''Total Madness – the Very Best of Madness'' is a

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

by a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

ska/pop 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 * ...

, released in 1997. It was released exclusively in the United States and Canada.

Critical reception

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic

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 ...

gave the album three out of five stars and wrote that the album " san overview of Madness in their decline, with a couple of earlier hits thrown in for good measure."

Track listing

# " Our House" (

Cathal Smyth 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 ...

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 ...

) - 3:20 # " It Must Be Love" (

Labi Siffre Claudius Afolabi Siffre (born 25 June 1945) is a British singer, songwriter and poet. Siffre released six albums between 1970 and 1975, and four between 1988 and 1998. His best known compositions include " It Must Be Love" which reached number 1 ...

) - 3:18 # "

Tomorrow's (Just Another Day) "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)" is a song by British band Madness from their fourth album ''The Rise & Fall''. It spent 9 weeks in the UK charts, peaking at # 8 in February 1983. It was released as a double A-side with the Chris Foreman composi ...

" (Smyth, Michael Barson) - 3:09 # "

Shut Up Shut may refer to: *Yana Shut (born 1997), Belarusian snooker and pool player. * ''Shut'' (1988 film), directed by Andrei Andreyevich Eshpai. * ''Shut'' (2009 film), starring Lee Baxter. * ''Shut'' or ''šwt'', "shadow", an Ancient Egyptian conce ...

" (Foreman,

Graham McPherson Graham McPherson (born 13 January 1961), known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor from Hastings, England. In a music career spanning 40 years, he came to prominence in the ...

) - 3:26 # "

Grey Day "Grey Day" is a 2-Tone song written by Mike Barson and recorded by British pop/ska band Madness. Retrieved 21 July 2007. The song was the first single released from the band's third studio album '' 7''. Retrieved 21 July 2007. It was a big de ...

" (Barson) - 3:38 # "

The Sun and the Rain "The Sun and the Rain" is a single by Madness. It was released in 1983 as a stand-alone single and in 1984 it was included on the American/Canadian version of their album '' Keep Moving''. The single spent 10 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaki ...

" (Barson) - 3:30 # " Wings of a Dove (A Celebratory Song)" (Smyth, McPherson) - 3:03 # "

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

" (Smyth,

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 ...

) - 3:36 # "

One Better Day "One Better Day" is a song by English ska band Madness from their fifth studio album '' Keep Moving'' (1984). The song, written by Suggs (Graham McPherson) and Mark Bedford, Retrieved on June 27, 2007. was released as a single in the United King ...

" (McPherson,

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 ...

) - 4:06 # "

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

" (Foreman, Lee Thompson) - 4:16 # "

Yesterday's Men "Yesterday's Men" is a song by the English ska and pop band Madness, released on 19 August 1985 as the lead single from their sixth studio album '' Mad Not Mad'' (1985). It was written by Graham McPherson and Chris Foreman, and produced by C ...

" (Foreman, McPherson) - 4:32 # "

One Step Beyond One Step Beyond may refer to: Music * ''One Step Beyond'' (Dungeon album) or the title song, 2004 * ''One Step Beyond'' (Jackie McLean album), 1963 * '' One Step Beyond...'', an album by Madness, or the title song (see below), 1979 * ''One Step ...

" ( Cecil Campbell) - 3:33 (Version exclusive to compilation)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Total Madness - The Very Best Of Madness 1997 greatest hits albums Madness (band) compilation albums Geffen Records compilation albums Albums produced by Alan Winstanley Albums produced by Clive Langer