214 weeks in the British charts during the Eighties, more than any other artist. Hailing from Camden, North London; Madness became internationally known after the 1982 single 'Our House', which later inspired the musical of the same name, based around Madness songs. As well as being a singles collection, Total Madness inclused two album tracks from their debut LP, One StepBeyond...

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. One Step Beyond...
2. Baggy Trousers
3. House Of Fun
4. Our House
5. Embarrassment
6. My Girl
7. It Must Be Love
8. Wings Of A Dove
9. The Sun And The Rain
10. Grey Day
11. NW5
12. Cardiac Arrest
13. Tomorrows Just Another Day
14. Driving In My Car
15. Bed And Breakfast Man
16. Lovestruck
17. One Better Day
18. Michael Caine
19. The Return Of The Los Palmas 7
20. The Prince
21. Shut Up
22. Madness
23. Night Boat To Cairo

Disc 2:

1. One Step Beyond...
2. Baggy Trousers
3. House Of Fun
4. Our House
5. Embarrassment
6. My Girl
7. It Must Be Love
8. Wings Of A Dove
9. The Sun And The Rain
10. Grey Day
11. NW5
12. Cardiac Arrest
13. Tomorrows Just Another Day
14. Driving In My Car
15. Bed And Breakfast Man
16. Lovestruck
17. One Better Day
18. Michael Caine
19. The Return Of The Los Palmas 7
20. The Prince
21. Shut Up
22. Night Boat To Cairo

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115 in Music
• Released on: 2009-09-21
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Customer Reviews

More Madness
It's been along time since Madness have had a proper 'new' compliation out, and this album won't disapoint the general music loving public!

The album conists of 23 Madness songs (21 singles/ 2 album tracks) that take you from 1979 right up to the beginning of 2008. All of the big hits are here including House of Fun, Our House, Baggy Trousers, My Girl and it Must be Love. Plus there are plenty of their forgotten hits such as Michael Caine, Cardiac Arrest and One Better Day. And then you've got the 1999 hit Lovestruck and the brilliant NW5 from their latest album. You even get videos for all of the tracks to watch too (apart from the track Madness which didn't have one).

All of the tracks (apart from NW5) have been remastered and sound better and clearer than ever, and it is nice that the running order has been completley refreshed after the chronalogical order seen on Divine Madness. The listing on this CD almost matches the live gigs starting off with the classic One Step Beyond and ending with the wonderful Night Boat to Cairo.

My only complaint is that this album only represents part of the Madness story with the singles from the Mad Not Mad album, such as Uncle Sam and Yesterdays Men, missing. Madness's only live single 'The Harder They Come' is also missing along with Johnny the Horse and Drip Fed Fred (although these two do feature in the digital download). There is also no mention of anything from the Dangermen Session and no 'Sorry' or the latest singles 'Dust Devil' and 'Sugar and Spice' which were released this year. Maybe I'm asking to much, but hopefully we'll have a fuller singles collection at a later date once licencing issues are resolved.

The only other disapointment is the booklet which is actually more like a leaflet that lists the credits for the songs and advertises the other fuuture Madness releases. But it is the music that counts and it certainly makes up for the lack of a booklet.

But for now this album will certainly do and it is certainly good value for money with 23 top Madness tunes and 22 videos, what more can youu want. This is a must have collection!

THIRTY YEARS OF HITS
It seems more than a little odd that as Madness enjoy their most successful year with an album of new material in The Liberty of Norton Folgate, that their back catalogue is largely unavailable. Even odder when one considers that this is Madness's 30th anniversary. So to start the ball rolling on a comprehensive reissue programme we have Total Madness, the first compilation to be billed as a Madness best of.

Total Madness is a 2 disc release with 21 of their biggest hits (and two classic cuts from debut album One Step Beyond, which have remained live staples and favourites) on the audio disc and the respective 22 videos on the DVD (Madness is the only track on this compilation which does not have a recognised video).

Unlike previous compilations, Total Madness does not have a chronological track list. This set is paced to some extent around their live set. There's a massively uptempo string of hits to kick us off, with One Step Beyond, Baggy Trousers, House Of Fun, Our House, Embarrassment and My Girl, before It Must Be Love slows things down a tad. Anyone dancing along will be glad of this respite. That's a staggering opening seven hits. Plenty of bands would kill to have those in their cannon.

But wait, there's more, loads more in fact. The frenetic Wings Of A Dove is followed by the sombre singalong of The Sun And The Rain (the only instance of successive tracks mirroring their original release order), which is followed by Grey Day. Thematically these two songs very much belong together. Next up is NW5, from the latest album. Not Madness's biggest hit single, but certainly one of the best melodies Mike Barson has written and a big live favourite since its 2006 debut. In this company it proves itself more than equal to Madness's wonderful original run of hits.

