''Absolutely'' is the second studio album from the British

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

band

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

. The album reached number 2 in the UK album charts. Retrieved 19 June 2007. ''Absolutely'' spawned some of the band's biggest hits, most notably "

Baggy Trousers "Baggy Trousers" is a song by English ska/pop band Madness from their 1980 album '' Absolutely''. It was written by lead singer Graham "Suggs" McPherson and guitarist Chris Foreman,Woodstra, Chris. Retrieved on 1 July 2007. and reminisces abou ...

", which peaked at number 3 in the UK and spent more than four months in the singles chart. "

Embarrassment Embarrassment or awkwardness is an emotional state that is associated with mild to severe levels of discomfort, and which is usually experienced when someone commits (or thinks of) a socially unacceptable or frowned-upon act that is witnessed ...

" reached number 4, and the instrumental "

The Return of the Los Palmas 7 "The Return of the Los Palmas 7" is a song by British ska/Pop music, pop band Madness (band), Madness, written by Mike Barson, Mark Bedford and Daniel Woodgate.Woodstra, Chris. The song was Woodgate's first credit as a songwriter, and was relea ...

" climbed to number 7. Although the album reviews were generally less enthusiastic than those of ''One Step Beyond...'', they were mostly positive. In 2009 and 2010, Madness re-released their back-catalogue of studio albums up to and including 1999's '' Wonderful'' with a bonus CD and extra tracks. The re-release of ''Absolutely'' has seven bonus tracks plus an additional CD featuring a 1980 concert recorded at the

Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...

. In a 2020 interview with '' GQ'' magazine Lee Thompson said it was his favourite Madness album.

Album title

The album is named after one of the oft-said expressions of the band's then tour manager and sound man Tony Duffield.

Cover

The front cover sees the band standing in front of

Chalk Farm tube station Chalk Farm is a London Underground station near Camden Town in the London Borough of Camden. It is on the Edgware branch of the Northern line between Belsize Park and Camden Town stations. For ticketing purposes, Chalk Farm falls in Travelcar ...

in Camden. When the original vinyl was released the first, more sombre, cover photograph was changed to a more animated pose after around 10,000 albums were pressed. The two sleeves can be distinguished by keyboardist

Mike Barson Michael Barson (born 21 April 1958) is a Scottish-born multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Barson came to prominence in the late 1970s as the keyboard player for the band Madness (band), Ma ...

's holding of the umbrella: in the earlier pressing he holds it up to his chin while in the later, and subsequently used, releases the umbrella is on the ground. The inner sleeve features a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

-style

roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...

for a railway station called "Cairo East" on one side (this roundel later reappeared in the video for "

(Waiting For) The Ghost Train "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train" is a single by the English ska and pop band Madness. Released in 1986 shortly after the band announced they were to split, it was their last single prior to reforming in 1992. It spent nine weeks in the UK Singles ...

") and a history of the group on the other. The "Cairo East" roundel is illustrated by painter, and former bass player with

Kilburn and the High Roads Kilburn and the High Roads were a British pub rock band formed in London by Ian Dury in 1970. The band released one studio album in 1975, disbanding the same year. AllMusic credits the band with being "an undeniable influence on punk and new ...

Humphrey Ocean Humphrey Ocean (born 22 June 1951) is a contemporary British painter. Early life Humphrey Ocean was born Humphrey Anthony Erdeswick Butler-Bowdon, on 22 June 1951 in Sussex, England. He went to Ampleforth College and in 1967 went to Tunbridge ...

Critical reception

The album received mixed reviews at the time of release. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' recommended ''Absolutely'' to consumers, noting that it was "less gimmicky and more R&B/

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

oriented" than Madness' debut album '' One Step Beyond...'', while still retaining enough of the band's "'nutty' sound" to appeal to fans of the debut.

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...

, however, likened Madness to "

the Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...

with English accents" in a scathing review for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' that also took aim at fellow

ska revival Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and Calypso music, calypso with United States, American jazz and rhythm and blues. Sk ...

ists

the Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...

. In a retrospective review,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

wrote, "''Absolutely'' does motor ahead on breakneck ska rhythms, but it never quite feels as raw as its predecessor, and that hint of gloss serves the three big hit singles very well." Erlewine felt that ''Absolutely'' usually delivers more of the same as the debut in "a highly appealing fashion."

Track listing

2010 reissue

Personnel

;Madness * Graham "Suggs" McPherson – lead

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, percussion *

– piano, organ, vibraphone, marimba, harmonica *

Chris Foreman Christopher John Foreman (born 8 August 1956), nicknamed Chrissy Boy, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Foreman came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist for the Engli ...

– guitar, sitar, slide guitar * Lee Thompson – tenor and baritone saxophones *

Daniel Woodgate Daniel Mark (Woody) Woodgate (born 19 October 1960) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Woodgate came to prominence in the late 1970s as the drummer for the English ska band ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, fire extinguisher *

Mark Bedford Mark William Bedford (born 24 August 1961),Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography'', Canongate, , p. 638 nicknamed Bedders, is an English musician, songwriter and composer. Bedford came to prominence in the late 1970s as the bass ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Chas Smash Cathal Joseph "Carl" Smyth (born 14 January 1959), also known as Chas Smash, is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His career spans more than 40 years. Smash came to prominence in the late 1970s as secondary vocalist, trump ...

– backing vocals, trumpet, lead vocals on "Solid Gone" ;Technical *

Clive Langer Clive Langer (born 19 June 1954 in Hampstead, London, England) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films ''Still Crazy'' and ''Br ...

– producer *

Alan Winstanley Alan Kenneth Winstanley (born 2 November 1952) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer. His early career during the mid-1970s was as an audio engineer, working on album ...

– producer *

– inner sleeve illustration ;2010 reissue * Jeff Griffin – producer on disc two * Tim Turan – remastering * Martin "Cally" Callomon – art direction, design *

Paul Lester Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, North London. Career He began his career as a freelance journalist, for ''Melody Maker'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''City Limits'', ''20/20'', ''Sky Magazine ...

– liner notes

Chart performance

Certifications and sales

References

External links

* {{Madness Madness (band) albums 1980 albums Stiff Records albums Albums produced by Alan Winstanley Albums produced by Clive Langer