release date: Oct. 4, 1980
format: cd (2002 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,14]
producer: Jerry Dammers and Dave Jordan
label: EMI Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)" (live) - 2. "Man at C&A" (live) - 3. "Hey, Little Rich Girl" - 4. "Do Nothing" (live) - 6. "Sock It to 'Em J.B." - 7. "Stereotypes / Stereotypes, Part 2" (single version) - 9. "I Can't Stand It" - 10. "International Jet Set"
2nd studio album by The Specials originally released by 2 Tone Records. With this the band seeks out other styles and genres, and the album is a bit of a strange blend of influences. Most tracks are still with ska revival as the core of all songs, but some compositions are shaped as either rock & roll, soul, art pop, post-punk or easy listening / lounge compositions. The first four songs starts out, more or less as the natural follow-up to the debut album, although, "Man at C&A" has elements of post-punk, but giving the time of its release at the peak of cold war politics, it feels very natural, but #4, "Pearl Café", clearly bears elements from rock & roll and easy listening, and from here on it becomes more evident that this album is something else with its blending of styles. This is an even more striking experience when confronted with the vinyl album, where side A shares the tone of the predecessor, and with side B as a whole different thing. #7 "Stereotypes / Stereotypes Part 2" share characteristics with songs by The Clash from their album Black Market Clash (1980) blending dub and reggae, and on #8 and #9 the whole album is more likely as an inspirational source to later contemporaries as The Style Council, The Clash and its album Sandinista, sophisti-pop by Everything But the Girl and much later styles of The Cardigans with its "blue eyed" pop mix of easy listening and calypso. Tracks #9 and #10 are yet again something else making me think of Portishead meets Gorillaz and a sound that today is considered to have helped shaping the style of trip hop.
Several guest musicians appear on the album including Rhoda Dakar singing duet on #9, Madness' sax player Lee Thompson on #4, and the US new wave trio The Go-Go's appear as backing vocals group on #11 "Enjoy Yourself (Reprise)".
The album fared well reaching #5 on the UK albums chart list and it generally was handed positive reviews. Also, the two singles from the album did well nationally when "Stereotype" and "International Jet Set" peaked at #6 and #4 respectively. Time has certainly not questioned the importance of this particular album. In retrospect, the album has been cited as a corner stone of modern popular music with its influence on the shaping of sophisti-pop but especially in defining the trip hop genre and may likely be seen as source to songs and albums by diverse artist like the aforementioned together with Portishead, Massive Attack, Blur and Gorillaz. More Specials is like the debut enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
Some of the album's compositions that travels the furthest from the band's trademark of ska revival are typically songs by keyboardist Jerry Dammers and, allegedly, his interest in and will to experiment with other styles, already in '81 led to the band's demise. Dammers take a stronger role as band leader on this album, and his ideas to incorporate new styles is said to have played a decisive role in the internal conflicts that ultimately led to changes within the band. The vocalist group of The Specials, Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding all left the band to form the trio Fun Boy Three, and the remainders of the band changed its name back to The Specials AKA in 1981.
I think, I may have listened more to this than the debut album by The Specials, but also more over the years. The debut stands out as more of a whole with its distinct ska revival and '2 tone' sound that connects it to a specific time and place, but I have always felt that this album is an even more exiting experience consisting of more original compositions, and has an almost surreal sense of timelessness that connects it with future styles, which makes me think of it as the band's best and most original album and a release that should be attributed all the acclaim it rightfully deserves.
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com, Uncut, Rolling Stone 4,5 / 5, Mojo, Q Magazine, Smash Hits 4 / 5 stars ]
