A Guided Tour of Madness
A Guided Tour of Madness is a 3-CD/1-DVD anthology box set by English band Madness, released in 2011 on Union Square Music's collector's label Salvo. It features 70 singles and album tracks (from 1979’s One Step Beyond... to 2009’s The Liberty of Norton Folgate) and an exclusive DVD of the band's comeback concert at the Madstock festival in August 1992. It also includes a booklet with interviews with the band, photos, the cartoon Nutty Comic (1981) and the Madness Map of Camden, the band's historic stomping ground.[1] With the exception of "Sweetest Girl," "Sorry," and "The Harder They Come," every one of the band's 34 singles to date is represented.[2]
A Guided Tour of Madness | ||||
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Box set by | ||||
Released | 19 September 2011 | |||
Recorded | 1979-2011 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 232:19 | |||
Label | Salvo/Union Square | |||
Producer |
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Madness chronology | ||||
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The compilation is notable as containing the first (and, until Record Store Day 2022, only) official physical release of the track "Le Grand Pantalon", which closes the collection. This slower, waltz version of "Baggy Trousers", complete with accordion and double bass, as well as French lyrics, was originally created as part of Madness' participation in Kronenbourg Brewery's 'Slow the Pace' ad campaign.[1] However, its popularity led to the band recording a full version, initially available only as a free download.[3]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
AllMusic rated the box set 4 stars out of 5, saying, "A cut above most hastily assembled retrospectives, A Guided Tour of Madness is a cleverly selected affair which should satisfy anyone wishing to investigate more than their more ubiquitous commercial hits."[2] The Super Deluxe Edition website wrote, "The care and attention in the included booklet, combined with the overall quality of the packaging, makes this an easy box set to recommend, even for the casual listener."[4]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Prince" (single version) | Lee Thompson | Non-album single, 1979 | 2:32 |
2. | "Madness" (single version) | Cecil Campbell | B-side of "The Prince" | 2:25 |
3. | "Mistakes" | John Hasler, Mike Barson | B-side of "One Step Beyond" | 2:40 |
4. | "Bed and Breakfast Man" | Barson | One Step Beyond..., 1979 | 2:33 |
5. | "One Step Beyond" | Campbell | One Step Beyond... | 2:19 |
6. | "The Young and the Old" | Graham McPherson, Barson | Work Rest and Play EP, 1980 | 2:06 |
7. | "Deceives the Eye" | Mark Bedford, Chris Foreman | Work Rest and Play EP | 2:01 |
8. | "My Girl" | Barson | One Step Beyond... | 2:45 |
9. | "Believe Me" | Hasler, Barson | One Step Beyond... | 2:29 |
10. | "In the Middle of the Night" | McPherson, Foreman | One Step Beyond... | 3:02 |
11. | "Night Boat to Cairo" | McPherson, Barson | One Step Beyond... | 3:32 |
12. | "On the Beat Pete" | Thompson, Madness | Absolutely, 1980 | 3:05 |
13. | "Not Home Today" | McPherson, Bedford | Absolutely | 2:44 |
14. | "Baggy Trousers" | McPherson, Foreman | Absolutely | 2:46 |
15. | "Disappear" | McPherson, Bedford | Absolutely | 2:59 |
16. | "You Said" | McPherson, Barson | Absolutely | 2:35 |
17. | "Embarrassment" | Thompson, Barson | Absolutely | 3:11 |
18. | "Take It or Leave It" | Thompson, Barson | Absolutely | 3:28 |
19. | "The Return of the Los Palmas 7" | Barson, Bedford, Daniel Woodgate | Absolutely | 2:05 |
20. | "Grey Day" | Barson | 7, 1981 | 3:40 |
21. | "Tomorrow's Dream" | Thompson, Barson | 7 | 3:56 |
