Absolutely (Madness album)

Absolutely is the 1980 second album from the British ska band Madness. The album reached number 2 in the UK album charts.[1]

Absolutely
Studio album by
Madness
Released26 September 1980 (1980-09-26)
Recorded1980
Genre
Length39:15
LabelStiff
Producer
Madness chronology
Work Rest and Play
(1980)		 Absolutely
(1980)		 7
(1981)
Singles from Absolutely
  1. "Baggy Trousers"
    Released: 5 September 1980
  2. "Embarrassment"
    Released: 14 November 1980
  3. "The Return of the Los Palmas 7"
    Released: 16 January 1981

Absolutely spawned some of the band's biggest hits, most notably "Baggy Trousers", which peaked at number 3 in the UK and spent more than four months in the singles chart.[1] "Embarrassment" reached number 4, and the instrumental "The Return of the Los Palmas 7" climbed to number 7.[1] 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.

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.[2]

Cover

The front cover sees the band standing in front of Chalk Farm tube station 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 Mike Barson'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.[3]

The inner sleeve features a London Underground-style roundel for a railway station called "Cairo East" on one side (this roundel later reappeared in the video for "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train") and a history of the group on the other.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Christgau's Record GuideB−[5]
Record Mirror[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]

Billboard recommended Absolutely to consumers, noting that it was "less gimmicky and more R&B/funk 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.[9] Greil Marcus, however, likened Madness to "the Blues Brothers with English accents" in a scathing review for Rolling Stone that also took aim at fellow ska revivalists the Specials.[7]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Baggy Trousers"
2:45
2."Embarrassment"
3:13
3."E.R.N.I.E."
  • McPherson
  • Foreman
2:08
4."Close Escape"
  • Thompson
  • Foreman
3:29
5."Not Home Today"
2:30
6."On the Beat Pete"
3:05
7."Solid Gone"Cathal Smyth2:22
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Take It or Leave It"
  • Thompson
  • Barson
3:26
9."Shadow of Fear"
  • McPherson
  • Barson
1:58
10."Disappear"
  • McPherson
  • Bedford
2:58
11."Overdone"
  • Thompson
  • Foreman
3:45
12."In the Rain"
  • McPherson
  • Madness
2:42
13."You Said"
  • McPherson
  • Barson
2:35
14."The Return of the Los Palmas 7"
2:01
Total length:39:15

Personnel
Madness
Production

Chart performance
Chart (1980) Peak
position		 Total
weeks
Dutch Albums Chart[10] 2 43
German Albums Chart[11] 21 9
New Zealand Albums Chart[12] 31 4
Norwegian Albums Chart[13] 26 4
Swedish Albums Chart[14] 15 3
UK Albums Chart[15] 2 47
US Billboard Hot 200[16] 146 4

References
  1. "The Madness Timeline: 1980". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
  2. Archived 18 January 2004 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Smash Hits magazine March 31 – April 13, 1983 page 10".
  4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Absolutely – Madness". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  5. Christgau, Robert (1990). "Madness: Absolutely". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  6. Martin, Alf (27 September 1980). "Madness in Same". Record Mirror. p. 18.
  7. Marcus, Greil (19 February 1981). "Madness: Absolutely". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  8. Considine, J. D. (2004). "Madness". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 508. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. "Billboard's Recommended LPs" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 85 no. 44. 1 November 1980. pp. 88, 91. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 30 May 2020 – via World Radio History.
  10. Absolutely at Dutch Charts Archived 11 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 18 June 2013
  11. "Media Control Charts". charts.de. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  12. Steffen Hung. "New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  13. Steffen Hung (15 June 2006). "Norwegian charts portal". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  14. Steffen Hung (7 October 2011). "Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  15. "UK Singles & Albums Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  16. "AllMusic". AllMusic. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
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