The Specials AKA - The Specials

An old one, and a complete 2 tone classic. Produced by Speky Legend Elvis Costello too!

So trying to avoid the musical history lessons that fill the CD insert, ( pretty much.. Ska influences + Punk influences = newness, shiny musical The Specials newness )

This is a record that'll always cheer me up from the first bars.. and what an opener! A message to you Rudy opens it up with drums that are dam near impossible not to air drum, the ska beat keeps the shoulders moving with the beat (for most of the album actually..) and the little bit of horn playing is dangerously addictive. - Stop your messing around.. better think of your future..
From that comes the perfectly produced Do The Dog - plenty of echo and feedback (hell, I don't know technical musical terms) that perfectly fits this rant at the confliction and segregation of society.. starting off with, another, perfect drum intro ( completely ripped of by Razorlights - In The Morning )-it steams along to the bassline..
All you punks and all you dreads, national front and natty dreads, mods rockers hippies and skinhead, keep on fighting till' your dead..
/
Who am I to say? To the IRA, To the UDA, Soldier boy from UK, Am I just a hypocrite? Another piece of your bullshit, Am I the dog that bit, The hand of the man that feeds it?

Which shows a great thing about The Specials; they really get the social issues in, yet its a perfectly uplifting album - racism, gang violence, the boredom of suburbia arn't cheery subjects but they are all pulled off with a cynical wit - you can't help but dance. The music is so upbeat and rich it carries it all perfectly.

Track 4 - Nite Klub is another gem, a perfect soundtrack for a shit night out, in a shit town, in a shit club; people jabbering and shouting in the background.. a real sorryforyourself trumpet call and a miserable moan of .. is this the in place to be..? what am I doing here..? watching the girls go by.. befory reet kicking in good un' proper with that ever-rocking bass and horn.. flipping between a chorus of Nite Kluuub, and the miserable observations of a night out (with great bass, lead guitar, and horn work a plenty) "I wont dance, in a, club like this, all the, girls are slags, and the beer tastes just like PISS..". If I had to choose one, that'd be my stand out track.
This, together with tracks like (Dawning of a) New Era and Little Bitch (recently covered by The Ordinary Boys aka TheSpecialsTributebutfaster ) complete the crazy energetic ska choice cuts on this album. But there is room for more reggae, rocksteady tracks like Too Hot (dis town, its too hotttt), and Your Wondering Now, explore the more rocksteady reggae chilled out Specials .. so theres quite a range on the album. Whilst sometimes these get the skip, they still showcase awesome song crafting - the tuneless thrashing of Punk this aint.

It's an album that makes you want to groove, skank and rock those shoulders to the -ska ska ska guitar. And say Rude Bwoy. Alot.

The Specials AKA - The Specials
Released - 1979 on 2 Tone records
Stand out tracks - Little Bitch, Nite Klub, A Message to you Rudy
Possible Skippers - It's Up To You, Stupid Marriage
Listen to it: .. buy it. Or listen to amazon reaplayer teasers here

What did you think?