SpaCeMonKeY UK

Madness - The Liberty of Norton Folgate (2009)

Madness's ninth studio album, and a great success it is too! Finally the Madness album Madness fans were waiting for. It's a bit of a concept album and sounds like, hmm, well, like London. It's a weird thing to say but you'll know what I mean if you've listened to it. When I first listened to it I didn't think it was amazing. It's not like it contains instantly catchy 'singles'. But the more you listen to it the more you appreciate its genius. The title track, 'The Liberty of Norton Folgate', is impossible to describe. It certainly takes you on a journey.

There are a lot of songs on here that I love, 'Sugar and Spice', 'Forever Young', 'NW5'... It's weird because the songs aren't necessarily super catchy but they really work as an album. I'd really recommend that you buy the whole thing as a proper album and listen to it all the way through, don't pick and mix songs and don't shuffle them! That's the thing about concept albums, I suppose! This could be one of their best albums. Original material, the original line-up, and the polish and confidence that comes with being in the business for 30 years. :D

Labels: 2009, Album Project, Madness, The Liberty of Norton Folgate

Madness - The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1 (2005)

This is a bit of a weird album since it's pretty much all cover versions. It's a ska album, but it's a lot more polished than their early more ska albums. I have to admit there are some songs on here that I don't really like (not as Madness covers, anyway), such as 'Israelites'. But there's some good stuff on here, too. 'Shame and Scandal' really grows on you after a while, and I like 'Rain' (perhaps the least ska song on the album). It's a bit of fun I suppose but I think most Madness fans were hoping for a proper Madness album, not an album of cover versions.

Labels: 2005, Album Project, Madness, The Dangermen Sessions

Madness - Wonderful (1999)

Album Project Update! Madness's seventh studio album, 'Wonderful' (1999). The band got back together! This was the first Madness album I bought when it came out, since I was a bit young to buy the others in the 80s. :) I really loved this record, 'Lovestruck', 'Johnny the Horse' and 'The Wizard' are all real sing-along fun. '4am' was also on Suggs's 1995 album 'The Lone Ranger'. I think, possibly, I like that version better. (That album is pretty, good, incidentally!) All in all, this is a real return to form for the band, full of energy, and with their ska roots showing (unlike 'Mad Not Mad'!). If you recognise anything off of it it's likely to be 'Lovestruck'. But, really, if you like Madness you should own this album.

I should perhaps also mention that there were numerous projects undertaken by members of Madness during their 'split', including an album by 'The Madness', which was basically Madness without Mark Bedford, Daniel Woodgate and Mike Barson. That album was released in 1988 and featured a song I like very much, 'I Pronounce You'. It is still quite 80s, and not quite Madness, but it's well worth a listen if you can get hold of it!

Labels: 1999, Album Project, Madness, Wonderful

Madness - Mad Not Mad (1985)

Album Project update! Madness's sixth studio album, 'Mad Not Mad' (1985), the only one not to feature Mike Barson. Though I like some of the songs on here, some of them really aren't that 'mad'. For instance, 'Burning the Boats' is almost completely electronic. The only thing that makes it sound like Madness is Suggs singing on it. It's very 80's, very... polished. I've always liked 'White Heat', but I guess the most famous song on here is 'Uncle Sam'. Or maybe 'Yesterday's Men'. Or 'Sweetest Girl'. All of which charted in the Top 40. This album has a lot of songs on it that seem to be about goodbyes. Perhaps they made it knowing it was to be their last album for more than 10 years...

Labels: 1985, Album Project, Mad Not Mad, Madness

Madness - Keep Moving (1984)

Album Project update! Realised I never finished posting about Madness albums, and since they've released a new one I thought I should get on with it! 'Keep Moving' (1984) was their fifth studio album. If 'The Rise & Fall' was a bit more experimental, this is a bit more polished, less ska, more mainstream perhaps. The only song on it you're likely to have heard is 'Michael Caine'. But that's actually a song I'm not so keen on, I've never figured out why. I like 'Victoria Gardens' a lot, for equally unknown reasons. The album has a song on it about a boy who hides in a fridge and gets trapped. It's the last album to feature Mike Barson until their 1999 comeback album - he wasn't part of the lineup for 'Mad Not Mad'. Hmm... I'm pretty much out of facts now. :) Though I like the enthusiasm of their earlier albums, this is probably one of the albums I've listened to more. They're much more grown up. Much more accomplished in what they're doing. But not quite as much fun...

