Madness is a compilation album by the British ska/pop band Madness. It was issued primarily for the North American market in order to capitalise on the top 10 success in the United States of their hit single "Our House" from the 1982 album Madness Presents the Rise & Fall, which had not been available there.

Content

Madness features six tracks from The Rise & Fall album, three from the 1981 album 7, one from the 1979 debut album One Step Beyond... and two single a-sides. The 1980 album Absolutely is not represented on the compilation. The album contains every UK single from "Grey Day" to "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)", with the exception of "Driving in My Car", which has never been issued on any US compilation. However, the album was also issued in Japan where "Driving in My Car" replaced "Rise & Fall".

Critical reception

Rolling Stone's J. D. Considine gave the album a rave review, saying that it introduced the best tracks from Madness's earlier albums to an American audience, while leaving out any songs with insular British cultural references. He praised the uniquely British "economy and wit" of the melodies and the sobering lyrics, remarking that "Madness offers up all of the clichés of traditional British entertainment - but with a twist, revealing the hard realities behind the soothing illusions."

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts