Hey Now! At last the long awaited follow-up to the very entertaining Madness Bootleg series of Nutty Sounds arrives in that of Nutty Sounds 3 (�Not Only but Also�). It spans a wide range of material from Madness to Suggs and Crunch! and beyond. Overall the quality of the recordings are by in large top notch with the odd one in need of some remastering, yet and welcomed addition to the now bursting Madness CD collection. So let us take a look without further adieu at what�s in store in this third instalment of those Nutty Sounds. 1. �Shoparound� This Smokey Robinson cover goes back to 1985/86 and it is a hidden gem. On the Mad not Mad tour, which must now rank as one of their worst, this classic steals the show and was definitely the best thing they done live at that time. It�s catchy, simply and really gets away from the over produced and now dated performances on the rest of the set list from that era. This is what Madness do best live and like all other covers, they make it their own. 2. Our House (Extended Dance Mix) Of all tracks on parts 3 & 4, this ranks as number one for me. To be honest I haven�t been able to listen to the original track for years, perhaps I played to death, yet this mix really makes it a pleasure to listen to it again. I am normally good at finding out the sources of tracks that be rare, but am damned in working out where this mix came from. I suspect it was for foreign consumption and is a lot better than the stretch mix or extended mix on the UK 12� back in 1982. Some really enjoyable production and very clear in the contribution each instrument makes to making the song, perhaps their fullest work yet. 3. Blue Beast (Warp Mix) This one originally popped up on TJAD 12� from 1983. I always liked this mix better from the Rise and fall version specifically for the stereo effects. Its great to get this kind of stuff on CD now and is this material that should have been put on �The Business� first day. No doubt taken from a vinyl source, yet you will not notice this as the sound quality and stereo effects are second to none. 4. My Guy�s mad at me (Tracy Ullman) This version was released on Stiff records (buy 197) back in 1984 and features one Mark Bedford on bass if memory serves my correctly. Okay so its not the best, yet disregarding Ms. Ullman�s vocals, the string arrangements and music make interesting listening. 5. Madness (live at Madstock 1992) I remember hearing this when it was actually played and to be homnest, rates as the worst moment of the Madstock years. Joined by one Prince Buster on stage, the song is hopping from here to there with no real click between the band and Buster. Maybe I am being harsh here, but the Prince misses his queue on a number of occasions and this makes it very confusing indeed, especially for El thommo�s sax break. Anyway, just remember Madstocks are not to be judged by this performance! 6. Green Eyes (Suggs on Later BBC 2 October 1995) Taken from Jools� Holland excellent show, Suggs only real live performance of the Lone Ranger track, is a gem. This was always my favourite track on the album, and this very acoustic version certainly delivers. Again I have had this on video since its first show, yet now, as part of the CD collection is great. Mr. Holland�s own talents are apparent with his own distinctive twinkling of the ivories. Oh yes for you anoraks, the guitarist, John Feasly (I think) is now playing for Culture Club! 7. Off on Holiday (Suggs on Later BBC2 October 1995) I am sorry but this track is not the best ever. This is the reason why the 3PC kicks the first album�s ass, because it is not on it. I was never a fan of this track, it�s very childish and almost corny. As much as I love ya man, sorry Suggs don�t do this stuff again. Oh yeah �the old head of Kinsale� is near my house! Rico joins on trombone, as does Jools on piano, which does enhance it to some degree. 8. Ticket To (Live 1993) The first of Crunch tracks from a live session and indeed a welcomed addition to the collection. Lee is very aggressive in vocals here and the beat is thumping. Actually reminds me of Sid Vicious� version of �She�s Something else�. This is a rare one, as it has never made it onto record yet. 9. Night Boat to Cairo (live at BRITS 1993) Performed on ITV back in February that year, when hosted by the awful Richard O Sullivan (or is it O� Brien) the performance is snappy and quite quick. Lee�s sax is at times off tune, but hey shit, he can do that anytime. What can I say about this track live that hasn�t been said already? Nothing. Classic Madness and their best track played at any gig perhaps! 10. Camden Town (live Rickety Wheel TV Show). Suggs here doing his bit on Patrick Keilty�s show a few years back. I have seen him play this live before and I always feel he�ll run out of breath in his vocal deliverance of this one. I suppose its good to have considering his tour never came to fruition. I liked this track and felt it as one of the better releases from the Lone Ranger. Sing up! 11. Boy in the Box (live London 1993) Again Messers Thompson and Foreman do their thing with Crunch in a very Madness sounding piano style. It plods away up beat in its verse and then changes key for a quite cool build up to the chorus. I think Lee always sounds better live as at times his vocal range is quite monotone in deliverance. Yet here he does move up and down to good effect. I wonder will this kind of stuff ever make it onto LP or CD? 12. House of Fun (Jungle Version) I remember watching this on the Comic Relief show back in 1997 and actually being odd with the Suggsmeister for what he was doing. Dunno who came up with this idea, but it without doubt the worst piece of trash I have ever heard in my life from any Madness/spin-off project yet. I may sound to be very critical of him here, I apologise if so, but with my hand on my heart, I cannot defend this sacrilege. I wonder how the rest of the band felt when they heard this? I suppose for sheer curiosity, its worth having. 13. Straight Banana (Original Demo) >From 1998, this became track 3 on the excellent Three Pyramids Club. Suggs gives his best here and it is great to have, again how the source got it is beyond me but well done. The real difference here being that of the vocals �Nuclear weapon� at the chorus. The rest of the track is very similar to what we are accustomed to now. A fine treat from the man himself. 14. My Old Man (Live Sheffield 2nd October 1999) Recorded live at the Billy Bragg Roadshow, the band does a fine rendition of this Ian Dury classic. It�s a very honest tale of Dury�s own father but I can�t help but think of the emotion going through Suggs� voice here. Honestly at one stage he sounds almost as if there is a tear in his eye; �all the best mate from your son�. It is a slow paced ditty, very cockney yet a true gem and the Maddies do it justice. 15. The Prince (Wubble U Mix With Dubs) After the debacle that was the Paul Gottel Night Boat to Cairo versions back in 1993, I have been very dubious to listen to this sort of stuff. I really don�t like �modern� mixes of Madness tracks, but it is actually the most bearable of them all. You can actually still hear semblance of the original track here, mixed amongst the 90s beat and toasting done throughout the song. Very ragga-based stuff. 16&17. One Step Beyond (RIP mixes) To be honest these are not to my liking. The original and the best still rule. To be honest there is simply very little trace of the original track here on both these, very similar tracks. Chas Smash�s shouts of �Madness� would only suggest so, as the rest completely veers off the Madness sound. All in all this is a very eclectic mix of madness and related tracks. I know I have been quite critical here and there, yet I feel that this only emphasises the diversity on the CD. It has something for everyone and is definitely well worth the listen. Nutty Sounds 4 next week folks! All the best Vince! ===== "If it ain't Vince, it ain't worth a F*CK!" ICQ 46099201 NEVER SAY NO TO A MAD IDEA! __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! 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