Labels: 1984, Album Project, Keep Moving, Madness

David Bowie - The Next Day (2013)

So, since I was last doing the Album Project two of the artists have released new albums - Madness and David Bowie. I've listened to both a lot of times now, but this is what I think about the David Bowie album! 'The Next Day' (2013), a 24th album, released 10 years after his last. Recorded in secret, a big surprise to everyone, but is it actually good? Is everyone just so happy that a legend has produced something new that they're praising something that, well, isn't actually worth listening to? Well, no. This is definitely an album worth having. You can tell that David Bowie's getting on - he doesn't have the range he used to, his voice is a bit more vibrato, but it's still wonderful to listen to. Some of the tracks (like 'Dirty Boys') have some fine saxophone on them, too. I'm not sure what my favourite songs on here are, a few of them have ended up stuck in my head. Like '(You Will) Set The World On Fire'. I think the more I listen to this album the more I appreciate it. And worth getting the deluxe version with the three extra tracks. So, not his finest album, but still a worthy addition to his 24 albums!

Labels: 2013, Album Project, David Bowie, The Next Day

And another Album Project Update - 'The Rise and Fall' (1982). Pretty definite that you'll know 'Our House' on this one. And probably 'Tomorrow's Just Another Day'. There are still plenty of slightly sinister songs on here, despite the jollity of 'Our House'. I really like 'New Delhi', which is very strange. Perhaps a bit more experimental than previous Madness albums. :)

Labels: 1982, Album Project, Madness, The Rise and Fall

Album Project update! Have now listened to 'Seven' (1981). I guess the song you're most likely to know from this album is 'Cardiac Arrest', a song about a man having a heart attack. And maybe 'Grey Day'. It's another pretty edgy album, when you listen to the words. For instance, 'Mrs Hutchinson' is a song about a misdiagnosed patient who meets a terrible end. Plus 'The Opium Eaters' is a great instrumental piece.

Labels: 1981, Album Project, Madness, Seven

Album Project Update! 'Absolutely' (1980). The Madness of this album is largely the same as their debut. Full of energy but surprisingly accomplished for their age. Everyone knows 'Baggy Trousers'. 'Embarrassment' is an interesting song since it deals with the rejection of Lee Thompson's sister, who's discovered to be pregnant with a black man's child. You'd hope that things have changed a lot in the 31 (yikes!) years since the song was written. Overall I don't think I like this album quite as much as their first... But it's still great!

Labels: 1980, Absolutely, Album Project, Madness

As the next stage in my Album Project I've decided to listen to all the Madness albums. It's a bit cheating maybe since I have listened to them all quite a few times before. But I thought it'd be good to listen to them again. Started with 'One Step Beyond...' (1979). You can tell the band's young and full of energy. It's hard to picture them like that really, if you're familiar with them now. It has a couple of songs that they didn't write (including 'One Step Beyond', the title track). It's a really strange mixture (I've always liked their version of 'Swan Lake') with lots of amusingly observed songs, most of which have a slight air of menace. One of my favourite Madness songs is on this album, namely 'Night Boat to Cairo'. It's a brilliant debut album.

Labels: 1979, Album Project, Madness, One Step Beyond

So that's it for the David Bowie section of the Album Project. 23 albums listened to. And which is my favourite? That's such a hard question. Possibly 'Young Americans'. That's the album I'd be most likely to stick on, I think. Though obviously there are loads of great ones. I'd never listened to 'Outside' before doing this and that's a really interesting album. And some albums are perhaps less immediately accessible but are works of art, like 'Hunky Dory'. My least favourite would be one of the 80s albums, 'Tonight' or 'Never Let Me Down'. It's amazing how different Bowie's albums are. Really interesting to listen to them all!

Labels: Album Project, David Bowie

Album Project update! The last studio album, 'Reality' (2003). I can't believe that's nearly 10 years ago. 10 years with no new Bowie albums. Sad. I like this, hmm, but it's not my favourite. Not by a long chalk. It's hard to say what my favourite song on it is. Maybe 'Bring Me The Disco King'. I don't know really. It's a good album, though once again you're unlikely to have heard of any of the songs on it. So that's it for studio albums. 23 solo studio albums, all listened to...

Labels: 2003, Album Project, David Bowie, Reality

Album project update! 'Heathen' (2002). I think this was the first Bowie album I bought on its release. Looking on Wikipedia, there are two facts about the album that I didn't know. First of all, it deals with his impressions of the September 11th terrorist attack. Secondly, it has three cover versions on it. I hadn't realised either of those things. I really like the album. I guess if I hadn't I probably wouldn't have ended up buying all of his back catalogue! It's unlikely that you would have heard of the songs unless you're a fan, I think, but that's a real shame.

