Wonderful is the seventh studio album by the British band Madness, released on 1 November 1999. It was the band's first studio album in fourteen years since Mad Not Mad in 1985, and also the first to feature their classic seven-piece line-up since 1984's Keep Moving. The album saw Madness reunite with their original production team, Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who had produced all of the band's previous work.[1][2]
Reception
The BBC's Chris Charles said "... Wonderful finds the boys in their best form since 1981's Madness 7."[4] Allmusic's Evan Cater gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and said "On the whole, it's a pretty successful return."[3] In a review of the 2010 re-release, Terry Staunton of Record Collector stated that although "All the essential components are in place...something doesn’t quite gel…". Staunton thought the opening single "Lovestruck" was well done but "elsewhere there’s a niggling feeling that the band are trying too hard to replicate the sound of yore, studiously ignoring the fact that times – and the players themselves – have changed."[6]
Track listing
2010 reissue
- Disc 1 - the original album
-
- Contains the full album plus three promo videos
- The promo videos
- "Lovestruck"
- "Johnny the Horse"
- "Drip Fed Fred"
- Disc 2 - the bonus tracks
| Title | Writer(s) | Origin |
|---|
| 1. | "You're Wonderful" (remix) | Smyth | Japanese edition bonus track and B-side of "Johnny the Horse" | |
|---|
| 2. | "Round and Round" | Thompson, Barson | Japanese edition bonus track and B-side of "Lovestruck" | |
|---|
| 3. | "We Are Love" | Smyth | B-side of "Lovestruck" | |
|---|
| 4. | "Johnny the Horse" (radio edit) | Smyth | "Johnny the Horse" promo single | |
|---|
| 5. | "I Was the One" | Barson | B-side of "Johnny the Horse" | |
|---|
| 6. | "Dreaming Man" | Smyth, Chris Foreman | B-side of "Johnny the Horse" | |
|---|
| 7. | "Light of the Way" | Smyth | B-side of "Drip Fed Fred" | |
|---|
| 8. | "We Want Freddie" | Thompson, Barson | B-side of "Drip Fed Fred" | |
|---|
| 9. | "Drip Fed Fred" (The Conspiracy Mix) | Thompson, Barson | "Drip Fed Fred" single version | |
|---|
| 10. | "Maddley" (album sampler) | McPherson, Smyth, Barson, Thompson, D. Woodgate, N. Woodgate, Lawrence | B-side of "Lovestruck" | |
|---|
| 11. | "Simple Equation" | McPherson, Foreman | Our House: The Original Songs, 2002 | |
|---|
| 12. | "Sarah's Song" | Thompson, Barson | Our House: The Original Songs | |
|---|
| 13. | "It Must Be Love" (2002 mix) | Labi Siffre | Our House: The Original Songs | |
|---|
| 14. | "My Old Man" | Ian Dury, Steve Nugent | Brand New Boots and Panties, 2001 | |
|---|
| Chart (1999)
|
Peak
position
|
| UK Albums Chart[7]
|
17
|
Personnel
- Madness
- Additional personnel
- Jason Bruer – saxophone
- Terry Edwards – saxophone, brass arrangements
- Michael Kearsey – trombone
- Jason McDermid – trumpet
- Pablo Cook – percussion
- The London Session Orchestra – strings
- Gavyn Wright – orchestral and strings leader
- Simon Hale – string arrangements, conductor
- Ian Dury – guest vocals on track 6
- Steve Donnelley – dobro guitar on track 5
- Mitch – backing vocals on track 4
- Sarah Cracknell – backing vocals on track 8
- Technical
- 2010 reissue
- Tim Turan – remastering
- Martin "Cally" Callomon – art direction, design
- Nik Rose – artwork ("re-jigging and fettling")
- Robert Elms – liner notes
Notes
- "4 am" is a re-recorded version of the song that appeared on Suggs' solo album The Lone Ranger in 1995.
- "If I Didn't Care" is a cover of a song originally recorded by the Ink Spots.
- Providing the vocals to "Drip Fed Fred" would be Ian Dury's last chart single release and final TV appearance on The National Lottery Show before his death in March 2000.
- Despite being the title of the album, "You're Wonderful" only made it as a b-side on one of the editions of the "Johnny the Horse" single. However, it is included on the Japanese version of the album, along with another song which was a b-side in the UK: "Round and Round".
References
External links
| Authority control databases | |
|---|
[3]