Specials (album)
Encyclopedia
Specials is the debut album by British
ska
revival band The Specials
.
Released in 1979 on Jerry Dammers
' 2Tone label, the album is seen by some as the defining moment in the UK ska scene. Produced by Elvis Costello
, the album captures the disaffection and anger felt by the youth of the UK's "concrete jungle" - a phrase borrowed from Bob Marley
's 1972 album Catch A Fire
but equally apposite used here to describe the grim, violent inner cities of 1970s Britain.
Musically, the album encapsulates the wave of British ska, greatly reworking the original sound of 1960s Jamaican ska. The music shares the infectious energy and humour of the original sound, but injects new-found anger and punk sensibility. The resulting sound is considerably less laid-back and "Caribbean" sounding than original ska, and dispensed with much of the percussion and the larger horn sections used in the older variety. The Specials also brought guitar to the front of the mix; it had often been a secondary instrument in Jamaican ska. The album features a mixture of original material and several covers of classic Jamaican ska tracks, a debt which went uncredited on the 1979 vinyl release.
Many songs on The Specials' debut album were covers of older ska songs. "Monkey Man" had been a hit for Toots & the Maytals
in 1969, "Too Hot" was a Prince Buster
original from 1966, and the opening track, "A Message to You, Rudy
" was a Dandy Livingstone
single in 1967. "You're Wondering Now" was originally performed by The Skatalites
; a vocal version was recorded by duo Andy and Joey in 1964. Other tracks are reworkings of Jamaican originals: "Too Much Too Young" was based on Lloyd Charmers
' "Birth Control"; "Stupid Marriage" draws heavily on the Prince Buster
hit "Judge 400 Years" (also known as "Judge Dread").
A live version of "Too Much Too Young" was later released on a five-track EP, The Special AKA Live!, which went to #1 on the UK charts. A Message to You Rudy/Nite Klub was also released as a single.
Trombonist Rico Rodriguez
, who performed on many 50s and 60s Jamaican recordings before moving to London in 1962, played on the band's version of "A Message to You, Rudy", as he had on the original recording fifteen years previously. As a former member of the legendary Skatalites
, a band that helped define the sound of ska
and reggae
, Rico's appearance on the album considerably added to the album's credentials.
In 2000 Q magazine placed Specials at number 38 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
A digitally remastered edition also featuring promotional videos to "Gangsters" and "Too Much Too Young" as enhanced content was released by EMI
in 2002.
Pitchfork Magazine featured Specials as number 42 in their list of the 100 best albums of the 1970's.
Also, the song "Little Bitch" is featured as a playable song on the very first release of the dance simulation game Dance Dance Revolution
.
* Canadian and some US pressings of the album have a shorter, 2:16 version of this song.
† On some US releases, the song "Gangsters" (The Specials) appears between "Too Much Too Young" and "Little Bitch". In Australia and New Zealand, "Gangsters" was included between "Do the Dog" and "It's Up to You".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
revival band The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
.
Released in 1979 on Jerry Dammers
Jerry Dammers
Jeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
' 2Tone label, the album is seen by some as the defining moment in the UK ska scene. Produced by Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, the album captures the disaffection and anger felt by the youth of the UK's "concrete jungle" - a phrase borrowed from Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
's 1972 album Catch A Fire
Catch a Fire
Catch a Fire is the major-label-debut album for Jamaican reggae band The Wailers, released on Island Records on 13 April 1973. The album established the band as international superstars. Leader Bob Marley in particular became world-famous...
but equally apposite used here to describe the grim, violent inner cities of 1970s Britain.
Musically, the album encapsulates the wave of British ska, greatly reworking the original sound of 1960s Jamaican ska. The music shares the infectious energy and humour of the original sound, but injects new-found anger and punk sensibility. The resulting sound is considerably less laid-back and "Caribbean" sounding than original ska, and dispensed with much of the percussion and the larger horn sections used in the older variety. The Specials also brought guitar to the front of the mix; it had often been a secondary instrument in Jamaican ska. The album features a mixture of original material and several covers of classic Jamaican ska tracks, a debt which went uncredited on the 1979 vinyl release.
Many songs on The Specials' debut album were covers of older ska songs. "Monkey Man" had been a hit for Toots & the Maytals
Toots & the Maytals
Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music...
in 1969, "Too Hot" was a Prince Buster
Prince Buster
Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. , better known as Prince Buster, and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...
original from 1966, and the opening track, "A Message to You, Rudy
A Message to You, Rudy
"Rudy, A Message to You" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone. The song later achieved broader success when in 1979, The Specials cover, titled "A Message to You, Rudy", reached Number 10 in the UK chart....
" was a Dandy Livingstone
Dandy Livingstone
Dandy Livingstone is a Jamaican reggae musician and producer, best known for his 1972 hit, "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", and for his song, "Rudy, A Message to You", which was later a hit for The Specials...
single in 1967. "You're Wondering Now" was originally performed by The Skatalites
The Skatalites
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone". They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period...
; a vocal version was recorded by duo Andy and Joey in 1964. Other tracks are reworkings of Jamaican originals: "Too Much Too Young" was based on Lloyd Charmers
Lloyd Charmers
Lloyd Charmers is a ska and reggae singer, keyboard player and record producer.-Career:...
' "Birth Control"; "Stupid Marriage" draws heavily on the Prince Buster
Prince Buster
Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. , better known as Prince Buster, and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...
hit "Judge 400 Years" (also known as "Judge Dread").
