Girish Mahajan (Editor)

More Specials

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Released
  
October 1980

Studio
  
Horizon Studios,

Artist
  
The Specials

Producer
  
Jerry Dammers

Genres
  
Ska, Post-punk

Recorded
  
Summer 1980

Length
  
45:32

Release date
  
October 1980

Label
  
Chrysalis Records

More Specials httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumb3

More Specials(1980)
  
In the Studio (as The Special AKA)(1984)

Similar
  
The Specials albums, Ska albums

More Specials is the second album by ska band The Specials, released in October 1980. The album expanded the 2 tone sound of their self-titled debut to include lounge music and other influences. It featured collaborations with The Go-Go's members Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, and Jane Wiedlin; Rhoda Dakar from The Bodysnatchers; and Lee Thompson from Madness. The lyrics, like the previous album, were often intensely political.

Contents

On the charts, the album hit the Top Five in the UK, where "Rat Race", "Stereotype" and "Do Nothing" hit the Top Ten. "Rat Race" hit No. 89 on Billboard Music Chart's (US) Club Play Singles chart, while the album as a whole hit No. 98 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart.

More Specials was a hit in the two-tone movement, a late-1970s revival of Jamaican ska from the 1960s. Along with bands like the Bodysnatchers and Madness, The Specials were leaders in this revival, and later heroes for two further ska-punk revivals on the opposite side of the Atlantic: the late 1980s Southern California scene (NOFX, Operation Ivy) and the mid-1990s "third wave of ska" (Sublime, No Doubt) which popularised the mixture in the US.

The specials the complete more specials album


Reception

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

LP

Side one

  1. "Enjoy Yourself" (Herb Magidson, Carl Sigman) – 3:39
  2. "Rat Race" (Byers) – 3:07 - NB: not included on UK release nor Dutch LP
  3. "Man at C & A" (Dammers, Hall) – 3:36
  4. "Hey, Little Rich Girl" (Roddy Byers) – 3:35 - featuring Lee Jay Thompson
  5. "Do Nothing" (Golding) – 3:43
  6. "Pearl's Cafe" (Dammers) – 3:07
  7. "Sock It to 'Em J.B." (Clayton Dunn, Rex Garvin, Pete Holman) – 2:56

Side two

  1. "Stereotype/Stereotype Pt. 2" (Dammers, Staple) – 7:24
  2. "Holiday Fortnight" (Byers) – 2:45
  3. "I Can't Stand It" (Dammers) – 4:01 - featuring Rhoda Dakar
  4. "International Jet Set" (Dammers) – 5:37
  5. "Enjoy Yourself (Reprise)" (Magidson, Sigman) – 1:46

Bonus 7" Early copies included a free 7" single:

  1. "Braggin' & Tryin' Not to Lie" by Roddy Radiation and The Specials
  2. "Rude Boys Outa Jail (Version)" featuring Neville Staple AKA Judge Roughneck

CD

  1. "Enjoy Yourself" (Magidson, Sigman) – 3:39
  2. "Rat Race" (Byers) – 3:07 - NB: not included on UK release nor Dutch LP
  3. "Man at C & A" (Dammers, Hall) – 3:36
  4. "Hey, Little Rich Girl" (Byers) – 3:35 - featuring Lee Jay Thompson
  5. "Do Nothing" (Golding) – 3:43
  6. "Pearl's Cafe" (Dammers) – 3:07
  7. "Sock It to 'Em J.B." (Dunn, Garvin, Holman) – 2:56
  8. "Stereotype/Stereotype, Pt. 2" (Dammers, Staple) – 7:24
  9. "Holiday Fortnight" (Byers) – 2:45
  10. "I Can't Stand It" (Dammers) – 4:01 - featuring Rhoda Dakar
  11. "International Jet Set" (Dammers) – 5:37
  12. "Enjoy Yourself (Reprise)" (Magidson, Sigman) – 1:46

Personnel

  • Terry Hall - vocals
  • Lynval Golding - vocals, guitar
  • Neville Staple - vocals, percussion
  • Jerry Dammers - organ, piano, keyboards, producer
  • Roddy Byers - guitar
  • Sir Horace Gentleman - bass guitar
  • John Bradbury - drums, producer of one track
  • Rico Rodriguez - trombone
  • Dick Cuthell - cornet, flugelhorn, horn
  • Lee Thompson - saxophone
  • Paul Heskett - saxophone
  • Rhoda Dakar - vocals
  • Belinda, Charlotte and Jane - background vocals
  • Dave Jordan - producer, engineer
  • Jeremy "The Blade" Allom - engineer
  • Chalkie Davies and Carol Starr - cover photos and artwork

    • Songs

    1Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)3:39
    2Rat Race3:10
    3Man at C&A3:38

    References

    More Specials Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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