Madness - Collector's Edition (1990) {3 Limited Edition Picture Discs}

Along with the Specials, Madness were one of the leading bands of the ska revival of the late '70s and early '80s. As their career progressed, Madness branched away from their trademark "nutty sound" and incorporated large elements of Motown, soul, and British pop. Although the band managed one crossover American hit in 1983, they remained a British phenomenon, influencing several successive generations of musicians and becoming one of the most beloved groups the country produced during the '80s. This box set includes the following albums: One Step Beyond... (1979), Absolutely (1980), The Rise And Fall (1982).

It's the sheer exuberance of it all that first smacks listeners straight across the head, that and the pure mayhem that careens wildly from the opening shout to the closing note. A musical roller coaster, a tear through a musical house of mirrors, along the way Madness grab streamers of ska and rocksteady and stuff them gleefully into their baggy trousers. Actually the trousers were yet to come, but One Step Beyond dragged listeners kicking and screaming into a wacky world of their own creation, where Prince Buster slams into swan-clad ballerinas and boats on the Nile, where "Chipmunks are Go!" and the sun never set on the "Land of Hope and Glory." The Nutty Boys was an apt alternate moniker for the band, as they rocket madly through this set, all wicked grins and giggles, smug with their own cleverness and winking slyly at their own goofy musical jokes. Who could be so po-faced as to not join in? The set has lost none of its freshness, appeal or ability to surprise over the years. It still sounds like nothing else on the planet, even though it's influences were waved pennant like from the band's hands -- Buster, of course, and the sheer freneticism of early Jamaican ska and punk's raging fire. And, just as evident, English music hall, Augustus Pablo's Far Eastern sound, Brit Beat pop, the slinkier side of swing and the funnier side of classical ballet, military marches and Dad's Army, funfairs and keyboard riffs on an Oktoberfest tour of the German beerhalls, all this and more were poured straight into the mix and decanted into the Madness brew. There's nary a pause for breath, the wilding never stops, even when they slow the tempos and darken the moods. Amidst this kaleidoscope everyone has their personal faves, be it the trio of Buster tributes of "One Step Beyond," "The Prince" and "Madness," the poppier Sixties Brit flavored hat trick of "In the Middle of the Night," "Bed and Breakfast" and "Mummy's Boy," the heavy on the atmospheres of "My Girl," "Nightboat to Cairo" and "Razorblade Alley" or the wacky batch of "Tarzan's Nuts," "Swan Lake" and "Chipmunks."

No matter what your cup of tea, Madness were playing mother and more than happy to pour it out with lashings of cream and sugar. One Step Beyond? More like a giant leap into a brave new world.

A classic example of a second album delivering more of the same, at least on the surface, Absolutely does benefit from the kinetic energy of being recorded quickly in the aftermath of Madness’ immediate success with One Step Beyond. Absolutely does motor ahead on breakneck ska rhythms, but it never quite feels as raw as its predecessor, and that hint of gloss serves the three big hit singles very well: the schoolyard nostalgia of “Baggy Trousers” has a bit of a sepia-toned lilt with this extra dose or production, the terrific “Embarrassment” slides by so smoothly it’s possible to not realize what an expertly crafted piece of pop it is, and “The Return of the Los Palmas 7” has a nice element of swinging ‘60s lounge cinema. As it happens, these hits are the moments that are a tangible progression from the nutty sound of One Step Beyond, with the rest of the record riding that rollicking beat -- sometimes dipping into silly straight-ahead boogie (“Solid Gone”), sometimes slowing down (“Close Escape”) -- but usually delivering more of the same in a highly appealing fashion. Madness perform with such high energy and such a big grin, it’s hard not to get swept up in the good times even if, after the party dies down, the memory of Absolutely just winds up seeming a shade familiar.

There’s a certain grandness to the title of Madness Presents the Rise & Fall, the group’s fourth album and undeniable pop masterpiece: it’s clear that the band has ambitions, to go several steps beyond ska, to craft nothing less than a Village Green Preservation Society for the ‘80s. The Kinks figure heavily in Madness’ design for The Rise & Fall, both in individual tunes and the overall arc of the concept album, but so does Ian Dury’s celebration of the riffraff of London, the latter giving Madness an earthiness that Ray Davies’ crew lacked during their time on the Village Green. While Madness’ forefathers are evident, The Rise & Fall is recognizably Madness in sound and sensibility; faint echoes of their breakneck nutty beginnings can be heard on “Blue Skinned Beast” and “Mr. Speaker Gets the Word,” the melodies are outgrowths of such early masterpieces as “My Girl,” there’s a charming, open-hearted humor and carnivalesque swirl that ties everything together. All this comes to a head on “Our House,” as divine a pop single as there ever was -- so undeniable that this very British anthem actually crossed over into the American Top Ten in 1983 -- but that’s merely the splashiest evidence of Madness’ popcraft on The Rise & Fall. The rest of the record contains the same wit, effervescence, and joy, capturing what British pop life was all about in 1982, just as Village Green Preservation Society did in 1968 or Blur’s Parklife would do in 1994.