Madison - Best In Show

In the 80s, many bands were kept under tight wraps in their home countries, and were not even given the opportunity to score fans in the US, even when metal was a booming viable music form on the pop/contemporary airwaves. Holland had Helloise, Germany had Skagarack, Japan had Malice, and... Madison. Madison was a harder edged AOR act that was swept under the rug, and soon fell apart shortly after a Japanese tour in support of their second album in 1987. Its no mystery why they were so overlooked, there were many reasons to explain the obscurity. They had no star power, their second release had a cover that was mostly pink with ballet slippers, obviously an odd choice for a metal band and frankly their first album was nothing extraordinary. But the fact that Goran Edman lent his vocal prowess to the band was enough to make them worthy of trying to track down a copy, and that I did, and upon first listen it was love. Their musical style was not unlike other excellent hard rock acts of the time such as the poppy lightweights Shy, Icon and Skagarack, but with a dash of the harder Helloise and Malice. "Best In Show" took the best of all these worlds, and splashed the ten full songs, and one instrumental full of colour and metallic beauty. For the few not familiar with Edman, he fronted a host of bands, ranging from most notably the axeslinger driven acts like Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum, and Nikolo Kotzev's Brazen Abbot, and lesser known bands such as Street Talk, Glory, Reingold, Johansson, Backyard Boogaloo, and more. His vocal performances are always nothing less than outstanding, full of charm, emotion and charisma and delivering each note with conviction in warm Swedish accented tones. The rest of the band is made up of relatively unknown, but very capable musicians. Conny Sundquist on bass, Anders Kalson and Mikael Myllynen provided a dual axe attack, while Peter Hredicson pounded the skins with authority.

Madison may very well be the MOST underrated, overlooked, shied away from band of all time. The trip from start to finish is simply magic. Opener "Oh Rendez Vous" is a huge AOR track with a dynamic chorus, and absolutely angelic vocals from Goran Edman, who has never sounded this good before or since. "Oh Rendez Vous" is a song that should not be missed, it being the main attraction of the album, and one of the best tunes to come out of the 80s. Listen and see for yourself. The follow up track "Carry On", drives hard with searing guitar riffs and a bubbly solo. Another spectacular chorus is the topping on the cake, and the kind that just begs for the listener to sing right along. "Can't Take It" is a typical rocker, with a swinging pace. The soulfully delicate piano enriched opening of "Drama", stabs right where it hurts, squeezing every ounce of beauty from the electric guitar, in a short, moving instrumental that serves as the opening for bittersweet ballad "Shine". Almost every metal outfit has slipped a ballad into their albums, since the day metal was born, but this one is just a little different. The presentation is gentle with a bluesy background, and swells to a lush close. "World Wide Man" revs it up again, squealing galloping guitar, screaming vocals and all. Very much a typical rocker, but the energetic pacing is gripping and party induced. Speaking of parties... "Hotel Party" is another bouncy rocker, with a very unconventional musical 'break' in the center, surprise, the song turns into pure jazz for a few seconds before switching back to growling guitars and soaring vocals. "Mental Masturbation" is actually a another solid hard rock song, musically but is amusing to listen to, obviously, since the title is cried out loudly during the chorus many times.