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Rating: It is almost a mystery, the irresistible attraction that led in the late '70s in England for two seemingly opposite genres like punk and ska-reggae music to intersect and unite viscerally. Certainly, the intense cultural-musical period influenced it, shaken by a youthful rebellion that, although iconoclastic to the past, wanted to open everything to everyone and, in our case, desired to make the idea of "rock life" possible for anyone, regardless of race, social class, or bank account. In this Labour England, stirred by new freedoms, small local realities with unsuspected fermentations could find space, embracing the punk ethos understood more as the chance to "make music," to escape often bleak destinies with the help of few means and some good ideas.
In these suburbs, when unemployed, skin color doesn't matter anymore, and new generations begin to grow together, exchanging qualities, loves, records. And if someone had a mother obsessed with the Beatles, others had grandparents who emigrated from former Caribbean colonies, and maybe they heard at home some old vinyl of the Skatalites and Prince Buster. It was no coincidence that the broad reggae of giants like Bob Marley or Peter Tosh, prophets with great universal social messages and promoters of a much more technical and refined genre, did not take root much in Her Majesty's musical world. Or rather, it was celebrated and unanimously esteemed, but as an alien phenomenon, almost touristic, while at home there was an attempt to recover a much simpler, rawer, almost primitive sound.
Moreover, ska-reggae was relatively as easy to play as punk, and this discovery attracted emerging kids who began playing the first songs in the poorest neighborhoods. This bizarre and colorful overseas music began to be identified as "the punk vein" of Afro-American music. Social themes typical of the white movement of the time were naturally glued to it; however, these were not problems viewed from a detached point of view like those of Jimmy Cliff or the Wailers, these were the daily issues of common English kids wandering through the small suburbs of Sheffield or Manchester searching for a job or a woman.
The tones were less angry than usual protests, yet more powerful in their innocent evidence; while the music urged everyone to dance, in the most unrestrained and animalistic way (at first it's more of a wriggling than anything else), the musicians became (and often they really were) the friends who lived two blocks behind your house, who for an evening were on a stage talking to you about themselves, about you, about their "new" music.
The ska-revival was undoubtedly inaugurated by the Specials and their mastermind, keyboardist/composer Jerry Dammers, the real Johnny Rotten of the genre. The Coventry group, stabilized in 1977 in a fantastic formation of seven (five whites and two blacks including Dammers), made their debut as the opening act of the Clash (who instead were moving, along with the ever-newborn Police, towards an original punk-reggae). It was an explosive start, where they introduced a new formula made of proletarian stories and vibrant dancehall: with the first single “Gangsters” came the first offers from majors, but Dammers preferred to found an independent record label himself, to freely develop his group and the many epigones (including Madness, Selecter, English Beat, etc.) already emerging. Thus was born the Two-Tone, “two tones”, that is, the black and white that characterized the band's look (the black suits with tie, glasses, and retro hat will become the ska uniform) and the "checkerboard" graphics of their work, symbol of the unconditional union of white and black musicians. And the Specials, with their first eponymous seminal album (produced in 1979 by a long nose like Elvis Costello), managed to talk about racism with such persuasive candor and charm that it didn't allow replicas.
