THE SPECIALS – DEBUT LP – VG+ A2/B6 UK 1979 2-TONE SKA PUNK

The Specials
(2 Tone Records  1979  TT5001)
Matrix No’s: A2/B6 – UK Pressing

Sleeve in Excellent+/Nr MINT condition
– some slight wear to edges and light crease on top left corner

Vinyl in Very Good+ condition
(there are surface marks & some nasty looking marks which do give crackles/pops but sound quality is Excellent overall – audible scratch through Dawning and Blank Expression – no skips – plays better than it looks)

The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 Tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on guitars, Horace Panter on bass, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horns. Their music combines a “danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk’s energy and attitude”. Lyrically, they present a “more focused and informed political and social stance”.

The band wore mod-style “1960s period rude boy outfits (pork pie hats, tonic and mohair suits and loafers)”. In 1980, the song “Too Much Too Young”, the lead track on their The Special AKA Live! EP, reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. In 1981, the recession-themed single “Ghost Town” also hit No. 1 in the UK.

After seven consecutive UK Top 10 singles between 1979 and 1981, main lead vocalists Hall and Staple, along with guitarist Golding, left to form Fun Boy Three. Continuing as “The Special AKA” (a name they used frequently on earlier Specials releases), a substantially revised Specials line-up issued new material through 1984, including the top 10 UK hit single “Free Nelson Mandela”. After this, founder and songwriter Jerry Dammers dissolved the band and pursued political activism.

The group reformed in 1993, and have continued to perform and record with varying line-ups, none of them involving Dammers.

The Specials is the debut album by British ska revival band The Specials.

Released in 1979 on Jerry Dammers’ 2 Tone 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 release.

Many songs on The Specials’ debut album were covers of older Jamaican 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” and “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 number one on the UK charts. “‘A Message to You, Rudy” 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 15 years previously. As a former member of the legendary Skatalites, a band that helped define the sound of ska, Rico’s appearance on the album considerably added to the album’s credentials.

A digitally remastered edition also featuring promotional videos to “Gangsters” and “Too Much Too Young” as enhanced content was released by EMI in 2002.

Also, the song “Little Bitch” is featured as a playable song on the very first release of the dance simulation game Dance Dance Revolution.

Track listing

Side one

1. “A Message to You, Rudy” (Dandy Livingstone) – 2:53
2. “Do the Dog” (Rufus Thomas, arr. by Jerry Dammers) – 2:09
3. “It’s Up to You” (Dammers, The Specials) – 3:25
4. “Nite Klub” (Dammers, The Specials) – 3:22
5. “Doesn’t Make It Alright” (Dammers, Dave Goldberg) – 3:26
6. “Concrete Jungle” (Byers) – 3:18
7. “Too Hot” (Cecil Campbell) – 3:09

Side two

1. “Monkey Man” (Toots Hibbert) – 2:45
2. “(Dawning of A) New Era” (Dammers) – 2:24
3. “Blank Expression” (Dammers, The Specials) – 2:43
4. “Stupid Marriage” (Dammers, Mark Harrison, Neville Staple) – 3:49
5. “Too Much Too Young” (Dammers, acknowledgment to Lloyd Charmers) – 6:06*
6. “Little Bitch” (Dammers)† – 2:31
7. “You’re Wondering Now” (Seymour) – 2:36

Personnel

• Terry Hall – vocals
• Neville Staple – vocals
• Lynval Golding – rhythm guitar, vocals
• Roddy Radiation – lead guitar, vocals on track six
• Jerry Dammers – keyboards
• Sir Horace Gentleman – bass guitar
• John Bradbury – drums

Guest musicians

• Chrissie Hynde – vocals
• Rico Rodriguez – trombone
• Dick Cuthell – horns