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''The Liberty of Norton Folgate'' is the ninth studio album by the British band Madness, released on 18 May 2009. The band worked on the album for close to three years and it was their first album of new material since 1999's '' Wonderful''.


Content

The 10-minute title track recounts the social history of a corner of east London that until 1900 was controlled by
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
. As a "
liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
" it was not legally independent, but the rights of the Crown over the land had been waived. A shortened version of the track "The Liberty of Norton Folgate" was made available on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
in mid May 2008. In December a boxset of the album was offered for pre-order on the Madness website; those who ordered were entitled to a digital download of the album on 20 December. Twenty-three tracks were recorded for the album, of which fifteen made it on to the album to be released in May. The twelve tracks issued in the digital download leaked onto the internet on 25 December 2008. During concerts in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
and
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
at the end of March 2009, lead singer
Suggs 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 ...
stated that "
Dust Devil A dust devil is a strong, well-formed, and relatively short-lived whirlwind. Its size ranges from small (half a metre wide and a few metres tall) to large (more than 10 m wide and more than 1 km tall). The primary vertical motion is u ...
" would be the second single off the new album; second when accounting for the 2008 release of "
NW5 "NW5" is a song by the band Madness, which was debuted live at the Brixton Academy in December 2006. The single was released in January 2008 on the band's own label, Lucky 7 Records, and entered the chart at no.24 on Sunday 20th Jan 2008, goin ...
". It was released on 11 May, one week before the album. A third single, " Sugar and Spice" (with slightly different lyrics and intro to the album version) was released to radio in July, and on 21 July it was confirmed that it would be made available as a
download single A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. Thi ...
from 2 August on
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
and 3 August from other retailers. In November 2009 the band announced the release of a fourth single scheduled for 11 January 2010: " Forever Young", a favourite of both fans and band. Apart from several remixes, one of the single formats contains " Love Really Hurts (Without You)", a Dangermen era cover of the
Billy Ocean Leslie Sebastian Charles, (born 21 January 1950), better known by his stage name Billy Ocean, is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-son ...
classic. The release was put back one week and the single was released on 18 January, becoming the second single from the album to fail to chart. It was produced by
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 ...
and
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 albu ...
, who have worked with Madness on all but one of their albums. Initial recording sessions began at
Toe Rag Studios Toe Rag Studios is an analogue recording studio located in Hackney, London, England. History The studio was founded in 1991 by Liam Watson and Josh Collins in the Shoreditch area of London. In 1997, the business relocated to Hackney due t ...
in spring 2006 with Liam Watson, who engineered and mixed ''
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'' by
the White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...
. The band recorded sporadically, now without Watson, until early 2008. The band showcased a number of songs from the new album during three concerts at London's
Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in L ...
in June 2008.


Reception

Critical reception to ''The Liberty of Norton Folgate'' was highly positive, with most critics hailing it as Madness' best album in their thirty-year career. The ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'', in a five-star review, lauded that " ta stage of life when they might be endlessly revisiting " Our House" and "
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 ...
" on the 1980s nostalgia circuit, the much-loved ska-pop band, 30 years after their debut, have ripped up the form book and delivered a knockout album." The
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...
described it as a "magnificent magnum opus" and "the most sophisticated and satisfying album of their career." ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' and ''
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'' both gave the album four out of five stars, with ''Uncut'' stating it as "refreshingly, unexpectedly excellent" and "everything seems to gel – the arrangements are the best ever." Online music magazine ''
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'' said it "may just be the best thing they have ever recorded" and "it is everything you would expect of Madness and more." '' The Word'' described it as "
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writing for
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, it's
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in
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, it's a
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movie of ''
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'', it's ''
Passport To Pimlico ''Passport to Pimlico'' is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starring Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and written by T. E. B. Clarke. The story concerns the unea ...
'' meets Brick Lane, and it is Madness's masterpiece." The album also made 3rd and 9th place, respectively, in the BBC's and ''Mojos "Best albums of 2009" lists (category rock & pop)


Track listing


Standard edition

This edition was released on 18 May 2009.


Special edition boxed set

This edition was made available for pre-order in late 2008 and was released on 23 March 2009. It contains a 2-CD version of the album and an additional CD of rehearsal recordings, demos and live recordings. Also included is a Madness "M" pin, a poster, and access to an online area that will contain additional material. All of disc 3 contains material exclusive to this release. The seven tracks marked with a (*) on disc 2 are also exclusive to this release. ;Disc 1 ;Disc 2 ;Disc 3 *Tracks 1–8 are rehearsal recordings, April 2007. *Tracks 10–20 recorded live at
Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in L ...
, London, June 2008. ;Vinyl LP


Film

A 64-minute-long concert film, also titled ''The Liberty of Norton Folgate'' was directed by Julien Temple. It screened at the
London Independent Film Festival The London Independent Film Festival is a British film festival that takes place annually in April. It was founded by Erich Schultz and specialises in low-budget independent films. It offers a screenplay competition and distribution fair. Hist ...
on 17 April 2009.


Chart performance

''The Liberty of Norton Folgate'' reached No. 5 in the UK album charts on 24 May 2009, their highest charting studio album since 7 in 1981. The album also charted at No. 1 on the UK independent album chart. The album went Gold in the UK in October 2009.


Certifications and sales


Personnel

;Madness * Graham "Suggs" McPherson – vocals *
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 ...
– vocals *
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. Early y ...
– piano, keyboards *
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 * Mark Bedford – bass * Lee Thompson – saxophone *
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 ;Additional personnel: * Graham Bush – additional bass *
Rhoda Dakar Rhoda Dakar (born 1959) is a British singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the 2 Tone record label. She also worked with The Specials and Special AKA, also 2-Tone artists. Career Dakar, bor ...
– vocals on "On the Town" * Amber Jolene – backing vocals on "Forever Young", "Dust Devil" and "Mission From Hell" * Sasha Paul – backing vocals on "Forever Young", "Dust Devil" and "Mission From Hell" * Jim Parmley – percussion * Joe Auckland – trumpet * Steve Turner – saxophone * Michael Kearsey – trombone * Mark Brown – clarinet * Dave Powell – tuba * Sirish Kumar – tabla * Andy Findon – Turkish clarinet, zorna, duduk *
Simon Hale Simon Hale is a British composer, arranger, and keyboardist. Life Hale was born in Birmingham, England in 1964, being dually raised there and in South Manchester before moving to London, where he studied popular music at Goldsmiths College, Uni ...
– string arrangements, conductor, additional piano and keyboards on "MKII", "Fish & Chips" and "One Fine Day" * Julian Leaper – violin * Emil Chakalov – violin * Martin Burgess – violin * Sue Briscoe – violin * Chris Pitsilledes – viola * Nick Holland – cello * Millennia Strings – strings * The London Session Orchestra led by
Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oasis, ...
– strings ;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 ...
– production, mixing, initial production *
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 albu ...
– production, mixing * Liam Watson – initial production * Finn Eiles – engineer * Werner Freistätter – assistant engineer on "Forever Young" * Tim Young – mastering engineer * Paul Rider – photography * Martin 'Cally' Callomon – art direction, design * Nik Rose – retouching, assembly


References


External links

* *
''The Liberty Of Norton Folgate'' at ''Rate Your Music''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty of Norton Folgate 2009 albums Madness (band) albums Lucky 7 Records albums Albums produced by Clive Langer Albums produced by Alan Winstanley