Labels: 2002, Album Project, David Bowie, Heathen

Album Project Update! 'Hours' (1999). This is a lot less 'angry' than 'Earthling'. It has some good songs on it, but I don't like it as much as the previous couple of records. It really is quite mellow, especially songs like 'Seven'. It's entirely possible that you won't have ever heard of any of the songs on here, which probably says something. Still, it's a lot better than certain 80s albums!

Labels: 1999, Album Project, David Bowie, Hours

Album Project Update! 'Earthling' (1997). Only three more albums after this one, then the David Bowie section of this project is complete! I love 'Little Wonder' and 'I'm Afraid of Americans'. This is a scary sounding album, slightly angry. I think that's why I like it! It's probably quite 90s in places but I don't think it's so bad (like the 80s albums) that it's horribly dated when you listen to it now.

Labels: 1997, Album Project, David Bowie, Earthling

Album Project Update! I have listened to this album quite a few times and would like to listen to it more, but I have to get to the end of the Bowie albums at some point, can't afford to get stuck. But I think I'm beginning to understand what's going on. I have no idea how you'd get it if you'd downloaded it and didn't even have the album sleeve. The album is 'Outside' (1995), subtitled 'The Ritual Art-Murder of Baby Grace Blue: A Non-Linear Gothic Drama Hyper-Cycle". It's a mad concept album! Brilliant! It's the story of Nathan Adler, who's investigating the murder of Baby Grace. If I had the time I would type out the liner notes, but that would take a while. Basically it's about murders committed as 'art'. It's really weird. And it has come great songs on it, like 'The Heart's Filthy Lesson' and 'Hallo Spaceboy'. It's all a bit Nine Inch Nails, which is interesting as according to Wikipedia Bowie had NIN as his tour partner for the 'Outside' tour. I guess NIN was influenced more by Bowie than I'd thought. Not that I've thought about it before. It probably explains why I like Bowie and NIN though..! Probably one of my favourite Bowie albums so far in the Project, if not my favourite.

Labels: 1995, Album Project, David Bowie, Outside

Album Project Update! Ok, so in 1989 and 1991 Bowie released two 'Tin Machine' albums, but in 1993 he was back as a solo artist with 'Black Tie White Noise'. I can't say this is an amazing album. You probably won't have heard any of the songs on it before. But it's better than the previous two 80's albums! It just seems more like a David Bowie album, what with its instrumental opener 'The Wedding'. Hooray!

Labels: 1993, Album Project, Black Tie White Noise, David Bowie

Album Project Update! 'Tonight' (1984) and 'Never Let Me Down' (1987). I am grouping these together because they're both scarily 80s. I'm not sure I like them a lot. It's quite heavily produced, synths, etc... just doesn't sound very real. 'Tonight' is memorable to me for 'God Only Knows', which you will probably recognise as a cover. The weird thing is, it sounds like someone doing a really mad David Bowie impression. It's almost laughable! Very odd. 'Never Let Me Down' seems somehow less daft, and has a bit of the old Bowie craziness in the form of 'Glass Spider'. I don't think you'd recognise any of the songs on these albums, though. Probably not a Bowie high point...

Labels: 1984, 1987, Album Project, David Bowie, Never Let Me Down, Tonight

And another Album Project Update - 'Let's Dance' (1983). This is album 15 out of 25. Hmm. Hang on, I think I've been miscounting all this time, I think there are 23 studio albums (if we don't include Tin Machine). So, 8 to go! I really like this album. It doesn't have many tracks, when you look at it - only 8 - but 'Let's Dance' and 'China Girl' are both fanastic. 'China Girl' in particular is brilliantly constructed. It has so many layers, including a bass line that the song just wouldn't work without. And of course there's some excellent saxophone. ;) Great stuff.

Labels: 1983, Album Project, David Bowie, Let's Dance

And another Album Project Update... 'Scary Monsters' (1980). This album's likely to have some songs you've heard on it, most notably 'Ashes to Ashes' and 'Fashion'. It definitely has a more commercial sound to it, appealing to a wider audience. It's still not my favourite though! 'Ashes to Ashes', of course, references Major Tom from 'Space Oddity' (1969). There are some bleak lyrics on this album. Probably sounds a lot more cheerful if you listen to it without thought rather than if you listen to it carefully...

Labels: 1980, Album Project, David Bowie, Scary Monsters