Total Madness (CD & DVD) [CD+DVD, PAL]

It seems more than a little odd that as Madness enjoy their most successful year with an album of new material in The Liberty of Norton Folgate, that their back catalogue is largely unavailable. Even odder when one considers that this is Madness's 30th anniversary. So to start the ball rolling on a comprehensive reissue programme we have Total Madness, the first compilation to be billed as a Madness best of.

Total Madness is a 2 disc release with 21 of their biggest hits (and two classic cuts from debut album One Step Beyond, which have remained live staples and favourites) on the audio disc and the respective 22 videos on the DVD (Madness is the only track on this compilation which does not have a recognised video).

Unlike previous compilations, Total Madness does not have a chronological track list. This set is paced to some extent around their live set. There's a massively uptempo string of hits to kick us off, with One Step Beyond, Baggy Trousers, House Of Fun, Our House, Embarrassment and My Girl, before It Must Be Love slows things down a tad. Anyone dancing along will be glad of this respite. That's a staggering opening seven hits. Plenty of bands would kill to have those in their cannon.

But wait, there's more, loads more in fact. The frenetic Wings Of A Dove is followed by the sombre singalong of The Sun And The Rain (the only instance of successive tracks mirroring their original release order), which is followed by Grey Day. Thematically these two songs very much belong together. Next up is NW5, from the latest album. Not Madness's biggest hit single, but certainly one of the best melodies Mike Barson has written and a big live favourite since its 2006 debut. In this company it proves itself more than equal to Madness's wonderful original run of hits.

Mid career Madness rears its successful head with the trio of Cardiac Arrest, Tomorrow's Just Another Day and Driving In My Car. Believe it or not we reach track 12 before finding a track that isn't a live regular. Maybe it is time for Cardiac Arrest to be given a go? Bed And Breakfast Man was never a single, but judging by its popularity live it probably should have been. Its inclusion in this set is no surprise. Neither is 1999's comeback hit Lovestruck, which was Madness's first top 10 single since 1983's The Sun And The Rain. Lovestruck was an instant classic and fits perfectly with the next two tracks, the gorgeous One Better Day (Madness's best ever single in my humble opinion) and Michael Caine. Both came from Keep Moving, a brilliant, but transitional album made under the shadow of fear cast by the knowledge that founder member Mike Barson was leaving the band. It was a brilliant send off and was my favourite Madness album until The Liberty of Norton Folgate took its crown as King Of Madness albums earlier this year.

The catchy cha cha cha of The Return Of The Los Palmas 7 sets us up perfectly for the encores, sorry, last 4 tracks. We storm through The Prince, Shut Up, Madness and then Night Boat To Cairo brings the album and show to a glorious end. We want more, but we're knackered. Unlike a gig that gives us the respite of the curfew at this point, this album can be played and played and played until the knees click and the back groans "no more!". At this point you can sit down and watch the videos!

This is a cracking album and Madness are a cracking band. Do yourself a favour, buy this, buy yourself a copy of The Liberty Of Norton Folgate and keep your eyes and ears open for the reissue of Madness's back catalogue. This may be billed as a best of, but trust me it is just the tip one incredibly big iceberg.

It's been along time since Madness have had a proper 'new' compliation out, and this album won't disapoint the general music loving public!

The album conists of 23 Madness songs (21 singles/ 2 album tracks) that take you from 1979 right up to the beginning of 2008. All of the big hits are here including House of Fun, Our House, Baggy Trousers, My Girl and it Must be Love. Plus there are plenty of their forgotten hits such as Michael Caine, Cardiac Arrest and One Better Day. And then you've got the 1999 hit Lovestruck and the brilliant NW5 from their latest album. You even get videos for all of the tracks to watch too (apart from the track Madness which didn't have one).

All of the tracks (apart from NW5) have been remastered and sound better and clearer than ever, and it is nice that the running order has been completley refreshed after the chronalogical order seen on Divine Madness. The listing on this CD almost matches the live gigs starting off with the classic One Step Beyond and ending with the wonderful Night Boat to Cairo.

My only complaint is that this album only represents part of the Madness story with the singles from the Mad Not Mad album, such as Uncle Sam and Yesterdays Men, missing. Madness's only live single 'The Harder They Come' is also missing along with Johnny the Horse and Drip Fed Fred (although these two do feature in the digital download). There is also no mention of anything from the Dangermen Session and no 'Sorry' or the latest singles 'Dust Devil' and 'Sugar and Spice' which were released this year. Maybe I'm asking to much, but hopefully we'll have a fuller singles collection at a later date once licencing issues are resolved.

The only other disapointment is the booklet which is actually more like a leaflet that lists the credits for the songs and advertises the other fuuture Madness releases. But it is the music that counts and it certainly makes up for the lack of a booklet.

But for now this album will certainly do and it is certainly good value for money with 23 top Madness tunes and 22 videos, what more can youu want. This is a must have collection!

Do we need another Madness Greatest Hits package...yes, definitely. Madness are attracting new generations of fans daily, yet their previous Greatest Hits collections were all deleted nearly 2 years ago. Its essential that the classic Madness tracks are available to all and this very neat package does so superbly. So now for the bargain price of under £10 you can get their very greatest hits in a double pack of CD + DVD.

If you are going to see Madness live in the near future, this is the perfect accompanyment, well worth buying one for a friend you might be going with too.

Total Madness (CD & DVD)