The Specials
More Specials

THE REVIEW

"More Specials", the second album by the Coventry group, released in September of 1980, surprises the unsuspecting and carefree Nutty Boys dancing on the deck. The elegant black and white graphics of the debut album are replaced by an anonymous snapshot, returned, moreover, in color. Walt Jabsco, the Rude-boy symbol of the 2-Tone movement, was inexplicably revamping his wardrobe.

And yet with their first album, the Specials had sparked general enthusiasm in the land of Albion, effectively giving birth to the "Second Wave" of Ska. The lively upbeat rhythm imported from Jamaica had been updated with the frenzy of Punk, exciting the scene considerably and encouraging scores of young people to ride the newborn musical wave. But the restless Jerry Dammers, the true ideologue of the movement, scrutinizing the horizon, sensed that the "Second Wave" was becoming a worn-out cliché, a vessel teeming with clones destined to run aground on the shoals of boredom. Hence the decision to change course and lead the group, with courage and recklessness, towards unexplored waters. Destination: the Post-Ska lands.

The sea is rough and the magnetic needle of the compass is acting up; thus, inevitably, the vessel sails without a precise course. Discontent begins to slither among the crew while Cpt. Dammers, in the midst of the sonic storm, tries to keep the mixer lever straight. The hold is loaded with the most disparate goods: electronic drums, exotic instruments, obscure Eastern European choruses, Mariachi brass, kitsch embellishments, Lounge landscapes, and who knows what else.

The navigation proceeds inconsistently, crossing the dark atmosphere of "Man At C & A", the Lounge of "Pearl's Café", the Latin American sketch of "Holiday Fortnight", the electro-claustrophobic blend of "International Jet Set", yet it glides lightly on the calm waters of the excellent Soul of "I Can't Stand It", the sparkling Ska'n'Roll of "Hey, Little Rich Girl", or the lazy Rock-Steady of "Do Nothing".

Land is finally sighted with "Stereotypes". Divided into Pt. 1 and Pt. 2, the track is a dark psychedelic seven-minute excursion with continuous variations on the theme. A drunken and wandering trumpet, certainly a stowaway, introduces Hall's unexpressive singing, then continuously swaying in the background without peace.
The track is accompanied by an unsettling sonic undertow that overflows with Cossack choruses and balalaika weavings, unraveling inconsistently revealing kitsch veins, cabaret glimpses, Latin American urges, and bolero hints.
The rhythm is tied to a persistent electronic rumba supported by the metronomic bass groove.
The crew reaches the Caribbean islands (Pt. 2), with the rumba proceeding relentlessly on its path and the sound swaying from one channel to another, while Neville Staple's toasting, first hysterical, then disappears into the waves.

The "Specials" will take to the sea again, but the intensifying friction and internal tensions will lead to the mutiny of some crew members, and shortly thereafter, the project will sink definitively.

This album is an incoherent but courageous work, a much more interesting chapter than the debut album.
Therefore, I strongly recommend listening to it.

Bon voyage.