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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 The Ward Brothers
Released	13 April 1987[1]
Length	66:21
Label	Siren A&M (US)
Producer	Mike 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.[2] In the US, "Cross That Bridge" reached No. 32 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.[3] The title track was featured in the Miami Vice episode "Love At First Sight".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Philadelphia Inquirer	[4]

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."[5] Billboard noted Dave Ward's "distinctive chops", but felt the "fairly straightforward pop material has a way to go before dividends will be accrued".[6]

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".[7] 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."[8]

Track listing

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

• Mike Howlett - producer
• Steve Power - engineer
• Don Was - producer (tracks 8, 9)
• Frank Filipetti - producer (track 9), engineer (track 9)
• Phil Brown - engineer (track 8)
• Ian Gillespie - digital editing
• Denis Blackham - digital EQ, digital mastering
• Kevin Metcalfe - direct metal mastering

Other

• The Design Clinic - design
• Paul Cox - photography

References

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