The Madness of Crowds is the second album by Sleepthief, a free improvisation trio led by German jazz saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock with British pianist Liam Noble and American drummer Tom Rainey. It was recorded in 2010 and released by Intakt Records. The song titles as well as the album's title are taken from the book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Scottish writer Charles Mackay.[1]

The Madness of Crowds
Studio album by Ingrid Laubrock
Released	2011
Recorded	September 9, 2010
Studio	Brooklyn Recording, New York City
Genre	Jazz
Length	64:33
Label	Intakt
Ingrid Laubrock chronology
Anti-House (2010) The Madness of Crowds (2011) Catatumbo (2012)

Reception

The All About Jazz review by Nic Jones states "As of The Madness of Crowds, saxophonist Laubrock, pianist Liam Noble and drummer Tom Rainey are one of the most rewarding bands out there. They were before, but now the clarity and depth of interaction in their music is enough to deepen that assertion, and when a signature sound also comes as part of the deal then it's time for the loud applause."[2]

In a review for The Guardian, John Fordham says "Laubrock's yelping lines over Rainey's battering percussion, her contrasting murmurings over damped piano strings and arrhythmic tappings, windy multiphonic sounds amid cowbell chimes and ghostly chords reveal an increasingly distinctive Sleepthief soundscape."[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Laubrock, Noble, Rainey

1. "Extraordinary Popular Delusions" – 8:04
2. "You Never Know What's in the Next Room" – 10:31
3. "The Slow Poisoners" – 5:09
4. "There She Goes with Her Eye Out" – 5:06
5. "South Sea Bubble" – 4:49
6. "Haunted Houses" – 4:52
7. "Does Your Mother Know You're Out?" – 10:30
8. "Tulipmania" – 7:37
9. "Hindsight Is Always 20/20" – 7:55

Personnel

• Ingrid Laubrock – saxophones
• Liam Noble – piano
• Tom Rainey – drums

References