c or d: the specials

As is Terry camping it up on Enjoy Yourself. Special AKA aren't as bad as people make out. And Fun Boy Three. errr...

I have to admit that any band sounding like The Specials today better all have good day jobs. The Coral, maybe? Have heard Tricky and The Streets compared to them, in spirit at least, but this never quite works for me.

And it honestly doesn't sound dated to me - still very fresh.

Haven't got round to getting the More Specials reissue yet, but I certainly will. And I've just got a sudden urge to track down the 'Dance Craze' 2-tone live album.

But the first album is the most direct. Great stuff.

Nonetheless, C to be sure.

"More Specials" : some great songs here, but pales in comparison to the first.

There's also a Receiver records live boot called "Too Much Too Young" which has a pretty decent live set from the early days. I also have a Peel Sessions 12" from this era, which is great.

Also "The Singles Collection", if for anything "Ghost Town".

Otherwise, tread warily.

i totally hear this & I think it was that for a lot of people

what do you thing it was that made it so perfect that way? i'm having a hard time figuring out why. it was agreat record to come home from school and play superloud circa aged pissedoff 14 - 15, much more so than like the sex pistols or alice cooper or something supposedly tailor-made for that

There are so many facets to that first album, and how it helped me, that it would take too much space to type here. But I didn't discover the record until my mid 20's, right when I was finally coming to grips with my social ineptitude...

Sex Pistols and Alice Cooper records are like your rock n' roll party friends. They're great to hang out with whenever you want to shoot the shit, tell drunken rants, have good times, go out and fuckshitup, etc. That first Specials record is like your bitter, witty best friend that you can count on whenever you are in a well on loneliness, and when you need someone to give you a boost of confidence.

well said

you pretend they;'e singing "he's freeee, freeee is Nelson Mandela!" of course

Dud. Who's surprised?

amazing mix of ska / reggae / punk / electronica ... recently I put International Jetset onto a mixCD between Goodiepal and some electroclash. It went really well.

I'm really late to the whole 2-tone thing, (although I was blown away by Ghosttown when it came out) but catching bits here and there (like Orbital putting the Selector on their "Back to Mine") makes me realize how important and fresh this movement was.

The Tricky and Streets connection seems totally OTM to me. All coming out of the contemporary dance genre. But putting their own smart, emotional, cynical twist on things that takes it out of genre and makes it something individual.

No, not really. But I am curious to hear them now.

POO POO POO BEING THROWN AT YOU, ANTHONY.

Seriously though, my main point of contention with the Clash has nothing to do with their actual output. They've written a lot of great songs, but it took them several double-albums plus to get something worth that first Specials record (IMHO). There's a lot of great songs on "Sandinista" for instance. But it took them a triple-LP to get that many out. In brief, the Clash has a much poorer hit/miss ratio.

Also, there's this whole lingering distraction with the Clash involving them somehow being responsible for punk or something, which gets a little grating.

..yeah, so the specials are too blame for the bosstones, hand drawn black and white checkered stuff, plaid pants, but not skanks

I can't even begin to name how many awful bands the Clash inspired. But come on, what's the point of this type of argument?

And before anybody chastises me for using the word wack, please remember that I'm Brian Austin Green.

so amazingly classic. i cant wait to see them in may.

always thought the album version of do nothing wasnt as good as the single one though.

POO POO POO BEING THROWN AT YOU, ANTHONY

haha i hope i'm slightly older, mentally, than a schoolkid in 2009

Anyway, the 2001 remasters of the first three Specials CDs has (over?-)corrected a lot of the production issues of the original CD issues -- minus the unlisted bonus single tracks. (The Specials now lacks "Gangsters", More Specials now lacks "Rat Race", etc.) The original LPs, UK and US, still sound ace. The new CDs sound really nice.. almost too nice. :-/

Also, that 3-CD odds, ends, rarity comp is really really great.

Anyway, the 2001 remasters of the first three Specials CDs has (over?-)corrected a lot of the production issues of the original CD issues -- minus the unlisted bonus single tracks. (The Specials now lacks "Gangsters", More Specials now lacks "Rat Race", etc.) The original LPs, UK and US, still sound ace. The new CDs sound really nice.. almost too nice. :-/

But for novices, it's worth noting that the 2001 remasters simply restore the albums to their original UK release tracklistings, and the "missing" tracks - including alternate single versions of "Do Nothing" (etc) are all on the triple CD, which pretty much collects all the non-LP specials tracks from beginning to end with only a couple of tracks in the same versions as their album counterparts.

Recession, unemployment - now is surely the time for a major revival of this group

i heard Free Nelson Mandela on the radio just this morning. (why? i hate that song. luckily it was the bbc's iplayer and i could hit ffwd)

Nice. I've been listening to a bunch of second-wave ska stuff this morning, and christ the sound on the specials records is SOOOOOO bad. almost unlistenably so. i mean, yes, i like Madness and The Beat more, but not that much more. Glad to see I just need to make sure I have the 2001 remasters.

they are down as being on Jools Holland this tuesday(?) and (longer repeat) friday

cool. i have a ticket for them in may but am wondering if i should sell it on ebay or not. spent 40 quid on it. i miss the days when concert tickets were cheaper.

my son was singing along to "Doesn't Make it Alright" tonight, felt a kind of glow

"(What I like most about you is your) Girlfriend" has been stuck in my head for weeks. Perfect blend of menacing and ridiculous, and the video's great too.

one of the upcoming glastonbury broadcasts on BBCx is listed as 'The Specials'...

BBC4 Fri 26 Jun 2009 21:00
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lc8ms

oh, that was good. a field full of people dancing to Rudy in the sun.

it wasnt bad. those songs are all still so good but it seemed like they were just kinda going through the motions. not really doing anything with the songs - just getting them out one after the other.