| Madness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1979–1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:13 | |||
| Label | Geffen | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Madness chronology | ||||
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Madness is a compilation album by the British ska/pop band Madness. It was issued primarily for the North American market in order to capitalise on the top 10 success in the United States of their hit single "Our House" from the 1982 album Madness Presents the Rise & Fall , which had not been available there.
Madness features six tracks from The Rise & Fall album, three from the 1981 album 7 , one from the 1979 debut album One Step Beyond... and two single a-sides. The 1980 album Absolutely is not represented on the compilation.
The album contains every UK single from "Grey Day" to "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)", with the exception of "Driving in My Car", which has never been issued on any US compilation. However, the album was also issued in Japan where "Driving in My Car" replaced "Rise & Fall".
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone |  [2] |
Rolling Stone 's J. D. Considine gave the album a rave review, saying that it introduced the best tracks from Madness's earlier albums to an American audience, while leaving out any songs with insular British cultural references. He praised the uniquely British "economy and wit" of the melodies and the sobering lyrics, remarking that "Madness offers up all of the clichés of traditional British entertainment - but with a twist, revealing the hard realities behind the soothing illusions." [2]
Weekly charts
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Madness are an English ska and pop band from Camden Town, north west 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.
"Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synth-pop group the Human League. It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, Dare (1981). The band's best known and most commercially successful song, it was the best selling UK single of 1981, that year's Christmas number one, and has since sold over 1,560,000 copies in the UK, making it the 23rd-most successful single in UK Singles Chart history. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US on 3 July 1982, where it stayed for three weeks.
7 is the third studio album by the English ska and pop band Madness. Released in October 1981, it peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. All but one track was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas in the summer of 1981, the exception being "Grey Day" which was recorded in London earlier in the year. Although in 2011 co-producer Alan Winstanley stated in the Guided Tour of Madness boxed-set that much of the album was re-recorded in London when they returned from Nassau.
Divine Madness is the 1992 greatest hits album from the British ska/pop band Madness.
"Our Lips Are Sealed" is a song co-written by Jane Wiedlin, guitarist of the Go-Go's, and Terry Hall, singer of the Specials and Fun Boy Three.
The Rise & Fall is the fourth studio album by English ska band Madness, released on 5 November 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 Metro", also published as "Metro", is a 1981 song written by John Crawford for his band, Berlin.
"Our House" is a song by the English ska and pop band Madness and was written by second lead vocalist Chas Smash and guitarist Chris Foreman. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, The Rise & Fall, on 12 November 1982. The song charted within the top ten in several countries, and it was the band's biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It won the category Best Pop Song at the May 1983 Ivor Novello Awards.
Fade to Grey: The Singles Collection is a 1983 compilation album by the British synth-pop group Visage.
"House of Fun" is a song by English ska/pop group Madness, credited to Mike Barson and Lee Thompson. It was released as a one-off single on 14 May 1982 and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, spending nine weeks in the charts. The song was re-released in 1992, reaching number 40. It is the band's only number one single in the UK and in 2015 the British public voted it as the nation's 8th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.
"It Must Be Love" is a song written and originally recorded and released in 1971 by English singer Labi Siffre on his 1972 album Crying Laughing Loving Lying. It was also recorded by ska/pop band Madness in 1981.
Complete Madness is the first greatest hits album by ska/pop group Madness. It was released in 1982 and included Madness' biggest hits from their first three studio albums and the stand-alone singles. Complete Madness spent 99 weeks on the UK charts, peaking at number 1.
Utter Madness is a greatest hits album by the British pop band Madness, released on their own Zarjazz label through Virgin Records on 24 November 1986 shortly after the group's original split. It picks up from where the band's first greatest hits album Complete Madness left off, running from "Driving in My Car" to the last Madness single before their split, "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train".
The Business – the Definitive Singles Collection is a 3 disc box set by ska/pop band Madness released in 1993. It contained all the band's singles until that point with their respective b-sides and other bonus tracks, some rare. It also includes a 52-page booklet and snippets of interviews with people associated with Madness between some tracks. The interviews date from around the time of the Keep Moving album and were conducted by John Tobler. Among those interviewed were founder member John Hasler, former manager John "Kelloggs" Kalinowski and Dave Robinson of Stiff Records.
Total Madness – the Very Best of Madness is a greatest hits album by a British ska/pop band Madness, released in 1997. It was released exclusively in the United States and Canada.
"Driving in My Car" is a song by Madness. It was released as a stand-alone single on 24 July 1982 and spent eight weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number four. It reached number 20 on the Australian Singles Chart.
Quick Step & Side Kick is the third studio album by the British new wave group Thompson Twins. It was released in February 1983 by Arista Records, and was their first album to be released as a trio. The album reached no. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and was later certified Platinum by the BPI.
Our House: the Original Songs is a greatest hits album by a British Ska-pop group Madness, released in 2002. It was released as a result of the stage show "Our House", and comprises the tracks which were included in the musical. The album features two new songs, "Simple Equation" and "Sarah's Song".
Assemblage is a compilation album by the British band Japan, released in September 1981 by Hansa Records.
Trax! Box is a 2015 compilation box set by American rock band Ministry. It collects the band’s 1980-1985 output on the Wax Trax! label, including all remixes, side projects and period rarities. This collection builds greatly upon the 2004 RykoDisc re-issues and adds dozens of previously unreleased tracks.
