Customer Reviews

The Rise & Fall

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The more I listen to this album the more incredible it appears to be. I first got into Madness through fascination with the 2-Tone scene of the late 70's. The Specials were for awhile my "all time favorite band" but long after as my music tastes wandered from thing to thing and matured, it was Madness that endured. They are in a total league of their own, with the closest thing to them I have yet to find to be Blur(while they were still "British" and not wanting to become Americans.) I'm suprised no one has reviewed this album, because this album, like The Jam's All Mod Cons, Blur's Parklife, and before both of them the Kink's Village Green Preservation Society, is a work of art in British guitar-pop music tradition. My favorite Madness album was for a long time "Absolutely", their 2nd, and 2nd most ska orientated(as well as last overall "ska" album pretty much altogether), but overtime, Rise and Fall has become not only my fav Madness, but one of my all time favorite albums, period. The Kinks, the Small Faces, the Who, the Smiths, and today Blur and maybe Supergrass..Madness is one of the great British guitar pop bands with a sense of tradition, not to mention simply one of the greatest singles bands of all time and, at their peak, the most popular British band since the Beatles.(In Britain anyway, what do Americans know anyway?)

My best friend spent a year in England in 1982, and brought back a cassette copy of this album -- my first Madness (but hardly my last).

This album opened my eyes to ska. I had heard the English Beat and the Specials, and I liked them. I went mad for Madness. Particularly, I went mad for New Dehli and Madness is All in the Mind. Neither of these songs is "straight up" ska (like, say, One Step Beyond or the Prince), but they are both so evocative, atmospheric and cool . . .

I recommend this album as among Madness's best.

The cassette wore out years ago, as did the vinyl copy I bought after that. Now, I'll buy it on CD. I suggest you buy it too.

This is one of those rare albums that you come back to time and time again. I have friends who have heard it once and said 'hmm, not bad' then they've come back and asked to hear it again. It's one of those that gets under your skin and makes you want to listen to it again and again.

Tracks like Primrose Hill, and Mr. Speaker (Gets The Word) are outstanding and unlike anything you will have heard released by Madness in the general charts.

Buy this album, you may not appreciate it the first time you hear it but you will come back to it and it will be one of the best albums you own.

loved madness all the way through my teens
loved madness all the way through my thirties
still love them this album is a must FAB.