Madness
The Dangermen Sessions Volume 1
(V2)
The years haven't been kind to Madness. Middle age has left them looking like a flock of Ray Winstones and their dress sense has certainly gone to pot. But 19 years after they disbanded and 12 years after they reformed again, the Nutty Boys are back with their first new album - and the sound is remarkably much as it was where they left off in 1986.
The difference this time is that they're doing 'the covers thing'. Whereas most old duffers have been digging out their record collections and putting their favourite songs together in compilations like the Back to Mine series, Madness are doing it the hard way and actually reinterpreting the songs that inspired them to form a band in the first place.
It's a gallant effort for a band that had written their best stuff within three years of forming and 10 years before they split.
