Format: Digital Cat. No.: DDSALVOD020 Barcode: 0698458822086 Playing Time:
Following the magnificent ska-pop of their debut, One Step Beyond, and the developmental pop majesty of Absolutely and 7, The Rise & Fall shows a band at the very height of their songwriting powers; their maturity and depth of subject matter second to none among their peers.
Containing the brilliant smash hit single ‘Our House’ - a fantastically poignant and uplifting anthem about Chas Smash’s childhood home - and the simultaneously melancholic and upbeat ‘Tomorrow’s (Just Another Day)’, this expanded version also features the non-album singles and promo videos for ‘House Of Fun’ and ‘Driving In My Car’. Both of these classic Madness tracks prove that the boys – even as fully fledged, grown-up superstars – had lost none of the nuttiness that first captured the public’s imagination and made them a national institution.
Reviews
The Rise & Fall, originally released in 1982, is a testament to the groups new-found maturity, suggesting the compositional daring of mid-period Beatles and self-reflective ruminations on adulthood - especially on its hit single Tomorrow’s Just Another Day. The dancehall swagger remained, with sonic nods to Motown and the bluebeat of their youth, but tempered with the increasingly articulate thoughts of older, wiser heads. 4/5 - Terry Staunton, Record Collector.