Specials – SPECIALS****

A Message To You Rudy/Do The Dog/It's Up To You/Nite Klub/Doesn't Make It Alright/Concrete Jungle/Too Hot/Monkey Man/(Dawning Of A) New Era/Blank Expression/Stupid Marriage/Too Much Too Young/Little Bitch/You're Wondering Now

At the end of the 1970s a number of new bands appeared on the British music scene under the 2 Tone banner. The first and most representative was the Specials and this is their eponymous debut album. Features the UK Top Ten hit A Message To You Rudy. (US:84 UK:4)

“The Special’s debut album is the best example of the 2 Tone genre, the one that takes up the Jamaican reggae and ska, combining them with influences from the punk explosion. Being one of the first interracial bands, they achieve a typical English sound that combines cheerful rhythms with a sophisticated melancholy, applying it to other artist’s compositions plus some of their own gems.”

“The 2 Tone ska bands were one of the more surprising but welcome phenomena that emerged in the British musical scene after the punk era. They tended to have two different gears: quirky feel-good times and biting political commentary, with most groups on the scene dipping into both. Whereas Madness were thick on the jokes the Specials were big on social commentary.”

“This is a pretty fun album, a mixture of upbeat late 70s ska and new wave sounding rock. It’s pretty catchy with some horns and is one of those albums you put on when you are in a fun mood. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but its still has that upbeat late 70s sound and, even though no songs are quite up to Ghost Town level, it still is a really enjoyable listen.”

“A true classic of the ska genre, the Specials self-titled debut album is a must-have for any serious fan of the 2 Tone scene or for any keen student of the recent social history of multicultural Britain.”

“On this album you find a band with two voices, one black, one decidedly white but both undoubtedly British and unhappy. Not that the music is unhappy it isn't, it's a pounding concoction of bluebeat, ska, roots reggae, rockabilly and punk, a euphoric combination of influences and instruments locked into place by swirling keyboard.”

“Their version of ska was a lot less jazzy than the original incarnation, drawing in strong elements of punk, and shifting the instrumental emphasis from the horns to the guitars. You won't find a lot of brass in this album.”