A Little Madness to Be Free | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 1984 | |||
Recorded | A Studio Sydney, Australia. Additional recording at Richmond Recorders Melbourne, Australia. Mixed at Alberts Studio Sydney, Australia [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Label | Lost (France) RCA (Australian 1984) Mushroom Records (Australian 1989 Reissue) | |||
Producer | Lurax Debris (Chris Bailey) | |||
The Saints chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from A Little Madness to Be Free | ||||
|
A Little Madness to Be Free is the sixth album by Australian band The Saints. This time around, frontman Chris Bailey persuaded original members, Kim Bradshaw (bass) and Ivor Hay (drums), to rejoin the band. On the album tour, the bass player was Tracy Pew, formerly of The Birthday Party. The title of the album is a reference to the quote "A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free," by Kazantzakis. [2] The album saw the Bailey moving further towards more ambitious arrangements including horns and strings. Bailey stated in a retrospective interview about this approach that he wanted to "make strings as powerful as Les Pauls and Marshalls". [3]
Retrospectively, All Music gave the album a positive review writing "By this point in his career, Bailey had come into his own as an arranger and it really shows. Certainly one of their most obscure discs, but ultimately as rewarding as their classics I'm Stranded, Eternally Yours and All Fools Day.". [4] The Guardian cited "Ghost Ships" in their The Saints: Their Five Greatest Moments retrospective. [5]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link |
All tracks composed by Chris Bailey
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Ghost Ships" | 3:41 |
2. | "Some One to Tell Me" | 2:48 |
3. | "Down the Drain" | 2:28 |
4. | "It's Only Time" | 3:26 |
5. | "Imagination" | 3:00 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Wrapped Up and Blue" | 3:35 |
2. | "Walk Away" | 3:00 |
3. | "Photograph" | 3:56 |
4. | "The Hour" | 5:43 |
5. | "Angel" | 3:34 |
The French label New Rose released an alternate track listing included an extra track "Heavy Metal" and an omitting "Wrapped Up and Blue".
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Down the Drain" | 2:28 |
2. | "Walk Away" | 3:00 |
3. | "Photograph" | 3:56 |
4. | "The Hour" | 5:43 |
5. | "Angel" | 3:34 |
6. | "Imagination" | 3:00 |
7. | "It's Only Time" | 3:26 |
8. | "Some One to Tell Me" | 2:48 |
9. | "Heavy Metal" | 2:57 |
10. | "Ghost Ships" | 3:41 |
Madness are an English ska and pop band from Camden Town, North London, who formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s two-tone ska revival, they continue to perform with six of the seven members of their original line-up. Madness's most successful period was from 1980 to 1986, when the band's songs spent a total of 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart.
The Saints were an Australian rock band, originating in Brisbane, Queensland in 1973. The band was founded by Chris Bailey, Ivor Hay (drummer), and Ed Kuepper (guitarist-songwriter). They were initially labeled a punk band because, like American punk rock band the Ramones, the Saints were employing the fast tempos, raucous vocals and "buzzsaw" guitar that characterised early punk rock – although this only reflects a portion of their overall sound. With their debut single "(I'm) Stranded" in September 1976, they became the first punk band outside the US to release a record, ahead of better-known acts the Damned, the Sex Pistols and the Clash. They are considered one of the first and most influential groups of the genre, particularly within Australia.
Edmund "Ed" Kuepper is a German-born Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded the punk band The Saints (1973–78), the experimental post-punk group Laughing Clowns (1979–85) and the grunge-like The Aints!. He has also recorded over a dozen albums as a solo artist using a variety of backing bands. His highest charting solo album, Honey Steel's Gold, appeared in November 1991 and reached No. 28 on the ARIA Albums Chart. His other top 50 albums are Black Ticket Day, Serene Machine and Character Assassination. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993 he won Best Independent Release for Black Ticket Day and won the same category in 1994 for Serene Machine.
Christopher A. Chaney is an American musician. He is best known as the former bassist of alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, and as a member of Alanis Morissette's touring and recording band for six years. Chaney was also a member of Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders and Camp Freddy. A prolific and versatile session musician, he has played with a variety of recording artists ranging from Joe Satriani, Joe Cocker, Shakira, Slash, Beth Hart, Adam Lambert, Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne, Bryan Adams, Sara Bareilles, Gavin Degraw, Cher, John Fogerty, Lisa Marie Presley, Meat Loaf, Rob Zombie, Romeo Santos, James Blunt, Shinedown, and Celine Dion.
The Rise & Fall is the fourth studio album by English ska band Madness, released on 8 October 1982 by Stiff Records. This album saw Madness at their most experimental, exhibiting a range of musical styles including jazz, English music hall, and Eastern influences. NME described it at the time of its release as "the best Madness record". It has often been retrospectively described as a concept album.
