The Lone Ranger (album)

By 1989, the short-lived incarnation of Madness―at that point known as The Madness― had split again, and Suggs went through a wilderness period in the following years, pursuing various endeavours such as acting, stand-up comedy, producing British band The Farm, and being a TV presenter on the BSB Power Station from 1990 to 1991 where he presented his own show Suggs on Saturday. During this time, Suggs also started working with fellow ex-Madness member Mike Barson sporadically to write and produce songs with him for what was intended to be a duo project, using Liquidator Studios, Suggs' home studio, and Barson's home studio in Amsterdam. Following the Madness reunion concert in 1992, which yielded the album Madstock!, Suggs became involved in working on this album. He had written a few songs, including "Alcohol" and "Fortune Fish". Suggs also had collaborated with Barson to write and produce a number of songs, including "Camden Town", "4 am", which is a tribute to The Kinks, and "She's Gone". The songs, including "Green Eyes", were co-produced with engineer Kevin Petrie, who also helped with "Alcohol" and "Fortune Fish". After the second Madstock concert, Madstock II, Suggs announced that he would pursue a solo career in August 1994, and made his first appearance as a solo artist in November on Danny Baker After All, performing "I'm Only Sleeping" and Morrissey's "Suedehead". His debut album The Lone Ranger was released in 1995. ==Singles==

Five singles were released from the album, all of which reached the UK Singles Chart. A cover of The Beatles' "I'm Only Sleeping", released as a double A-side with "Off on Holiday", reached No. 7 in August 1995. This was followed by "Camden Town", which reached No. 14 in October and then "The Tune", which peaked at No. 33 in December 1995. A cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Cecilia" was the next single, peaking at No. 4 in May 1996 and becoming Suggs' highest-charting solo single to date. "No More Alcohol" was included on a 1996 reissue of the album with new artwork and a reordered track listing. ==Critical reception==

Upon the album's release, Victoria Segal of Melody Maker was critical of "Camden Town" and "I'm Only Sleeping", describing them as being "as welcome as haemorragic fever", but felt "the rest [of the album was] actually OK, in a predictably perky, ska-ed up way". Johnny Cigarettes of NME was negative in his review, believing the album to be merely a money-making endeavor without "a single good excuse for [it] to exist", although he did note a "couple of mildly agreeable contemplative ballads". He believed that the covers of 'I'm Only Sleeping' and 'Cecilia' were recorded merely for "maximum commercial muscle" and also noted that the single "Camden Town" "borrows a hefty chunk of credible trendiness". He added, "Rope in Sly and Robbie to try and prove your authentic credentials, roll out the jaunty feel-good 'reggie' ditties, sit back and watch the cash roll in." Evan Cater, writing for AllMusic, wrote, "The Lone Ranger has the feel of an amateur demo, populated primarily by drum machines and synthesizers, but despite the weakness of the production, Suggs manages credible covers of the Beatles' 'I'm Only Sleeping' and Simon and Garfunkel's 'Cecilia'." Cater was not impressed with Suggs' songwriting on the tracks he wrote by himself, but felt that he fared better on the ones he co-wrote with Mike Barson, "who appears to have a stronger sense of melody". Trouser Press described the album as delivering "much the same ska pop mixture and music hall jollity as [Madness], but with more weight to the production." In a review of the 2016 reissue, Record Collector's Mark Elliott commented that the "charming, 60s-influenced, 11-song set hits the sweet spot where an experimental edge packs an impressive commercial punch and everyone emerges with their dignity intact". ==Track listing==

Adapted from the album's liner notes. Original version 1996 reissue Note • "No More Alcohol" is a reworked version of "Alcohol". 2016 reissue ;Disc one • The first disc contains the eleven tracks from the original album plus eight bonus tracks. Note • "Animal" was first recorded in 1989 for the indie film The Final Frame, in which Suggs starred as a pop star named East. He and Barson produced it, and it was later reworked as a B-side. ;Disc two ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Although no musicians are credited on the album, the following are thanked: • Jah Wobble • Phil Spalding • Rico Rodriguez • Jazz Jamaica • John Themis • Sly and Robbie • Louchie Lou and Michie One (on "Cecilia") • Ben Barson (on "Alcohol") • Anne Dudley – string arrangement on "She's Gone" ;Technical • Suggs – production (3, 4, 9–11), booklet photography • Mike Barson – production (3, 4, 9–11) • Sly and Robbie – production (1, 2, 6–8), additional production (5), mixing (1, 2, 5–8) • TommyD – production (5) • Garry Hughes – additional production (2, 6–8) • Kevin Petrie – additional production, engineer (3, 4, 9–11) • Paul Taylor – additional production, mixing (4, 9) • Pete Craigie – additional production, mixing (4, 9) • Gregg Jackman – mixing (3, 10, 11) • Trevor Key – booklet cover photography • Ben Kelly – art direction (from an original idea by Marcel Duchamp) • Assorted Images – artwork • Jill Furmanovsky – booklet photography • Eugene Adebari – booklet photography • Gavin Evans – booklet photography • Rob Dickins – executive producer ;2016 reissue bonus tracks • Louchie Lou and Michie One – vocals (17, 19) • Suggs – production (12, 13, 15, 16) • Mike Barson – production (12–16) • Sly and Robbie – production (17) • Garry Hughes – additional production (17) • The Rapino Brothers – production (19) • Bobby Dee – production (19) • Gregg Jackman – engineering, mixing (19) • Collin "Bulby" York – remix (disc two: 1, 2) • Pepperoni – remix (disc two: 8, 9) ==Charts==