No.98 - ‘Specials’, by The Specials (1979)

“Can’t fight corruption with con tricks; They use the law to commit crime; And I dread, dread to think what the future will bring; When we’re living in gangster time…”

Surely one of the most influential British albums of all time, and certainly for me. From covering Specials songs in my first band, to being told that I’d, and i quote, done “Too Much Too Young” by my own Mother when I was 19. And the songs still depict so much of what we see in our times.

The pioneers of the 2nd wave ska movement, and the first album to be released on the infamous Two-Tone label. Ska with mixes of reggae and dub, with a strong underlay of bass. A mix of old ska covers (Monkey Man, Too Hot, A Message to You Rudy) and original ska anthems. And a studio version of their no.1 single “Too Much Too Young”, the single being recorded live with a quicker tempo. Lyrics tend to focus on political and social issues. Do the lines quoted above remind us of a particular country’s government handlings of the current covid crisis and plenty of scandals in between from all those over the decades?

NME commented at the time of release: “It's the kind of album that's musically fathomless and it will probably establish The Specials as true hopes for the '80s.”
All Music stated retrospectively: “a perfect moment in time captured on vinyl forever... It was an utter revelation”

Formed in Coventry in 1977, The Specials mixed the rocksteady sound of ska with the high energy of punk. They had ten consecutive top 10 singles, and the 2-tone label, run by The Specials’ keyboardist Jerry Dammers), helped kick start the likes of The Beat, The Selecter and, of course, Madness. After their relatively short lifespan, Hall, Golding and Staple formed the Funboy Three, after which Hall fronted Colourfield. Dammers went on with the Special AKA, famous for the song “Free Nelson Mandela” in 1984 and then dissolved the band.

The Specials peaked at No.4 in the UK charts. The album was reissued in the UK as a ltd edition white vinyl in 2015. Would love to add this to my collection.

Favourite songs - Gangsters, A Message To You Rudy, Little Bitch




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