OK... Here we go. The cover fits in totally with the two already released singles... note the promotion of "The Lot" buried in the credits. We begin with 'Lovestruck' which as we all know is a particularly great little Madness ditty in the true spirit of the band's past, present and future. What is immediately obvious if you've only heard this on radio so far is the subtlety and brilliance of Mr. Barson's immense talent at twinkling the ivories. A good tune to release as the first single as it contains elements of all stages of the band's development to this point... instantly appealing to long standing fans yet with enough of a nineties edge to entice some new ones. Now I know 'Johnny the Horse' has caused some descent on this list so far and I'm going to stir it up again. I think this song is completely brilliant and probably one of my favourite ever. It's not going to be a favourite of "Keep Moving" fans who prefer the more mellow, less dance oriented tunes but it manages to combine all of those things that make Madness who they are while demonstrating a musical maturity and a '90s awareness. It takes a melancholy topic, described in a storytelling fashion and with pure musical genius turns it into a celebration of life whilst still delivering an important message. And the beat... well it definitely has 1999 written all over it, lying somewhere between those blatant ska core beats and the sort of stuff that Fatboy Slim produces yet still maintaining that distinctive Madness touch. There's even something vaguely celtic about it. (And yeah I really dig the woos. I still can't believe they needed a radio edit. Man You guys have strict censorship... They don't even bleep out f**k on most of our radio stations or TV for that matter). 'The Communicator' is (as Vince pointed out) an homage to ska and I still maintain that it would be the perfect next single for Australia. Ska and Punk rival the dance scene here and we're kind of in the middle of the third wave right now (as opposed to the States which almost seems to be done with it in a mainstream sense). Anyway back to 'The Communicator'. Fun and loud and infectious with just enough of the eighties to make it incredibly cool and a large helping of the nineties to make it something you could imagine on stage at the Vans Warped Tour... and yeah I think "Yesterday was history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a gift, That's why we call it the Present' is the best lyric I've ever heard. You can definitely see the nutty train in this one (if not a conga line). '4am' is a perfectly crafted little pop song that allows the musical talents of the band to shine through... man have they got better at playing in the last 20 years. The musical favourite of the late nineties (a string section) is more prominent here than on a lot of the album and really adds to the emotive quality of the song. I have always liked the more upbeat and dance oriented tunes better but as far as the slower more melancholy tunes goes, this has got to be one of the best they've done (and the sax solo is awesome). ' 'The Wizard' has that circus style motif that is so distinctive in songs like 'House of Fun' (and totally appropriate to the subject matter too). Suggs' harmonic vocals, the sax, strings (and even the whistling) all balance each other beautifully to produce a great little gem and again the beat stands out. The rhythm section is probably one of the most different things about this album. It is both more mature and totally complimentary. The bass and percussion echo the subtleties of Mr. Barson's keyboard. OK at the risk of being flamed... I don't think 'Drip Fed Fred' is a potential single release and now I'm going to justify myself (so listen before you flame). It might possibly chart on the strength of Mr. Dury's performance (which BTW is brilliant and well chosen) but I don't think it shows enough of the band's talent. Lyrically it's fantastic and it tells an awesome story (and tells it well) but that's just the point: It's an anthem, kind of like the "Wonderful" version of 'Chipmunks are go', although much better crafted and more mature... It's Lee's storytelling at it's best but the music itself is almost a backdrop to the story rather than an integral part. And I really hate these anthemic things when I go to a show (if you've ever seen The Living End's 'Prisoner of Society' live, you'll know exactly what I mean). 'Going To the Top' is classic Madness from the early days... a fun little pop song with that all familiar punchiness and chorus tempo change where the beat is punctuated by the keyboards and sax and the vocals themselves almost seem to define the beat. The only difference here is that the guitar and bass get a bit of an outing at the forefront.' Elysium' too is another classic track... a grown up version of the "Rise and Fall" album (probably mostly due to the string section). There is more texture though... a greater layering of the sound in order to produce something more refined and up to date... This shows Suggs vocal strength brilliantly although i'm not too sure about the ending... The beginning of 'Saturday Night, Sunday Morning' reeked of '80s (but not Madness) and it's been bugging me for days and then I realised what it was... The initial beat and bass line is reminiscent of David Bowie's 'Modern Love' although once the keyboards, sax and vocals kick in, the character changes markedly. It's a gorgeous little pop ditty in the same kind of vein as 'Lovestruck'. 'If I Didn't Care' is a beautiful, funky little love song that's highly emotive in both it's content and delivery. The sentiment is beautiful if a little dark (and I'm sure everyone would love to know that someone felt that strongly about them). This is definitely not a dance number... more a kind of nodding song and definitely a grower. On first listen it seemed way too long but after a few spins it had me coming back for more. 'No Money' is a classic little nutty pop song (and the story of my life... although the jetsetting lifestyle sounds pretty appealing to me!!!) It rounds out the album quietly and classically tying the emotive highs and lows, bopping ska tunes and more sophisticated mature numbers together with an example of Madness simplicity at it's best. This the best Madness album I've purchased since "One Step Beyond" (which is THE best album I own) and I think they sit well together as a juxtaposition of the development of the band. From raw and energetic to mature and magnificently produced. I can't quite make up my mind whether "Wonderful" is better but it definitely falls into my best 5 albums of all time. A plethora of eighties bands have recently reinvented themselves... What a pity that Madness is the only one so far to make a credible job of it. "Wonderful" is simply brilliant. Thankyou Madness!! Now I have to somehow manage to translate this into 200 words for the magazine (It's just not enough I tell you). -- Trace Tracy Heffernan Writer, bma magazine Canberra, Australia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: 02 62882940 Snail mail: 23/5 Hyndes cres Holder ACT 2611 Australia "Johnny the Horse was kicked to death He died for entertainment" - 'Johnny the Horse'-Madness - ______________________________________________________________ Visit the Total Madness Mailing List website for: latest news, madmeet info, list charter, games, and more ... http://members.xoom.com/totalmadmail/ Contact the TMML Moderators at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] and in the message body put: unsubscribe total-madness
