Madness of It All

Madness of It All is the debut studio album from the British pop-rock band The Ward Brothers, which was released by Siren in 1987.

Madness of It All
Studio album by
Released1987
Length66:21
LabelSiren
A&M (US)
ProducerMike Howlett
Don Was
Frank Filipetti
The Ward Brothers chronology
Madness of It All
(1987)
Wave Goodbye to Grandma
(1994)

The album was not a commercial success, but two of its singles were UK chart entries; "Cross That Bridge" reached No. 32 in December 1986 and "Why Do You Run?" peaked at No. 81 in April 1987.[1] In the US, "Cross That Bridge" reached No. 32 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Philadelphia Inquirer[3]

Robin Denselow of The Guardian picked the "light and tuneful" "Cross That Bridge" as the best song on the album, adding: "The rest of the LP sounds classy but anonymous; it's full of throbbing synthesised ballads, with a little funk and even a fashionable burst of electro-heavy metal thrown in. Decidedly forgettable."[4] Billboard noted Dave Ward's "distinctive chops", but felt the "fairly straightforward pop material has a way to go before dividends will be accrued".[5]

Cash Box listed the album as one of their feature picks during February 1987. They described the album as an "impressive debut" with "largely crafty dance-oriented rock".[6] Jack Lloyd of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: "Though the material is a bit uneven, there are a couple of above-average numbers such as "Over the Border" and "Cross That Bridge". The obvious flaw with a band like this is that what it does is fine, but what it does is not especially exciting."[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Graham Ward.

No.TitleLength
1."Why Do You Run"5:13
2."Easy Prey"4:24
3."I Trusted You"3:50
4."Over the Border"5:04
5."Shadows of You"3:29
6."Don't Talk to Strangers"6:01
7."Limbo"4:22
8."Cross That Bridge"4:12
9."Madness of It All"4:24
CD additional tracks
No.TitleLength
10."Easy Prey (Cloth Cap Mix)"6:12
11."Don't Talk to Strangers (Brown Mac Mix)"7:01
12."Cross That Bridge (Kitchen Sink Mix)"6:59
13."Madness of It All (Instrumental)"5:14

Personnel

The Ward Brothers

  • Dave Ward - lead vocals, backing vocals, drums, percussion, arranger
  • Derek Ward - keyboards, programming, arranger
  • Graham Ward - guitar, backing vocals, arranger

Additional musicians

  • Martin Bullard - synth bass, keyboards
  • Wesley Magoogan - saxophone (track 1)
  • Louis Resto - bass (track 9), additional keyboards (track 9)

Production

Other

  • The Design Clinic - design
  • Paul Cox - photography

References

  1. "WARD BROTHERS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  2. "Ward Brothers". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  3. Lloyd, Jack (6 March 1987). "Albums". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 24.
  4. Denselow, Robin (8 May 1987). "Ballads to please your banker". The Guardian. p. 16.
  5. "Reviews: Albums". Billboard. 21 February 1987. p. 80.
  6. "Album Releases". Cash Box. 7 February 1987. p. 8.
  7. Lloyd, Jack (6 March 1987). "Albums". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 24.
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