Wonderful (Madness album)

Wonderful
Studio album by Madness
Released	1 November 1999 (UK)
Recorded	1999
Studio	Westside Studios, London
Genre	Ska pop
Length	41:54
Label	Virgin
Producer	Clive Langer Alan Winstanley
Madness chronology
Universal Madness (1999) Wonderful (1999) Our House: The Original Songs (2002)
Singles from Wonderful
"Lovestruck" Released: 19 July 1999 "Johnny the Horse" Released: October 1999 "Drip Fed Fred" Released: January 2000

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. ^{[1] [2]}

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
BBC News	favourable [4]
NME	[5]
Record Collector	[6]

The BBC's Chris Charles said "... Wonderful finds the boys in their best form since 1981's Madness 7 ." ^[4] Allmusic's Evan Cater gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and said "On the whole, it's a pretty successful return." ^[3] In a review of the 2010 re-release, Terry Staunton of Record Collector stated that although "All the essential components are in place...something doesn’t quite gel…". Staunton thought the opening single "Lovestruck" was well done but "elsewhere there’s a niggling feeling that the band are trying too hard to replicate the sound of yore, studiously ignoring the fact that times – and the players themselves – have changed." ^[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Lovestruck"	Lee Thompson, Mike Barson	3:50
2.	"Johnny the Horse"	Cathal Smyth	3:20
3.	"The Communicator"	Graham McPherson, Smyth	3:20
4.	"4 am"	McPherson, Barson	3:50
5.	"The Wizard"	Smyth	3:27
6.	"Drip Fed Fred" (feat. Ian Dury)	Thompson, Barson	4:30
7.	"Going to the Top"	Barson	3:56
8.	"Elysium"	Thompson, Daniel Woodgate	3:52
9.	"Saturday Night Sunday Morning"	McPherson	4:14
10.	"If I Didn't Care"	Jack Lawrence	4:25
11.	"No Money"	Thompson, D. Woodgate, Nick Woodgate	3:14
Total length:			41:54

2010 reissue

Disc 1 - the original album

• Contains the full album plus three promo videos

The promo videos

1. "Lovestruck"
2. "Johnny the Horse"
3. "Drip Fed Fred"

Disc 2 - the bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Origin	Length
1.	"You're Wonderful" (remix)	Smyth	Japanese edition bonus track and B-side of "Johnny the Horse"
2.	"Round and Round"	Thompson, Barson	Japanese edition bonus track and B-side of "Lovestruck"
3.	"We Are Love"	Smyth	B-side of "Lovestruck"
4.	"Johnny the Horse" (radio edit)	Smyth	"Johnny the Horse" promo single
5.	"I Was the One"	Barson	B-side of "Johnny the Horse"
6.	"Dreaming Man"	Smyth, Chris Foreman	B-side of "Johnny the Horse"
7.	"Light of the Way"	Smyth	B-side of "Drip Fed Fred"
8.	"We Want Freddie"	Thompson, Barson	B-side of "Drip Fed Fred"
9.	"Drip Fed Fred" (The Conspiracy Mix)	Thompson, Barson	"Drip Fed Fred" single version
10.	"Maddley" (album sampler)	McPherson, Smyth, Barson, Thompson, D. Woodgate, N. Woodgate, Lawrence	B-side of "Lovestruck"
11.	"Simple Equation"	McPherson, Foreman	Our House: The Original Songs , 2002
12.	"Sarah's Song"	Thompson, Barson	Our House: The Original Songs
13.	"It Must Be Love" (2002 mix)	Labi Siffre	Our House: The Original Songs
14.	"My Old Man"	Ian Dury, Steve Nugent	Brand New Boots and Panties, 2001

Chart performance

Chart (1999)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart [7]	17

Personnel

Madness

• Graham "Suggs" McPherson – lead vocals
• Mike Barson – keyboards
• Chris Foreman – guitar
• Mark Bedford – bass
• Lee Thompson – saxophones, guest vocals on track 6
• Daniel Woodgate – drums
• Cathal Smyth – backing vocals, lead vocals on track 3

Additional personnel

• Jason Bruer – saxophone
• Terry Edwards – saxophone, brass arrangements
• Michael Kearsey – trombone
• Jason McDermid – trumpet
• Pablo Cook – percussion
• The London Session Orchestra – strings
• Gavyn Wright – orchestral and strings leader
• Simon Hale – string arrangements, conductor
• Ian Dury – guest vocals on track 6
• Steve Donnelley – dobro guitar on track 5
• Mitch – backing vocals on track 4
• Sarah Cracknell – backing vocals on track 8

Technical

• Clive Langer – production
• Alan Winstanley – production
• Mark Bishop – assistant engineer
• Martin Parr – front cover photography
• Mark Bedford – design
• Robert Stimpson – design
• Dani Golfieri – design assistant
• Neil Evans – design assistant

2010 reissue

• Tim Turan – remastering
• Martin "Cally" Callomon – art direction, design
• Nik Rose – artwork ("re-jigging and fettling")
• Robert Elms – liner notes

Notes

• "4 am" is a re-recorded version of the song that appeared on Suggs' solo album The Lone Ranger in 1995.
• "If I Didn't Care" is a cover of a song originally recorded by the Ink Spots.
• Providing the vocals to "Drip Fed Fred" would be Ian Dury's last chart single release and final TV appearance on The National Lottery Show before his death in March 2000.
• Despite being the title of the album, "You're Wonderful" only made it as a b-side on one of the editions of the "Johnny the Horse" single. However, it is included on the Japanese version of the album, along with another song which was a b-side in the UK: "Round and Round".

References

1. "Madness Previewing Album Online". MTV . 28 October 1999. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
2. "Brand New Beat". sevenraggedmen.com. 1999. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
3. Allmusic review
4. BBC News | NEW MUSIC RELEASES | CD Review: Madness
5. "Wonderful review". NME . 12 September 2005. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
6. Staunton, Terry (18 December 2010). "Wonderful review". Record Collector . Retrieved 1 October 2021.
7. "UK Singles & Albums Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 12 January 2012.

External links

• Wonderful at Discogs (list of releases)