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Product details
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Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Baggy Trousers | |||
| 2. Embarrassment | |||
| 3. E.R.N.I.E. | |||
| 4. Close Escape | |||
| 5. Not Home Today | |||
| 6. On The Beat Pete | |||
| 7. Solid Gone | |||
| 8. Take It Or Leave It | |||
| 9. Shadow Of Fear | |||
| 10. Disappear | |||
See all 24 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. One Step Beyond... | |||
| 2. E.R.N.I.E. | |||
| 3. Mistakes | |||
| 4. Disappear | |||
| 5. Bed And Breakfast Man | |||
| 6. The Return Of The Los Palmas 7 | |||
| 7. Close Escape | |||
| 8. Overdone | |||
| 9. Not Home Today | |||
| 10. Razor Blade Alley | |||
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See all 21 tracks on this disc
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Product Description
CD Description
Union Square Music s 30th Anniversary Madness reissue campaign continues with Absolutely, the band s second album, and the one which features the classic schooldays anthem Baggy Trousers . It also contains the lighthearted instrumental The Return Of The Los Palmas 7 and the band s first real foray in to the realms of social comment, with the excellent Embarrassment . This is classic early Madness, a snapshot of a band on the ascent from their beginnings as nutty ska boys to international pop superstars.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
When this album was released in 1980 I remember there being much discussion at school about which album was better: this one or their first, One Step Beyond. Opinion was always divided, pretty much 50/50, so we never got a majority decision either way. Even amongst long term Madness fans, I think that still holds true today.
However, for me, this has always been the better of the 2 albums. All songs here are Madness originals (One Step Beyond had some, admittedly very good, covers) and showcased over an entire album what brilliant songwriters they all were.
There were 3 singles taken from this album, 2 of which (Baggy Trousers and Embarrassment) rank amongst their very best (and they had a lot of singles!). The third (Return of the Los Palmas 7) was a great instrumental, the single version being (I think) a complete rerecording of the album version, which is shorter and has a more low key and laid back sound to it (you can almost feel the smoky atmosphere of the jazz club that they could be playing in).
Every Madness album has one track that positively screams at you 'Should Have Been a Single!'. On One Step Beyond it was Bed and Breakfast Man. Here it is E.R.N.I.E., a great music hall style song about the Premium Bond number generator machine (I kid you not). At the time, I actually thought this should have been chosen over Los Palmas 7 as the third single. It is such a little gem of a song, and is really worth hearing if you have never listened to this album before.
What I think sets Absolutely apart from other Madness albums is the sheer number of would-be singles. Almost every track could have been one. As well as E.R.N.I.E., there's Close Escape, Not Home Today (a beautifully melancholy song), On The Beat Pete, Take It Or Leave It (a great opener to 'side 2'), Disappear (I know a number of fans who, even to this day, rate this as Madness's best ever song), You Said and, my favourite track from the album, In the Rain (Suggs even sings it with a cold for some added authenticity!).
This 30th Anniversary edition also has all the B-sides of the singles and a great BBC recording of a Hammersmith Odeon concert from December 1980 (the end of a year when Madness had completely dominated the singles charts).
It has often been said that Madness were a great singles band. Do you know what, I completely agree. This album's got 14 of 'em!
However, for me, this has always been the better of the 2 albums. All songs here are Madness originals (One Step Beyond had some, admittedly very good, covers) and showcased over an entire album what brilliant songwriters they all were.
There were 3 singles taken from this album, 2 of which (Baggy Trousers and Embarrassment) rank amongst their very best (and they had a lot of singles!). The third (Return of the Los Palmas 7) was a great instrumental, the single version being (I think) a complete rerecording of the album version, which is shorter and has a more low key and laid back sound to it (you can almost feel the smoky atmosphere of the jazz club that they could be playing in).
Every Madness album has one track that positively screams at you 'Should Have Been a Single!'. On One Step Beyond it was Bed and Breakfast Man. Here it is E.R.N.I.E., a great music hall style song about the Premium Bond number generator machine (I kid you not). At the time, I actually thought this should have been chosen over Los Palmas 7 as the third single. It is such a little gem of a song, and is really worth hearing if you have never listened to this album before.
