Customer Reviews
Complete Madness - By: gnagfloW, 01 Apr 2008 
This edition is a combined version of the Greatest Hits packages that were available a few years back. Divine Madness was originally released almost 15 years ago but a few years ago it was updated with re-mastered sound & two extra tracks, Love Struck & Johnny the Horse from their come-back albumin 1999.
A Madness collection really could hardly be any more complete. All the hits are here & sounding remarkably fresh, being more than 20 years old. The sound of the CD is much better than the original version of Divine Madness.
Only the most die hard Madness fans need any more than this collection, with the possible exception of their brilliant (but commercial flop) Mad Not Mad. This is classic Madnessin one perfect package.
A DIVINE SINGLES BAND - By: Mr. Christopher J. Welch, 28 Mar 2008 With Suggs & co on the verge of releasing an album of new material there has never been a better time to revisted the bands best bits form the 80's. Alongside the likes of Squeeze, The Police & The Jam, Madness were the kings of the intelligent 3 minute pop single - but often overlooked as being the comedy clowns to their more serious peers.
This compilation, still the finest & most comprehensive there is, highlights admirably the groups evolution from 'Nutty Boys' - 'Baggy Trousers' & 'Night Boat To Cairo' to the sophisticated, erudite Kinks - like pop of 'Our House' & 'Yesterday's Men'.
Delights are many - the better than the original cover of 'It Must Be Love', the Squeeze like 'My Girls Mad At Me', 'Cardiac Arrests' astute lyrics, the dark 'Grey Day' & the joyous gospel inflected 'Wings Of A Dove'. Even later less successful songs 'Uncle Sam' & 'Ghost Train' are a lot better than their lowly chart positons indicate.
Time has been very kind to Madness. They effortlessly balanced tonguein cheek & pathos whilst wrapping their songs around original & beautifully realised arrangements. Suggs was a stylish & extremely visual frontman & the band had the sense to re-invent themselves on a regualr basis. From 1979 - 84 Madness were the most succesful singles actin the UK. They are ripe for reappraisal. Not so Nutty after all.
cw
A must have CD - By: Ms. O. J. Willett, 24 Feb 2008 This CD has wide selection of Madness Music & a all round great CD to buy. Got some very good well known singles that you just want to listen to time & time again.
the best band ever - By: Shelley Polson, 08 Nov 2007 i own every recording by madness & this is fab , i love it & my kids now love that nutty sound
Fun ska-pop music with depth - By: Peter Durward Harris, 16 Mar 2005 Superficially, Madness seemed to be a lightweight pop group who had a lot of fun, but some of their songs had a lot of depth. I've seen them compared to the Kinks - both groups having (in their different eras) offered interesting insights into London life. This is high praise indeed so although I wouldn't quite put Madness on the same level as the Kinks, their music has far more to offer than you might think.
Between 1979 & 1983, Madness had fifteen UK top ten hits & two UK top twenty hits. Taking their group name from a Prince Buster song, their first hit (The Prince) was a tribute to him & their second hit (One step beyond) was a cover of one of Prince Buster's songs. They later had another cover hit with It must be love (Labi Siffre) but wrote most of their own material.
Their biggest UK hits were House of fun (UK number one) & Wings of a dove (UK number two - an original song, not a cover of the old gospel standard), but they also made the UK top five with My girl, Baggy trousers, Embarrassment, Grey day, It must be love, Drivingin my car, Our house & The sun & the rain.
After one of their members quitin 1983, the hits generally became smaller although Madness continued to make great music. They disbandedin 1986 but have re-formed intermittently since then. One such reunion (with the original line-up) recorded a new albumin 1999, which yielded the UK top ten hit Lovestruck & another great song, Johnny the horse, both featured here.
Their first hits compilation was titled Complete Madness & their second was called Utter Madness. Between them, these two volumes (both available on CD) contain every UK hit of the eighties, however minor, but do not cover their 1999 comeback. This compilation covers their whole career & contains all the essentials & some of the minor hits. If you just want one Madness CD, make it this one.