The Madness is the only studio album by the British ska/pop band The Madness, a short-lived incarnation of Madness. It was originally released in mid-1988, on the label Virgin. The album was produced by the Three Eyes, a pseudonym, whose identities remain a mystery. With the demise of Madness and the group's own label Zarjazz, the Madness were directly recruited under Virgin Records.
Wonderful is the seventh studio album by the British band Madness, released on 1 November 1999. It was the band's first studio album in fourteen years since Mad Not Mad in 1985, and also the first to feature their classic seven-piece line-up since 1984's Keep Moving. The album saw Madness reunite with their original production team, Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who had produced all of the band's previous work.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, released in 1994. Certified Diamond by the RIAA, it is Seger's most successful album to date. In December 2009, Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan confirmed that with nearly nine million copies sold. Bob Seger's Greatest Hits was the decade's best-selling catalog album in the United States, even out-selling The Beatles' 1 and Michael Jackson's Number Ones. By September 2011, the album had sold a total of 9,062,000 copies in the United States.
Eternally Yours is the second album by Australian punk rock band The Saints, released in 1978. Produced by band members Chris Bailey and Ed Kuepper, the album saw the band pursue a bigger, more R&B-driven sound, augmented by a horn section. The album also saw the introduction of bass guitarist Algy Ward, who replaced the band's previous bass player, Kym Bradshaw in mid-1977.
Prehistoric Sounds is the third album by the Australian punk rock group The Saints, released in 1978 via Harvest. This was the final album to feature founding lead guitarist, Ed Kuepper, who left the band shortly after its release. In October 2010, the album was listed in the top 50 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums with their debut, (I'm) Stranded, at No. 20.
The Monkey Puzzle is the fourth album by the Australian music group The Saints released in January 1981. It was the first album to be released after Ed Kuepper left the band.
All Fools Day is the seventh album by the Australian music group The Saints released in 1986. The album was The Saints' commercial breakthrough into the US, with the videos for "Just Like Fire Would" and "Temple of the Lord" receiving airplay on MTV.
Paralytic Tonight, Dublin Tomorrow is a 7" extended play released in March 1980 by Australian Punk band The Saints. It was produced by the group's singer-guitarist, Chris Bailey using the pseudonym L. Lambert. It is their first release after founding guitarist, Ed Kuepper, had left the band. The Saints line-up for the EP was Chris Bailey on lead vocals and guitar; C. Barrington on guitar; Cub Calloway on guitar; Ivor Hay on drums; and Janine Hall on bass guitar. A 12" version with an additional track, "Miss Wonderful", was issued on the French label, New Rose.
"(I'm) Stranded" is the debut single released by Australian punk rock band the Saints. Issued in September 1976, it has been cited as "one of the iconic singles of the era", and pre-dated vinyl debuts by contemporary punk acts such as the Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, The Damned and The Clash. In 2001, it was voted among the Top 30 Australian Songs of all time by APRA.
Christopher James Mannix Bailey was an Australian singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He was the co-founder and singer of rock band the Saints.
"Know Your Product" is a song written by Ed Kuepper and Chris Bailey of Australian rock band The Saints. Released in February 1978, it was the second single from the group's second album, Eternally Yours. Noted for its unusual mix of prominent brass with a punk rock guitar sound, the track has been described as a "pile-driving surge of raw soul power and one of the greatest singles from the punk rock period."
The Liberty of Norton Folgate is the ninth studio album by the British band Madness, released on 18 May 2009. The band worked on the album for close to three years and it was their first album of new material since 1999's Wonderful.
A Guided Tour of Madness is a 3-CD/1-DVD anthology box set by English band Madness, released in 2011 on Union Square Music's collector's label Salvo. It features 70 singles and album tracks and an exclusive DVD of the band's comeback concert at the Madstock festival in August 1992. It also includes a booklet with interviews with the band, photos, the cartoon Nutty Comic (1981) and the Madness Map of Camden, the band's historic stomping ground. With the exception of "Sweetest Girl," "Sorry," and "The Harder They Come," every one of the band's 34 singles to date is represented.
Forever Young: The Ska Collection is a compilation album by English band Madness, released in 2012 by Salvo/Union Square Music as part of their re-issues of the Madness back catalogue. The album consists of a selection of the band's ska sounding songs, including singles, b-sides and album tracks. In addition to the classic Madness tracks, the album contains two previously unreleased covers: Jimmy Cliff's "Vietnam" and Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King". Both of these bonus tracks were originally recorded for the 2005 Madness album The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1. The album includes a fold-out poster booklet with liner notes by Record Collector's Ian McCann, including new interviews with guitarist Chris Foreman and saxophonist Lee Thompson. Foreman said of the album: "It was our take on ska, and the songs on this album have ska as their basis. Not all are full-on; I wanted it to be called The Ska and Reggae Collection, but The Ska Collection it is."
Can't Touch Us Now is the eleventh studio album by the British band Madness, released on their Lucky 7 Records label through Universal Music Catalogue (UMC) on 28 October 2016. The album marked the return of founder member Mark Bedford but the departure of Cathal Smyth.