What I think sets Absolutely apart from other Madness albums is the sheer number of would-be singles. Almost every track could have been one. As well as E.R.N.I.E., there's Close Escape, Not Home Today (a beautifully melancholy song), On The Beat Pete, Take It Or Leave It (a great opener to 'side 2'), Disappear (I know a number of fans who, even to this day, rate this as Madness's best ever song), You Said and, my favourite track from the album, In the Rain (Suggs even sings it with a cold for some added authenticity!).
This 30th Anniversary edition also has all the B-sides of the singles and a great BBC recording of a Hammersmith Odeon concert from December 1980 (the end of a year when Madness had completely dominated the singles charts).
It has often been said that Madness were a great singles band. Do you know what, I completely agree. This album's got 14 of 'em!
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Well, what is there to say about this album? It is a Madness Masterpiece. Three top-twenty singles taken from this album alone do it credit ('Baggy Trousers', 'Embarrassment' and 'Return of the Los Palmas 7'), but there are many other great tunes to choose from.
'On The Beat Pete' is a stomping Ska/Pop tune to really get your teeth into; 'You Said' is another darker song for the fans and non-fans alike; 'Disappear' will lull and calm you with its bright tones and lucid rhythms; 'In The Rain' sings of the all-to-often bleak weather one experiences as a youth in Blighty.
Simply excellent, simply Madness at their greatest. Forget the Best Of's and the Greatest Hits, this is the album for those fans who want to leave the fake fans behind and explore that long-and-winding road to Madness themselves.
Many records of the time capture the feeling of the early 80s, but this one does that time period justice - truly a heavenly record.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If you think of Madness as a singles band,think again.
This album is absolutely crammed with well-crafted tunes that reflect both the melancholy and more frivolous approach that really define the band.Highlights include Close Escape Not Home Today,Take It Or Leave It,the classic singles Baggy Trousers and (The peerless) Embarrassment,and Disappear,arguably the bands best ever track.
I've had the album since 1981 and now on CD and although Madness's time has been and gone,it still stands up today,and i can literally smell those school corridors it reminds me of !
This album is absolutely crammed with well-crafted tunes that reflect both the melancholy and more frivolous approach that really define the band.Highlights include Close Escape Not Home Today,Take It Or Leave It,the classic singles Baggy Trousers and (The peerless) Embarrassment,and Disappear,arguably the bands best ever track.
I've had the album since 1981 and now on CD and although Madness's time has been and gone,it still stands up today,and i can literally smell those school corridors it reminds me of !
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
NOT ARRIVED
Still waiting for it to arrive. NOT HAPPY!!!!!!!! WOULD THINK IF YOU PAY FOR SOMETHING THAT YOU WONT HAVE TO WAIT OVER 2 MONTH TO GET IT
Published 14 days ago by cloughie
A Fabulous Surprise With The Cover
As a Madness collector, having Suggs and Chas' autograph, speaking to them on radio 1 there's not a lot that makes you smile as far as suprises go. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Shiny
It's Madness
I couldn't resist buying this. I have the LP, the CD and the tape. I remember when I bought the LP. Every song is classic Madness. Read more
Published 21 months ago by A. MCARTHUR
madness
probably the best madness album ever, the nutty boys at their polished best on par with one step beyond , buy it and relive the nutty sound of london at its eighties best,... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Andrew J. Fry
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!
I bought this yesterday, having not heard this album for thirty years! It greeted me like an old friend. Read more
Published on 5 May 2010 by J. McCarraher
Absolutely Great
This was one of the best albums I had as kid nearly 30 years ago! With all the extra tracks, and songs that never made any compilations this is an excellent album. Read more
Published on 3 May 2010 by K. Hooker
Absolutely one of there best!
Absolutely, the second studio album from Madness is perhaps one of their strongest. It features hit singles Baggy Trousers, Embarrassment, and the Return of the Los Palmas 7,... Read more
Published on 24 Mar 2010 by Craig Taylor
Madness revival continues in our house...
Saw them at Glastonbury 09 and got me listening to their stuff again- i.e. Divine / Complete albums. Read more
Published on 6 July 2009 by ZangTangTomb
Absolutely Madness is Absolutley Brilliant
I have Absolutley on LP from the first release back in the day so to complete my collection of CDs from madness just takes you back in time and I am there with Two-Tone Suit and... Read more
Published on 18 May 2009 by Dean Allsop
Probably their best album
By the time this was released, Madness had a huge recording budget. This meant their best songs got the best production possible: you can hear every subtle bit of fun on these... Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2007 by Peter Jones
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