22. | "Mrs. Hutchinson" | Barson | 7 | 2:17 |
23. | "Shut Up" | McPherson, Foreman | 7 | 2:51 |
24. | "Sign of the Times" | McPherson, Barson | 7 | 2:44 |
25. | "It Must Be Love" | Labi Siffre | Non-album single, 1981 | 3:18 |
26. | "In the City" | McPherson, Barson, Chas Smash, Foreman, Bill Crutchfield, Daisuke Inoue | B-side of "Cardiac Arrest", 1982 | 3:26 |
27. | "Cardiac Arrest" | Smash, Foreman | 7 | 2:51 |
Total length: | 77:51 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "House of Fun" (fairground ending version) | Thompson, Barson | Non-album single, 1982 | 2:49 |
2. | "Don't Look Back" | Foreman | B-side of "House of Fun" | 4:52 |
3. | "Primrose Hill" | McPherson, Foreman | The Rise & Fall, 1982 | 3:23 |
4. | "Driving in My Car" | Barson | Non-album single, 1982 | 3:17 |
5. | "Calling Cards" | Thompson, Foreman | The Rise & Fall | 2:20 |
6. | "Blue Skinned Beast" | Thompson | The Rise & Fall | 3:23 |
7. | "Our House" | Cathal Smyth, Foreman | The Rise & Fall | 3:23 |
8. | "Madness (Is All in the Mind)" | Foreman | The Rise & Fall | 2:53 |
9. | "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)" | Smyth, Barson | The Rise & Fall | 3:11 |
10. | "Wings of a Dove" | Smyth, McPherson | Non-album single, 1983 | 3:01 |
11. | "March of the Gherkins" | Thompson, Barson | Keep Moving, 1984 | 3:30 |
12. | "Keep Moving" | Smyth, Foreman, McPherson | Keep Moving | 3:32 |
13. | "The Sun and the Rain" | Barson | Non-album single, 1983 | 3:30 |
14. | "Samantha" | Thompson, Barson | Keep Moving | 3:14 |
15. | "Prospects" | Smyth, McPherson | Keep Moving | 4:14 |
16. | "One Better Day" | McPherson, Bedford | Keep Moving | 4:06 |
17. | "Michael Caine" | Smyth, Woodgate | Keep Moving | 3:30 |
18. | "Victoria Gardens" (remix) | Smyth, Barson | Keep Moving | 4:32 |
19. | "Yesterday's Men" | McPherson, Foreman | Mad Not Mad, 1985 | 4:09 |
20. | "All I Knew" | McPherson | B-side of "Yesterday's Men" | 3:08 |
21. | "I'll Compete" | Thompson, Woodgate | Mad Not Mad | 3:21 |
22. | "Uncle Sam" | Thompson, Foreman | Mad Not Mad | 4:16 |
Total length: | 76:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train" | McPherson | Non-album single, 1986 | 3:46 |
2. | "The Wizard" | Smyth | Wonderful, 1999 | 3:28 |
3. | "The Communicator" | McPherson, Smyth | Wonderful | 3:20 |
4. | "Lovestruck" | Thompson, Barson | Wonderful | 3:50 |
5. | "Elysium" | Thompson, Woodgate | Wonderful | 3:53 |
6. | "Drip Fed Fred" (feat. Ian Dury) | Thompson, Barson | Wonderful | 4:31 |
7. | "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning" | McPherson | Wonderful | 4:15 |
8. | "Johnny the Horse" | Smyth | Wonderful | 3:20 |
9. | "Sarah's Song" | Thompson, Barson | Our House: The Original Songs, 2002 | 3:47 |
10. | "Girl Why Don't You?" | Campbell | The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1, 2005 | 3:05 |
11. | "Lola" | Ray Davies | The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1 | 3:22 |
12. | "I Chase the Devil a.k.a. Ironshirt" | Max Romeo, Lee Perry | The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1 | 3:21 |
13. | "Shame & Scandal" | Lord Melody, Lancelot Pinard | The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1 | 2:53 |
14. | "You Keep Me Hanging On" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland | The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1 | 3:10 |
15. | "NW5" | Thompson, Barson | The Liberty of Norton Folgate, 2009 | 4:15 |
16. | "Forever Young" | McPherson | The Liberty of Norton Folgate | 4:36 |
17. | "That Close" | McPherson, Foreman | The Liberty of Norton Folgate | 4:10 |
18. | "Dust Devil" | Thompson, Woodgate | The Liberty of Norton Folgate | 3:45 |
19. | "On the Town" (feat. Rhoda Dakar) | Woodgate, Barson | The Liberty of Norton Folgate | 4:33 |
