Specials is the debut album by
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
skaSka 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 SpecialsThe Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combined 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 DammersJerry Dammers is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A. and The Spatial AKA Orchestra....
' 2Tone label, the album is seen by some as the defining moment in the UK ska scene. Produced by
Elvis CostelloElvis Costello 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 rock and New Wave musical genres...
, the album captures the disaffection and anger felt by the youth of the UK's "concrete jungle" - a phrase borrowed from
Bob MarleyRobert Nesta "Bob" Marley was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands The Wailers and Bob Marley & The Wailers...
's 1972 album
Catch A FireCatch a Fire is the major-label-debut album for Jamaican reggae band The Wailers, released on Island Records in 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.
Specials is the debut album by
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
skaSka 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 SpecialsThe Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combined 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 DammersJerry Dammers is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A. and The Spatial AKA Orchestra....
' 2Tone label, the album is seen by some as the defining moment in the UK ska scene. Produced by
Elvis CostelloElvis Costello 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 rock and New Wave musical genres...
, the album captures the disaffection and anger felt by the youth of the UK's "concrete jungle" - a phrase borrowed from
Bob MarleyRobert Nesta "Bob" Marley was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands The Wailers and Bob Marley & The Wailers...
's 1972 album
Catch A FireCatch a Fire is the major-label-debut album for Jamaican reggae band The Wailers, released on Island Records in 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 MaytalsToots 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 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 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" was a
Dandy 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...
single in 1967. "You're Wondering Now" was originally performed by
The SkatalitesThe 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 many other Jamaican artists who recorded during the 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 CharmersLloyd Charmers is a ska and reggae singer, keyboard player and record producer.-Career:...
' "Birth Control", "Stupid Marriage" draws heavily on the
Prince 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 is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...
hit "Judge Dread".
A live version of "Too Much Too Young" was later released on a four 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 RodriguezThis article is about the musician. For the martial artist Ricco Rodriguez see Ricco Rodriguez. For the fictional character named Rico Rodriguez see the Just Cause video game...
, 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
The SkatalitesThe 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 many other Jamaican artists who recorded during the period...
, a band that helped define the sound of
skaSka 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
reggaeReggae 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
EMIThe EMI Group is a British music company. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major publishing arm- EMI Music Publishing- based in New York City...
in 2002.
Side one
- "A Message to You, Rudy" (Lee "Scratch" Perry, 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...
)
- "Do the Dog" (Rufus Thomas
Rufus Thomas, Jr. was a rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the...
, arr.In music, an arrangement is either a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet...
by Jerry DammersJerry Dammers is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A. and The Spatial AKA Orchestra....
)
- "It's Up to You" (Dammers, The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combined 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...
)
- "Nite Klub" (Dammers, The Specials)
- "Doesn't Make It Alright" (Dammers, Dave Goldberg)
- "Concrete Jungle" (Byers
Roddy 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...
)
- "Too Hot" (Cecil Campbell
Cecil Campbell is the birth name of two Jamaican singers:* Prince Buster, Jamaican ska/rocksteady singer, born Cecil Bustamente Campbell* Ini Kamoze, Jamaican reggae singer, born Cecil Campbell...
)
Side two
- "Monkey Man" (Toots Hibbert
Toots Hibbert is a ska and roots reggae singer and leader of the reggae band Toots & the Maytals.-Biography:...
)
- "(Dawning of A) New Era" (Dammers)
- "Blank Expression" (Dammers, The Specials)
- "Stupid Marriage" (Dammers, Michael Allen Harrison
Michael Allen Harrison is an American New Age musician, songwriter and pianist from Portland, Oregon.-External links:*...
, Neville Staple)
- "Too Much Too Young" (Dammers, acknowledgment
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 Charmers is a ska and reggae singer, keyboard player and record producer.-Career:...
)
- "Little Bitch" (Dammers)†
- "You're Wondering Now" (Seymour
Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, '60s and beyond...
)
† On some US releases, the song "Gangsters" 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 Hall
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 also collaborated with many artists including David A...
- vocals
- Neville Staple - vocals
- Lynval Golding
Lynval 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 guitar is the use of a guitar to provide rhythmic chordal accompaniment for a singer or other instruments in a musical ensemble. In ensembles or "bands" playing within the acoustic, country, blues, rock or metal genres , a guitarist playing the rhythm part of a composition supports the...
, vocals
- Roddy Radiation
Roddy 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 guitarA lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, and guitar solos within a song structure.In rock, heavy metal, blues, jazz and fusion bands and some pop contexts as well as others, the lead guitar lines are usually supported by a second guitarist who plays...
, vocals on track 6
- Jerry Dammers
Jerry Dammers is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A. and The Spatial AKA Orchestra....
- keyboardsA keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include various types of organs as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Sir Horace Gentleman - bass guitar
The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
- John Bradbury
John Bradbury was the drummer with The Specials. They had a #1 UK hit with 'Ghost Town'. Other members of this seminal ska band include Jerry Dammers, Terry Hall and Neville Staple as well as Lynval Golding, Horace Panter and Roddy Radiation. John has agreed to participate in the reunion tour of...
- drumsA drum set is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person . The term "drum kit" first became used in the 1700s in Britain...
- Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde is an American rock 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...
- vocals
- Rico Rodriguez
This article is about the musician. For the martial artist Ricco Rodriguez see Ricco Rodriguez. For the fictional character named Rico Rodriguez see the Just Cause video game...
- tromboneThe 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 Cuthell
Dick Cuthell is a British musician. 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 Madness, Eurythmics,...
- hornsThe 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 ....