If you saw Madness on their pre-Christmas tour you may have noticed that Chas Smash was conspicuous by his absence. That’s because he’s been busy preparing his début solo album, which finally saw the light of day this week after a gestation period of almost a decade. If you’re a long term Madness fan you’ll know that Mr Smyth has long since progressed from being the band’s resident Nutty Dancer and occasional bellower of “One step beyond!”, being responsible for some of the band’s finest moments such as Our House, Michael Caine and Johnny The Horse, but A Comfortable Man still contains some breathtaking moments. Smyth’s knack for crafting a catchy pop song is still in evidence but married to unusually – and sometimes uncomfortably – personal material such as Are The Children Happy? and Love Song No.7, the effect is devastating. Of course we’d love to see Cathal back in Madness but we should be happy that, at least for now, he’s found a comfortable place.
Cathal Smyth’s album A Comfortable Man is available from cathalsmyth.co.uk
