Dangermen Sessions 1

The UK's ska-besotted Madness were one of the most consistently pleasing bands of the entire new wave era, yet a group who never seemed to break-up so much as fade away in a series of largely ill-fated reincarnations and partial revivals. But this joyous full band reunion presents a Madness who's lost none of its loose, loopy charm or potent musical chops in the ensuing decades. The product of a series of informal shows in their hometown of Camden, it's an album that revolves around an inviting, vintage r&b/pop covers conceit so logical it's surprising the band didn't attempt it the first time around. If choices like the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hanging On" and Kinks' chestnut "Lola" don't seem to offer much promise at first glance, the band tackles them with such a giddy, irreverent sense of reinvention as to be irresistible. Desmond Dekker's "Israelites" and the instrumental "Dangermen Theme" become kitsch-happy delights, while a delicious reworking of the Blues Busters' "Shame and Scandal" ranks with the best of the band's infectious ‘80s oeuvre. --Jerry McCulley