The Lone Ranger is the first solo album by British singer Suggs, singer in second wave ska band Madness. It was released in 1995 (see 1995 in music).[1] The album peaked at #14 in the UK charts.[5] "Cecilia", a cover of the Simon and Garfunkel song, reached No. 4 on the UK charts.[4] The song "4 am" was later re-recorded and appeared on the 1999 Madness album Wonderful.
The Lone Ranger was reissued in 2016 by Cherry Red Records as a two-CD deluxe edition.[6]
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 talent on the songs 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."[1]
Record Collector's Mark Elliott wrote, "this 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."[7]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."[2]