A live version of "Too Much Too Young" was later released on a five-track EP, The Special AKA Live!, which went to #1 on the UK charts. A Message to You Rudy/Nite Klub was also released as a single.
Trombonist Rico Rodriguez
Rico Rodriguez
Rico Rodriguez MBE , also known as Reco or El Reco, is a ska and reggae trombonist. He has recorded with many producers, including Karl Pitterson, Prince Buster, and Lloyd 'Matador' Daley...
, who performed on many 50s and 60s Jamaican recordings before moving to London in 1962, played on the band's version of "A Message to You, Rudy", as he had on the original recording fifteen years previously. As a former member of the legendary Skatalites
The Skatalites
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone". They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period...
, a band that helped define the sound of ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, Rico's appearance on the album considerably added to the album's credentials.
In 2000 Q magazine placed Specials at number 38 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
A digitally remastered edition also featuring promotional videos to "Gangsters" and "Too Much Too Young" as enhanced content was released by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in 2002.
Pitchfork Magazine featured Specials as number 42 in their list of the 100 best albums of the 1970's.
Also, the song "Little Bitch" is featured as a playable song on the very first release of the dance simulation game Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution, abbreviated DDR, and previously known as Dancing Stage in Europe and Australasia, is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, Dance Dance Revolution is the...
.
Side one
- "A Message to You, RudyA Message to You, Rudy"Rudy, A Message to You" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone. The song later achieved broader success when in 1979, The Specials cover, titled "A Message to You, Rudy", reached Number 10 in the UK chart....
" (Dandy LivingstoneDandy LivingstoneDandy Livingstone is a Jamaican reggae musician and producer, best known for his 1972 hit, "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", and for his song, "Rudy, A Message to You", which was later a hit for The Specials...
) - 2:53 - "Do the Dog" (Rufus ThomasRufus ThomasRufus Thomas, Jr. was an American rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the...
, arr.ArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
by Jerry DammersJerry DammersJeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
) - 2:09 - "It's Up to You" (Dammers, The SpecialsThe SpecialsThe Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
) - 3:25 - "Nite Klub" (Dammers, The Specials) - 3:22
- "Doesn't Make It Alright" (Dammers, Dave Goldberg) - 3:26
- "Concrete Jungle" (ByersRoddy RadiationRoddy Radiation is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers...
) - 3:18 - "Too Hot" (Cecil CampbellPrince BusterCecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. , better known as Prince Buster, and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...
) - 3:09
Side two
- "Monkey Man"Monkey Man (Toots & the Maytals song)"Monkey Man" is a 1969 song by the ska and reggae group the Maytals, reaching number 47 in the UK Singles Chart. The song is a jab at their producer, Leslie Kong...
(Toots HibbertToots HibbertFrederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert is a ska and roots reggae singer and leader of the reggae band Toots & the Maytals.-Biography:...
) - 2:45 - "(Dawning of A) New Era" (Dammers) - 2:24
- "Blank Expression" (Dammers, The Specials) - 2:43
- "Stupid Marriage" (Dammers, Mark Harrison, Neville Staple) - 3:49
- "Too Much Too Young" (Dammers, acknowledgmentAcknowledgment (creative arts)In the creative arts and scientific literature, an acknowledgment is an expression of gratitude for assistance in creating a literary or artistic work....
to Lloyd CharmersLloyd CharmersLloyd Charmers is a ska and reggae singer, keyboard player and record producer.-Career:...
) - 6:06* - "Little Bitch" (Dammers)† - 2:31
- "You're Wondering Now" (SeymourCoxsone DoddClement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond...
) - 2:36
† On some US releases, the song "Gangsters" (The Specials) appears between "Too Much Too Young" and "Little Bitch". In Australia and New Zealand, "Gangsters" was included between "Do the Dog" and "It's Up to You".
Personnel
- Terry HallTerry Hall (singer)Terry Hall is the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas. He has released two solo albums and has also collaborated with many artists including David A...
- vocals - Neville Staple - vocals
- Lynval GoldingLynval GoldingLynval Golding is a British musician. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist with the British 2 Tone Records band, The Specials....
- rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, vocals - Roddy RadiationRoddy RadiationRoddy Radiation is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers...
- lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocals on track 6 - Jerry DammersJerry DammersJeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
- keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Sir Horace Gentleman - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- John BradburyJohn Bradbury (drummer)John Bradbury is the drummer with The Specials. They had a #1 UK hit with 'Ghost Town'.He joined The Special AKA when the original Specials split in 1981; they had a Top 10 hit with 'Nelson Mandela'. He and Noel Davies recorded "The Selecter", the 'b'side to "Gangsters", before the latter had...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Guest Musicians
- Chrissie HyndeChrissie HyndeChristine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an US musician best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band the Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.-Early life and career:Hynde is the daughter of a part-time...
- vocals - Rico RodriguezRico RodriguezRico Rodriguez MBE , also known as Reco or El Reco, is a ska and reggae trombonist. He has recorded with many producers, including Karl Pitterson, Prince Buster, and Lloyd 'Matador' Daley...
- tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Dick CuthellDick CuthellDick Cuthell is a British musician and record producer. He plays flugelhorn, cornet, and trumpet, amongst a range of other brass instruments, including tenor horn and valve trombone. Cuthell is best known for his work with The Specials and Rico Rodriguez. He also collaborated with bands such as...
- hornsHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....