Mid career Madness rears its successful head with the trio of Cardiac Arrest, Tomorrow's Just Another Day and Driving In My Car. Believe it or not we reach track 12 before finding a track that isn't a live regular. Maybe it is time for Cardiac Arrest to be given a go? Bed And Breakfast Man was never a single, but judging by its popularity live it probably should have been. Its inclusion in this set is no surprise. Neither is 1999's comeback hit Lovestruck, which was Madness's first top 10 single since 1983's The Sun And The Rain. Lovestruck was an instant classic and fits perfectly with the next two tracks, the gorgeous One Better Day (Madness's best ever single in my humble opinion) and Michael Caine. Both came from Keep Moving, a brilliant, but transitional album made under the shadow of fear cast by the knowledge that founder member Mike Barson was leaving the band. It was a brilliant send off and was my favourite Madness album until The Liberty of Norton Folgate took its crown as King Of Madness albums earlier this year.

The catchy cha cha cha of The Return Of The Los Palmas 7 sets us up perfectly for the encores, sorry, last 4 tracks. We storm through The Prince, Shut Up, Madness and then Night Boat To Cairo brings the album and show to a glorious end. We want more, but we're knackered. Unlike a gig that gives us the respite of the curfew at this point, this album can be played and played and played until the knees click and the back groans "no more!". At this point you can sit down and watch the videos!

This is a cracking album and Madness are a cracking band. Do yourself a favour, buy this, buy yourself a copy of The Liberty Of Norton Folgate and keep your eyes and ears open for the reissue of Madness's back catalogue. This may be billed as a best of, but trust me it is just the tip one incredibly big iceberg.

Nutty Routes - Take a Tour of London's Best Band
Hey You. "Everybody on a London Bus" (As Cambridge Circus once sang.)

A classic bus. Stuffed full of classic sights and sounds. Ready to take you on a Mad tour of delights. This is the cream of Madness hits in a double decker of formats, at a reasonable ticket price for boarding. It's a ride every music fan should take, especially if you've never done so before, now is a very good time to take this trip. It's the 30th Anniversary, With a couple of new stops, but mostly the well Dr Martin trodden passenger favourites here, all Re-Route-mastered for a quality wax polish that has made this body of work shine.

With the ever growing interest, from young and wide ranging newcomers who are considering going Mad, Let this old bus spotter here tell you what it's like this journey. Fun, dancing, sillyness, dressing up, heartwarming sing alongs, laughs, sweeping melody, beauty of thought, hidden truth below the surface, some grim reality, many a tall tale of English life set to a rocksteady beat. It's a party of 7 way creative team work, from a band that's grown from a London gang into a British institution, one that's still uniquely nuts with charm. It's Piano, Sax, Guitar dominating solid beats & Bass, with everyman vocals, upbeat to mid tempo classic song writing. Pop Genius. A Treat for your ears.

This collection is 23 stops from 1979 to 2008. Visually here it's all at the speed of a Marty Feldman coach package, your party decked out in Escaped outfits pre Trigger Happy TV, sitting next to the Two Ronnies and sharing your boiled sweets with Tommy Cooper and the Key Stone Cops. Comedy and Music are the dual wheels of entertainment going round and round here, and there isnt time for any "Why Bird Stop".

This tour now comes with some Booze laden antics in "Lovestruck" and a Modern detour into "NW5" showingcasing the ongoing brilliance of this band beyond the 80's with their 2 biggest songs since. Of the Classics "House of Fun" is my fairground fave, and "One Better day" is a song to linger on, it's the "shawshank redemption" of popular music, if you thought this stuff was all just silly hats and shouty antics, no, that's what those outside the bus think, no there's more, a picnic stop here will change your feelings in the wide range of views expressed by Madness, never has the sunshine sounded better than here.

While many regular fans might "I hate you butler" at how well driven this road of Madness Hits albums past has been in 30 years, or wish a more fuller singles collection, it doesnt stop tourism booming like the speakers stacks at all the many many Madness gigs this year, from Glastonbury to Europe and Beyond. This album reflects that live experience pretty fully. From that first 2 tone tour bus full of trumpets in 1979 to the Camden Market gig on top deck this very 30th year. No the band havnt quite got their bus passes for retirement just yet, but get onboard with the line still running, because being late for the last bus, sucks. As USM take over from Virgin records, this is the first new re-release from a back catalouge deal that will see all the Classic Madness albums following this one, returning to shops soon, so it's a good time to start your collection.

And If you like this, It's certainly worth visiting The Liberty Of Norton Folgate, a much heralded area, of late, linked to this page I'm sure, in all it's new grandeur. I'll see you in the Central depot for chats, ticket news and charts.

So if your just coming in off the street for some Madness, end your Summer Holiday with this, (but dont hum it, or the youngs ones will drive you off a cliff.)

All Aboard. Night Bus to Camden.