Madness-The_Liberty_Of_Norton_Folgate-2CD-2009-DV8
Artist: Madness
Title: The Liberty Of Norton Folgate
Label: Lucky Seven
Genre: Ska
Bitrate: 191kbit av.
Time: 01:25:04
Size: 122.91 mb
Rip Date: 2009-04-25
Str Date: 2009-05-18
DISC 1:
01. Overture 1:06
02. We Are London 3:39
03. Sugar And Spice 2:51
04. Forever Young 4:36
05. Dust Devil 3:44
06. Rainbows 3:21
07. That Close 4:10
08. Mk II 2:26
09. On The Town 4:32
10. Clerkenwell Polka 4:20
11. The Liberty OF Norton Folgate 10:11
DISC 2:
01. Let's Go 3:30
02. Idiot Child 3:18
03. Mission From Hell 3:50
04. Seven Dials 2:54
05. Hunchback Of Torriano 3:12
06. Fish & Chips 2:42
07. Bingo 4:06
08. NW5 4:13
09. One Fine Day 3:58
10. The Kiss 4:06
11. Africa 4:19
Release Notes:
Lord, we are truly blessed. The full line-up of Madness reunited with
original producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley on their best batch
of songs since The Rise & Fall. Add in sessions at Liam Watson's Toe
Rag studios and this is truly manna from heaven.
The Liberty Of Norton Folgate is Madness's lengthiest album to date and
also boasts a 10-minute title track. The latter would have got the
nutty boys booted off stage in their '80s heyday and shows how far they
have progressed in their musical maturity.
After the musical homage to their ska roots that was 2005's The
Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1, this album is a hymn to Madness's beloved
London. The title refers to the street in London connecting Bishopsgate
with Shoreditch High Street, or more specifically the ancient liberty
(or parish) of Norton Folgate that now encompasses the Spitalfields
district. The fact that the area was a haven for artists and
playwrights obviously rang deep for the members of Madness.
For all the historical overtones that permeate The Liberty Of Norton
Folgate, this is at heart a pop album through and through. It is
everything you would expect of Madness and more. With age the group
seems to have nailed the mixture of jaunty beats and regretful
nostalgia that they struggled to master during the latter part of their
'80s career.
The album opens with a brief 'overture' that betrays the group's love
of music hall and variety shows and also introduces the central melody
of the closing title track (of which more later.)
Was there ever a more perfect title for a Madness track than We Are
London? This bouncy travelogue of London haunts is the perfect
introduction to the album. Suggs may state that "you can make it your
hell or heaven plea/live as you please", but the song is a plea for
universal tolerance that encapsulates the idealism at the heart of much
of Madness's music.
These days Madness is much more of an equal songwriting partnership, a
fact illustrated by the fact that chief songwriter Mike Barson only has
two solo credits on the album. That said, Sugar And Spice is
quintessential Barson, its sweet melody offset by an aching tone of
regret at the passing of time.
Suggs, often seen as the joker in the pack, is responsible for the
album's catchiest melody. Forever Young is a great sing-along, its
slightly daft lyric more than compensated for by the parping horns and
irresistible chorus. He also co-writes the stonking That Close with
guitarist Chris Foreman, whose presence is very welcome after his brief
but acrimonious departure from the line-up during the recording of The
Dangermen Sessions.
Of all the members it is Lee Thompson who pulls out the stops on the
songwriting front, notching up five co-writing credits with Barson,
Foreman and drummer Daniel Woodgate. These include the singles Dust
Devil (irritating at first, but the song gradually worms its way into
your brain) and NW5 (the track on the album closest in spirit to
classic-era Madness).
Even the much-maligned Chas Smash comes up trumps with MK II
(co-written with Suggs) and Clerkenwell Polka, the latter a deranged
jaunt that is more keeping with something from a Tom Waits album than
the group who sang Baggy Trousers.
All of which brings us to the closing title track, a 10-minute epic
that is a first for Madness. It's a bold move but one that largely pays
off, incorporating some sweeteners for the pop fans (Suggs's naughty
refrain "a little bit of this, a little bit of that") and a whole host
of interesting stuff for fans of London, Peter Ackroyd and Guardian
readers ("in the beginning was the fear of the immigrant"). The musical
jerks and twists are all a little mad but perfectly in keeping with the
group's music hall roots.
In a year when Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode have returned with strong
albums, it is pleasing to report that Madness (often maligned as pop
lightweights) have matched both these groups blow for blow. The Liberty
Of Norton Folgate may just be the best thing they have ever recorded.
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