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Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. One Step Beyond... | |||
| 2. My Girl | |||
| 3. Night Boat To Cairo | |||
| 4. Believe Me | |||
| 5. Land Of Hope & Glory | |||
| 6. The Prince | |||
| 7. Tarzan's Nuts | |||
| 8. In The Middle Of The Night | |||
| 9. Bed And Breakfast Man | |||
| 10. Razor Blade Alley | |||
See all 20 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. The Prince | |||
| 2. Bed And Breakfast Man | |||
| 3. Land Of Hope & Glory | |||
| 4. Stepping Into Line | |||
| 5. One Step Beyond... (7 Single Version) | |||
| 6. My Girl (Mike Barson / Demo Version) | |||
| 7. Mistakes (B-Side One Step Beyond...) | |||
| 8. Un Paso Adelante (One Step Beyond... Spanish version) | |||
| 9. Nutty Theme (B-Side One Step Beyond... 12 ) | |||
| 10. My Girl (Ballad - From Flexipop) | |||
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See all 18 tracks on this disc
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Product Description
Review
Their debut single The Prince, originally released on Two-Tone (and rerecorded here, with an excellent dubby coda and extended sax solo from Lee ‘Kix’ Thompson), placed the septet firmly alongside kindred ska-revival spirits like The Specials. But Madness had other strings to their bow, their sound a Doc Marten-ed hybrid of soul, rockabilly, music hall, 60s pop, British sitcom and whatever else the group’s seven performer/songwriters had happened upon up ‘til that point. Indeed, Madness’s eclecticism soon became their trademark, along with their wildly exuberant personalities, Mike Barson’s thunderous piano chords, Thompson’s squawking sax, Chris Foreman’s genre-hopping guitar heroics (twanging like Dick Dale in Trenchtown on The Prince, chiming like The Byrds on Bed & Breakfast Man), and the droll delivery of frontman Suggs.
The three smash-hit singles that open the album segue from lunatic runaway-train ska (One Step Beyond), to forlorn and vulnerable mope-pop (My Girl), to eerie B movie exotica (Night Boat To Cairo), a wildly varied attack that saw Madness easily invade the higher reaches of the charts. From here, the album ricochets even more wildly, between sleazy, noir-ish STD stories (Razor Blade Alley), gonzo Tchaikovsky covers (Swan Lake), winning rock’n’roll pastiches (Rockin’ in A-flat), and a tale of underwear-thievery that plays out like a macabre Benny Hill sketch (In the Middle of the Night).
At times, One Step Beyond… seems so wild a jamboree of song that the whole shebang should just collapse into chaos. But thanks to the able and whip-smart work of production duo Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley – collectively, the George Martin to the Maddies’ Beatles – and the abundant energy and charisma of the group in their early prime, its chaotic carnival proved a triumph. And while later albums saw the group’s songwriting skills further blossom and mature, the vaudevillian nuttiness of their debut set hasn’t diminished over the decades. --Stevie Chick
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Product Description
Customer Reviews
The first CD is a direct reproduction of the first album in it's entirety and includes singles The Prince, One Step Beyond, My Girl, and Night Boat To Cairo and classic album track and almost single The Bed & Breakfast Man - then you come to the other album tracks that hint at what was to come from the Madnificent Seven over their fantastic 30 year career. From the tongue in cheek saucy postcard tale of "In The Middle Of The Night" telling of a local newsagents raids on ladies washing lines, to the teenage angst tale of young love in "Believe Me", we stop off at militaristic tales of time spent in borstal "Land Of Hope & Glory, and even pay homage to Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" in a way that only Madness can. Then there is the sheer lunacy of Tarzans Nuts and the eponymous "Madness" - another tribute to Prince Buster who had such an influence on the band.
If all that wasn't enough there are 5 video tracks included in the package (The Prince, One Step Beyond, My Girl Night Boat To Cairo and Bed & Breakfast Man) and a second CD crammed full of B-sides and rarities (One Step Beyond in Italian AND Spanish!!) that make this package excellent value for money for any die hard fan or someone trying to get beyond just knowing the greatest hits.
You be nuts not to buy it!!
"One Step Beyond" opens with the title track- and Chas Smash demanding attention: 'hey you! Don't watch that, watch this!' He refers to Prince Buster: 'Well listen Buster........' who is obviously Madness' main hero. There are two covers of Buster songs: 'One Step Beyond' and 'Madness', a song which, of course, they eventually named themselves after. Also, 'The Prince' is obviously a tribute. Madness soon introduce their very skilful song-writing ability with 'My Girl', 'Believe Me', and 'In the Middle of the Night'. 'Night Boat to Cairo' (a regular concert encore to this date) even attempts to break the traditional pop format, with its one single verse in the middle of the track before a modulation from C-F. With this track, Madness also show-off their ability to musically depict the lyrical content of their songs, with the small-ranged chromatic melodies from voice and instruments and the 'Lawrence of Arabia' style harmonic sequences. We are led into a military camp in 'Land of Hope and Glory', which is echoed at the end in 'Chipmunks Are Go' with its army-style call and response chanting. There is a fabulous Ska rendition of the main theme from Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake', which urinates all over anything the prog rockers attempted to do with classical tracks in earlier years.
There are some weaker tracks towards the end and this, unfortunately, became a bit of a Madness trait. However, on "One Step Beyond" it really doesn't matter. From the moment Chas shouts those words and the band kicks in, the energy will overtake you for the next forty minutes, and there's no stopping it.
This is exactly how a reissue of a classic album should be done. Other bands and record labels take note! The selection here is precisely what the fans would want, and it is clear that Madness are a band who listen to and are in tune with their massive fan base.
The album needs no introduction to Madness fans, but for those only familiar with the singles (The Prince {different version to the 2-Tone single}, One Step Beyond, My Girl and Night Boat to Cairo), there are other gems here too, notably Believe Me, In the Middle of the Night, Razor Blade Alley, Mummy's Boy and, of course, Bed and Breakfast Man.
If this first reissue of their back catalogue is anything to go by, the other reissues of Madness's classic albums are going to be superb, and I for one can't wait.
Bravo Madness, and Thank You!
30 years on from it's original release, the fantastic first album from Madness is... Read more
This is a good remastring, and the noise it,s very good. You can`t go wrong!
a madnificent album at a crazy price
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