20. | "Sugar and Spice" (single version) | Barson | The Liberty of Norton Folgate | 2:52 |
21. | "Le Grand Pantalon" | McPherson, Foreman | Non-album download single, 2011 | 4:33 |
Total length: | 77:53 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "One Step Beyond" (live) | Campbell | 2:47 |
2. | "The Prince" (live) | Thompson | 3:06 |
3. | "Embarrassment" (live) | Thompson, Barson | 3:13 |
4. | "My Girl" (live) | Barson | 3:01 |
5. | "The Sun and the Rain" (live) | Barson | 4:06 |
6. | "Land of Hope and Glory" (live) | Thompson | 3:49 |
7. | "Grey Day" (live) | Barson | 5:27 |
8. | "Razor Blade Alley" (live) | Thompson | 3:01 |
9. | "It Must Be Love" (live) | Siffre | 3:50 |
10. | "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)" (live) | Smyth, Barson | 3:24 |
11. | "Take It or Leave It" (live) | Thompson, Barson | 4:03 |
12. | "Shut Up" (live) | McPherson, Foreman | 4:01 |
13. | "Driving in My Car" (live) | Barson | 3:48 |
14. | "Bed and Breakfast Man" (live) | Barson | 3:07 |
15. | "Close Escape" (live) | Thompson, Foreman | 4:56 |
16. | "Wings of a Dove" (live) | McPherson, Smyth | 5:21 |
17. | "Our House" (live) | Smyth, Foreman | 3:47 |
18. | "Night Boat to Cairo" (live) | McPherson, Barson | 3:32 |
19. | "Madness" (live) | Campbell | 4:23 |
20. | "Swan Lake" (live) |
| 2:36 |
21. | "House of Fun" (live) | Thompson, Barson | 3:11 |
22. | "Rockin' in A♭" (live) | Willy Wurlitzer | 2:53 |
23. | "Baggy Trousers" (live) | McPherson, Foreman | 2:54 |
24. | "The Harder They Come" (live) | Jimmy Cliff | 8:16 |
Total length: | 102:27 |
Certifications and sales
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[5] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Personnel
See individual albums for full personnel credits.
- Madness
- Graham "Suggs" McPherson – vocals
- Cathal Smyth – vocals, trumpet
- Mike Barson - piano, keyboards
- Chris Foreman – guitar
- Mark Bedford – bass
- Lee Thompson – saxophone, vocals
- Daniel Woodgate – drums
- Additional musicians on bonus track "Le Grand Pantalon"
- Rachael Lander – strings
- Kirsty Mangan – strings
- Natalie Holt – strings
- Stephanie Benedetti – strings
- Louis Vause – accordion
- Lester Allen – banjo
- Technical
- Clive Langer – producer (disc 1: 1-27 / disc 2: 1-22 / disc 3: 1-9, 15-21)
- Alan Winstanley – producer (disc 1: 3-27 / disc 2: 1-22 / disc 3: 1-9, 15-20), DVD sound mix
- Steve Dub – producer (disc 3: 10-14)
- John "Segs" Jennings – producer (disc 3: 10-14)
- Charlie Andrew – producer (disc 3: 21)
- Tim Turan – mastering
- Mark Brennan – compilation
- Daryl Smith – compilation
- Martin "Cally" Callomon – box theme, art direction, design
- Eric Watson – front cover photograph
- Clare Muller – black and white band photographs
- Paul Rider – band photographs
- Gavin Martin – booklet interviews
- DVD
- Meedja – DVD authoring
- Juliet De Valero-Wills – executive producer
- Malcolm Gerrie – executive producer
- Dione Orram – producer
- Rocky Oldham – producer
- Gavin Taylor – director
References
- "A Guided Tour Of Madness (3CD+1DVD / Download)". Union Square Music. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- O'Brien, Jon. "A Guided Tour of Madness review". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- "Le Grand Pantalon (single download)". Union Square Music. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- Sinclair, Paul (10 October 2011). "A Guided Tour of Madness / 3CD+DVD Box Set / Review". Super Deluxe Edition. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- "British album certifications – Madness – A Guided Tour Of Madness". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 March 2022.