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Madness

One Step Beyond (1979)
Warner Music Group

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Contributed by: Chris Gorman
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on June 14th 2001

When someone says "Madness" what comes to mind? Most likely songs like "Our House" and "Wings of a Dove". Well this is unfortunate, becasue Madness is a group that has so much more to offer. The year is 1979 and the record is "One Step Beyond".

Like many groups, some of Madness's best work comes from this first record. the songs "One Step Beyond" and "Nightboat to Cairo" have since become second-wave ska classics, and there are many other gems on this record including "My Girl", "Believe Me" and "In The Middle of the Night". This is the record where everything just happened perfectly, using a heavy dose of ska and mixing in soul and even a little bit of punk. This is truly my favorite release of the second wave of ska.

What makes this record so much better than other Two-Tone era recordings you ask? After all, classic ska bands like The Specials, Bad Manners, The Selector, and The Beat were all playing out at the same time as Madness. Well the truth of it is, those bands' records feel like just ska records, and it doesnt go beyond that. Madness took it one step beyond (please forgive the lame pun) and made a ska record that plays like a rock record. Its a recording that can appeal to many people, whether they are a fan of ska or not. It doesn't compromise anything in the name of pop success, it simply works on many levels.

Go buy this record. Hopefully, the ska saturation of '97 hasn't turned you away from buying ska ever again. Do yourself a favor and experience this group. You wont be sorry.

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EmilyG (February 3, 2010)

i brought that c.d the other day from hmv but it was just published the other mounth!

Anonymous (April 13, 2006)

correction of dumbfuck's earlier misinformation...

Propagandhi did not write "One Step Beyond", Prince Buster wrote it. Here the he is given credit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Step_Beyond..._(album )

From that page follow the link "campbell" to read more about him ("Cecil Bustamente Campbell")

fakesmile (November 16, 2002)

this one gets me bouncing everywhere, at home, work, school, on my bike...

and my dad likes it too, so this one's really really good!!!

Anonymous (September 26, 2001)

i actually haven't heard this album, i just wanted to congratulate the first guy on being such a god damn moron.

Anonymous (July 1, 2001)

I really do adore this album, It's better than the specials just becuase it's a fuckin institution I don't know anyone who doesn't like em, even all my friends who like hiphop and shit love em. (ok maybe a few people don't) Forget the fact that suggs is now just a shadow of the man he used to be resorting to channel five karokoke programs to pay the bills, This is 1979 and this rox

Anonymous (June 17, 2001)

Hey dumbfuck, propagandhi wrote that song at a concert they played where a bunch of skanking nazi's were there, and they wrote and played that song on stage to get them to leave. it was recorded as a joke later and ended up on the record by accident. why do you exsist?

Anonymous (June 17, 2001)

this is like the best ever ska cd,
and unlike a lot of the other ska bands of the time this record is very skanking.

-faceecaf

Anonymous (June 16, 2001)

Well i've never hard this record, but i do own the best of maddness, and it's great. Also I wasn't alive then but i thought one step beyond was a pretty big hit.

Anonymous (June 15, 2001)

Oh yeah and try to at least get the lyrics right.

p.s. the members of Propaghandi like ska music, just not the over-saturation of it during the third wave...which Madness was not a part of. Besides, that song became meaningless once AAA covered it.

Anonymous (June 15, 2001)

I wouldnt really call the second wave of ska "ska revival". I mean, the second wave was what was being revived in the thrid wave...but then again, you are obviously very stupid, and should probably be deported for bringing down the collective IQ.

Anonymous (June 15, 2001)

ska sucks,
ska revival is an uncool and stupid fuck,
the bands are only in it for the bucks
and if you dont believe me your a schmuck -

fuck ska.