Customer Reviews

Martyrs & Madmen: Best of

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A rock solid overview of Daltrey's solo work. From the popular "After The Fire" to the lesser known songs, this album ably demonstrates Daltrey's wideranging vocal style. The sheer power of "Free Me" will get the Who faithful to shout along and ballads like "Without Your Love" and "Say It Ain't So, Joe" will moisten the eyes of the most cynical critics. Great choices for this CD include some lesser-known work from the mid-80's "Walking in My Sleep" and "Parting Would Be Painless".....excellent songs that never received their due in an age of Culture Club-pop music. In my opinion, Roger Daltrey has always been one of the defining vocalists in rock....I submit this CD as Exhibit A.

Although Daltrey is never as powerful with his voice than when he is singing Who songs, still, this album offers a good selection of some of the other things he is capable of. The best song is "After the Fire" (penned by Townshend) of course, but I really love the beauty of "Giving it All Away." It's good to know that Daltrey is willing to try different vocal ranges and styles. Plus he has one of the best voices that rock and roll has ever seen. I've seen him in concert three times so far, and each time, he has just blown me away. HE IS MY ROCK GOD!

Until the release of Moonlighting, this was the best compilation of Roger Daltrey's solo work. However, if you're only a casual fan, and don't want Moonlighting's two full discs, Martyrs and Mad Men is the choice for you.

This album demonstrates Daltrey's wide ranging vocal abilities - hard rock (Free Me), mellow pop (One Man Band), and ballads (Without Your Love & Ocean's Away). He can do it all, and despite some poor songwriting, he does it all well. Having been a big fan of the Who since I first started listening to music, it was easy to take Daltrey's talents for granted, but this cd truly shows why he is one the best there has ever been.

The only negative aspect of the album is the lack of anything from his last album (Rocks in the Head). I also question why they would use the title "Martyrs and Madmen" without actually including that song on the disc, but that really doesn't matter. The songs that are included are a great representation of Daltrey's career and talents. Even if he never had a really big hit on his own, there are plenty of fine songs included on this cd to please rock fans.

I bought this album because I was going to be seeing Roger Daltrey on his solo tour, and I realized I didn't know any of his solo stuff. I'm a HUGE Who fan, so I was excited to hear a different side of their amazing frontman. And what a different side it is. The songs here are, for the most part, a lot slower and softer than the hard rockin of the Who, but not without their charms. The standout of the album is probably "After the Fire", which I'm sure has something to do with the fact that it is the only song on the album written by Pete Townshend. Give it a shot.

This album is worth buying for "It's a Hard Life" and "Giving It All Away" alone. These are almost ballad-like songs with brilliant lyrics and vocals. Roger Daltrey seemed confident he wanted his solo career to step away from the Who's typical loud and rocking style and focus more on songwriting. In that respect, he's similar to Pete Townshend's approach. Worth buying indeed.

As a true, true fan of the who i really mainly enjoyed listening to them for a) their sex appeal (yum! roger!) b) the lyrics (pete you are so talented!!!) and c) ROGER'S VOICE! I loved roger's voice so much i decided to buy this CD. Boy was it so worth the 17.84 i spent on it! He's music is amazing!!!!!!! I love his voice! Now that I'm done drooling over his voice I will rate his song from 1-10 obviously 10 being the higest.

1) One Man Band 9 (I love this song. The only reason i didn't give it a ten is because the chrous is a litle corny. but oh well huh because roger's voice shines! I love the lyrics "for three days now i haven't eaten at all...")
2) It's a hard life 9.7 (I really, really love the beginning of this song! It is so super! This whole song is truly great and roger sings his heart out!)
3) Giving it all away 10 (a great, great song. i love everything about this song)
4) Thinking 9 (great song. love the chrous)
5) World Over 10 (Probably my favorite song on this album! I love it! Especially in the chrous when roger sing "The world over..ah aha aha.."
6)Ocean's Away 8 (A good slow song. I just wish there was more of a chrous. i mean there is one but it could be better in m opinion)
7) One of the boys 7 (I don't really mind this song, i like it but its weird lyrics and roger shouts a lot which i don't mind in The Who but in his solo career? No. Roger you need to sing like Micheal Crawford in "The Phantom of the Opera" (which Roger does usually!!)
8)Avenging Annie 7.8 (I like how roger sings this song. he sings it so well. he even admits he does! but i don't like the lyrics that much)
9)Say it ain't so, Joe 8 (Like Avenging Annie I like how Roger sings the song but not the lyrics as much)
10)Parade 8 (Great song good lyrics. I think there should of been more lyrics and roger sing louder)
11) Free Me 6.8 (I do like this song but i wish the beginning he didn't yell or in the end...Otherwise he sings it well!)
12) Without Your Love 10 (I love this song! It is truly, truly a wonderful song! Everything about this song is good: the lyrics ROGERS VOICE everything!!)
13)Waiting for my friend 9 (I really love this song. But i didn't give it a ten because i think i heard this song (someone else singing it) as a country song)
14) Walking in my Sleep 9.6 (A great, great song!)
15) Parting would be painless 8 ( I like this song but it doesn't sound like roger at all. i checked my batteries in my CD player but he still sounded different. though that could be good because he can shout and do anything with his voice! i love him!..sorry got carried away!)
16) After the fire 10 (an amazing, amazing song! The lyrics are beautiful and Roger really, really sings his heart out! I love the lyrics "..the heart grows older but never, ever learns"
17)Let me down easy 9.5 (I love this song! great lyrics, great chrous great vocals roger!!)
18)Pride You hide 9.8 (a great great song!! the chrous is amazing!!)
19) Under a Raging Moon 7 ( a good song but its long (though this is the short version))
20) Lover's storm 8 (great song, good lyrics.)

I truly, truly LOVE EVERY SONG! THEY ARE SO GOOD!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, when this disc came out, what I was really looking for was a CD version of Best Bits, which only existed on LP. Therefore, I found myself kind of disappointed. Where was Martyrs and Madmen? And how dare they NAME THE CD Martyrs and Madmen without including said song? Where was Proud? And where was one my favorites, Treachery? Why was Oceans Away a different version than I was used to? In time, with the advent of the Gold CD and iTunes, I was almost able to put together what I wanted, but I'm still missing Treachery which I'll have to buy on a separate CD. Overall, disappointing.

Ive always loved Roger Daltrey's vocals in with The Who.
This CD does a lot to establish his title as one of the great rock vocalists. Its easy to see the amazing range he had as a singer, departing from his usual Who screams for softer, more quirky songs.
The songs are catchy, but just dont compete with the quality of Townshend's lyrics. It may be unfair to judge his solo career against The Who, but there it is.
I do however still greatly enjoy this CD and listen to it often.(Thus the 3 star rating despite all my complaining)
It's more light and fun than his work with The Who, and i personally would enjoy listening to Roger sing just about anything. I do wish he had chosen some different song styles, but he was trying to stay as far away from Who-sounding music as possible.
My favorites are the upbeat 'One Man Band', the softer 'Giving it all away', the more Who-like 'Free Me', his biggest hit 'Without your Love', and finally the Townshend penned 'After the Fire'.

if your a fan roger daltery you cant possibily go wrong with this ,,he has all the best of his solo efforts, and some extra tunes that you will never get tried of. it is going to say in my cd player for a very long,long time . buy it now, dont wait and you will thank me later keith