Wonderful is Madness' eighth studio album. It was released in 1999, following a hiatus of eleven years after their previous album, The Madness.
Much of this album somehow seems like modern interpretations of The Beatles' Eleanor Rigby. The songs are very heavily centred around the narrative, and there's nothing wrong with that per se. But I think they need some form of musical interest- specifically a catchy chorus- to hold them together. Without it, songs like Lovestruck, Johnny The Horse, 4.A.M., If I Didn't Care and No Money end up as spoken word over a nondescript musical backing. Ska tragics like myself might like believe that Madness is defined by Night Boat to Cairo, One Step Beyond, Baggy Trousers, etc, but the reality is that they're as much a pop band with hits such as Our House and It Must Be Love.
Elysium is the sole example of this style that appeals to me, thanks to a wonderfully catchy melody.
But The Communicator is ska, and ska cures all ills ... right?? Unfortunately, not even for this ska fanboy. The song is kinda enjoyable, but nothing memorable. It also reminds me of Bad Manners' Sally Brown, or more specifically The Seen's slower tempo version thereof.
Now for the entire reason I bought the album: Drip Fed Fred. The groove is simple, yet catchy enough and powerful. Despite my moanings about the rest of the album, the narratives have always been very good, and the cartoon-ish gangster tale of Drip Fed Fred maintains that high standard. But the knockout punch is that irresistible chorus, which gets stuck in your head for the rest of the day. The four-and-a-half minutes disappears in a blissful trance, and it feels like they could keep easily the groove going for that time again without it getting at all stale. Brilliant!
Madness have always been a favourite band of mine. The Prince, One Step Beyond, Night Boat to Cairo, House of Fun and many others are treasured songs. But I also appreciate bands need to evolve and try new directions, so I have to respect them for doing that. Unfortunately, said new direction happens to have very little appeal for me in this case.
But while I have no interest in 91% of this album (actually, a higher percentage if you include the B-side disc), Drip Fed Fred is a massive exception. So can one catchy chorus justify a whole album? In this case, it does for me.
Goldfinger were formed in 1994. This self-titled debut album was released in 1996, a year before Hang Ups.
I appreciate that punk-ska is not meant to be a high-fidelity endeavour, but the first impression of Minds Eye is the awfully hollow snare sound. It remains throughout the album, but thankfully you somehow get used to it. And a catchy chorus also helps to make amends.
Apparently, Here In Your Bedroom is Goldfinger's most famous song, yet somehow it passed me by. And despite the occasional ska section, musically it leaves me cold. But somehow the narrative has snuck up on me over the years. I have no idea why, but I'm now also a huge fan of it.
As per Frenzal Rhomb, the thrashy style of Only A Day and Nothing To Prove do nothing for me. Add a touch of self-depreciating humour though, and the resulting The City With Two Faces becomes comedy gold! Anxiety is also not really my cup of tea, however the rousing chorus is quite irresistible.
The audio quality has some issues: non-existent bass, drums that sound like a plastic kids toy, muddy vocals, guitars that are too loud and a harsh top-end. So it takes a lot to look past these flaws and enjoy the songs.
At this point, one might be wondering why I actually purchased this album. Well, Answers is the elephant in the room. It uses a unique- and brilliant- combination of rocksteady and punk-rock. Highlights include... umm... absolutely everything about the song! The wonderful layering, the silky horn lines contrasting the menacing groove, a great bridge and an ultra-catchy chorus. It all adds up to one of my all-time favourite songs. And, given the rest of the album, it begs the question: where on earth did this magic come from??
The brilliance of Answers is both a blessing and a curse for this album. It means that- like Frenzal Rhomb- I didn't really know what I was signing up for when buying this album. So it's a tough gig for the rest of the album to live up to this false pretence.
It's not their only attempt at the ska genre, though. King For A Day is a thoroughly unconvincing reggae, often sounding quite similar to Sublime, but not a patch on their brilliance. On the other hand, My Girlfriend's Shower is just a cheeky little interlude, but the reggae is fantastic. Pictures has its moments, such as a great horn line and energy. But it jumps all over the place, so it is really hard to get into the groove.
I'm quite a fan of the Dropkick Murphys' shanty-punk style, and Anything is a great execution of it. On the other hand, Mable feels similar to Blink-182 but without that crucial cheekiness. And on the other other hand, Miles Away is a solid punk-rock cover.
Sans Souci is Frenzal Rhomb's eighth album. It was released in 2003, three years after Shut Your Mouth.
I never really got into Frenzal Rhomb, and bought this album purely for the comedy genius that is the song Russell Crowe's Band. Maybe you had to be there witnessing the arrogance and phone-throwing antics, but in my book this retort is a hilarious pisstake. Backed up with some very catchy pop-punk backing. Perhaps it is immature of me, but this is still my favourite song of the album.
On the other hand, even though Punisher was a successful single, I just can't get into the eclectic style of the chorus. Similarly, songs like Ballchef, I Went Out With A Hippy and You'll Go To Jail are too eclectic and heavy for me. White World would also be on this list, but it redeems itself with a great cover of Cat Stevens' classic in the chorus.
A brief interlude to ponder the recording quality... Okay, I understand that no-one is expecting a punk-rock album to be a refined, hi-fidelity experience; but that's no excuse for a muffled upper-midrange and the compression squashing much of the life out of the songs.
While I'm on my high horse, I'm not sure how to interpret the tale of Bucket Bong. Is it just a light-hearted celebration of youthful foolishness, or perhaps a cheap dig at the lower class perhaps? Hmmm. But before anyone starts thinking I might be making some sophisticated observations here, witness the lyrical genius of the chorus in Who'd Be A Cop:
Did you not get enough love?
Did your parents beat you up?
Do you worry about
The size of your penis?
Highbrow? No. Offensive and amusing punk? Absolutely! It's a classic example of tongue-in-cheek punk. (however the rest of the song is a bit of a dog's breakfast)
Looking Good and C**ksucker show a great diversity of musical styles to perfectly illustrate the sarcastic, harsh lyrics. Looking Good uses nicely layered country rock, and C**ksucker is in a silky smooth pop-rock style. Both are brilliantly executed, despite being miles away from the band's typical thrashy punk style. Completely unexpected, and great stuff.
Russell Crowe's Band, Looking Good, C**ksucker
This is Moskovskaya's third album. It was released in 2002, five years after The Edge Of A New Era.
Keep On Moving has all the right ingredients to kick off this 3rd wave ska album in style. But I just can't get into it, and keep wishing that the tempo was just a bit faster. Perhaps on a related note, the song also feels a bit aloof somehow. Similarly, That's Why is probably a perfect execution of the style, but somehow it lacks a memorable spark to elevate it to greatness.
Objectively speaking, things aren't much different for Johnny. But the story is much more engaging and somehow the song has far more energy. To top it off, it features a brilliantly catchy chorus. It all adds up to a really enjoyable song.
Incoming rant! The lyrics of Rude Boy really annoys me. They've tried to hijack the "rude boy" caricature as a freedom fighter, however the legend of the ska rude-boys has nothing to do with altruistic purposes. At best, it's about troublemaking yet harmless street lads seeking their share of justice and wealth. Which is a worthwhile story in its own right, but can we please not stretch it into something it isn't?? Sorry... rant much, I do!
On a brighter note, Hello People has a fantastic chorus. Unfortunately, though, the verses lack flow. But then Understand winds up the tempo, smooths things out; and the results are very nice.
No One Will Get Here Out Alive is terrific fun. It's brimming with energy, great horn lines and fun, meaningless lyrics (including a deliberately bad German translation). King Roy slows things down a bit, but the results are equally fun and infectious.
The premise of Königin Der Nacht is based on a quirk of German grammar, that the phrase "Queen of the Night" can sound the same as "King in the Night". In this cartoon-styled story, it leads to an awkward bedroom discovery! A lot of the appeal for me is thanks to this lyrical silliness, but it's also supported by arguably their finest instrumental work. Highlights are the catchy horn line and huge energy throughout. It's 3rd wave ska at its silly- and bouncy- finest!
Strangely, for the slower Jazzin' Jazz, they stole their own horn line! It's the same as Königin Der Nacht, but played slower. Overall, the song is a great jazz-ska instrumental, but I can't get past the plagiarism. Thankfully, Dissaray (sic) and Life Is A Beach also provide some fantastic chillout jazz-ska in a (mostly) instrumental style. Life Is A Beach is topped off with a wonderfully catchy chorus.
PS the recording quality is wonderful, especially for a ska album.
In 1998, Amiel enjoyed 5 minutes of fame thanks to Josh Abrahams' hit single Addicted To Bass. Audio Out is her own debut album, which was released five years later.
Let's get started with some musings about profanity, artistic purity and societal norms. A big factor in my decision to buy this album was probably the prominant naughty word in the chorus of the main single, Lovesong. These days, Chris Brown, Lady Gaga, etc are dropping "f*cks" and "c*nts" at the drop of a hat, but back then, it was still quite a big deal in pop music. And, like Radiohead's Creep (apart from the sanitised radio edit), I think Lovesong's use of profanity is a valid and mature artistic expression.
As for the rest of Lovesong, the bright and bouncy- yet bittersweet- style gives nice depth to the songs. As do the lyrics, where are humble and raw, like early Jewel. Normally the chorus would be far too saccharine for me, but it is saved by the line "another fucking lovesong". Oh, and the bridge is very strange! (but that's fine, it means it joins some esteemed company like Bush's Glycerine)
The other ten songs on the album, though, are not for me. This style of jack-of-all trades pop, such as Atomic Kitten simply isn't my cup of tea. The only other song with any appeal is Obsession (I Love You), even though it's embarrassingly close to Britney Spears' style. The appeal is mostly in the "mad scientist" style for the verses (ala Kate Miller-Heidke). And although the chorus is overly saccharine, it does nicely contrast the rest of the song.
However for someone whose debut song was called "Addicted to Bass", it is perplexing how even the heavier songs on this album are devoid of any proper bass. Unacceptable!