In forty-five minutes, they give us just a taste of their live power, made of exciting and seemingly improvised performances given their spontaneity. With the fantastic vocalist Terry Hall, often accompanied by duets and passages with guitarist Lynval Golding and percussionist Neville Stamples, the most diverse themes are tackled, but always with typical English irony and the vivid realism of those who live or see those facts every day. From the bitter and disappointing nights when everything seems lousy from beer to the girls of “Nite Klub”, from the urban violence of “Concrete Jungle” to the pro-contraceptive anthem of “Too Much Too Young” and the hilarious two-voice marital trial of “Stupid Marriage”. The band's approach is often aggressive and raw, pungent without many words, as in the indictment against racism “It Doesn’t Make It Alright”: like other songs, it attracted controversy on the group, accustomed from the early appearances to criticism from the reviewers, for their indomitable and explicit desire to say at any cost what they thought was wrong with society. But astutely, the Specials soften their harsh and disenchanted tones with three splendid covers that bring a bit of Caribbean sun into the greyness of a collapsed and disoriented island. Therefore, the opening of the legendary “A Message To Rudy” by Dandy Livingstone immediately puts us on the right path, a serene and genuine atmosphere with which to follow the rest of the album; similarly, the subsequent “Too Hot” by Prince Buster, followed closely by the summery “Monkey Man” by the legendary Toots & The Maytals, serves as an indispensable restorative interval after the uncontainable energy of the original episodes. Even though the Specials slowly faded after an excellent and interesting follow-up (“More Specials”, 1980), the legacy of that unforgettable period, of these sweet and dreamy melodies, of these strange musician-friends-brothers, of that magical chemistry between audience and improper but beautiful rockstars, has never left us. And we continue to dance to these same notes, reflecting and smiling with the desire to let the Specials of then know that reality hasn't changed at all, and we still need little heroes like them.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Gangsters (02:48)
Why must you record my phone calls?
Are you planning a bootleg L.P?
Said you've been threatened by gangsters
Now it's you that’s threatening me.
Can't fight corruption with con tricks
They use the law to commit crime?
I dread, dread to think what the future will bring
When we’re living in gangster times.
Don't call me Scarface!
Don't interrupt while I'm talking
Or they'll confiscate all your guitars.
A catch - 22 says if I sing the truth
They won't make me an overnight star.
Don't offer us legal protection
They use the law to commit crime.
I dread to think what the future will bring
When we're living in real gangster times.
03 Nite Klub (03:12)
Is this the in place to be?
What am I doing here?
Watching the girls go by
Spending money on...
Sleep all day
It's the only way
I'm a parasite
I creep about at night.
Night club, is this the in place to be?
Night club, what am I doing here?
Night club, watching the girls go by
Spending money on...
Hey, hey, I don't work
'Cause I don't have to
I don't have to work
There's no, no work to do
Night club, I'm a member of the night club
Night club, A fully paid up member of the night club
I won't dance in a club like this
'Cause all the girls are sluts
And the beer tastes just like piss
I'm a (Night club) parasite
I creep (Night club) about at night.
I'm a member of the night club
A fully paid up member of the night club
Night club, is this the in place to be?
Night club, what am I doing here?
Night club, watching the girls go by
Spending money on beer.
04 Too Much Too Young (02:05)
You've done too much,
Much too young
Now you're married with a kid
When you could be having fun with me
Oh no, no gimme no more pickni
You've done too much,
Much too young
Now you're married with a son
When you should be having fun with me
We don't want, we don't want
We don't want no more pickni
Ain't he cute?
No he ain't
He's just another burden
On the welfare state
You've done too much,
Much too young
Now you're married with a kid
When you could be having fun with me
No gimme, no gimme,
No gimme no more pickni
Call me immature
Call me a poser
I'd love to spread manure in your bed of roses
Don't want to be rich
Don't want to be famous
But I'd really hate to have the same name as you
(You silly moo)
You've done too much,
Much too young
Now you're married with a kid
When you could be having fun with me
Gi we de birth control, we no want no pickni
You've done too much,
Much too young
Now you're chained to the cooker
Making currant buns for tea
Oh no, no gimme no more pickni
Ain't you heard of the starving millions
Ain't you heard of contraception
Do you really a program of sterilization
Take control of the population boom
It's in your living room
Keep a generation gap
Try wearing a cap!
06 Rat Race (03:09)
You're working at your leisure to learn the things you'll need
The promises you make tomorrow will carry no guarantee
I've seen your qualifications, you've got a Ph.D.
I've got one art O level, it did nothing for me.
Working for the rat race
You know you're wasting your time
Working for the rat race
You're no friend of mine
You plan your conversation to impress the college bar
Just talking about your mother and daddy's Jaguar
Wear your political t-shirt and sacred college scarf
Discussing the world's situation but just for a laugh
You'll be working for the rat race
You know you're wasting your time
Working for the rat race
You're no friend of mine
Working for the rat race
You know you're wasting your time
Working for the rat race
You're no friend of mine
Just working at your leisure to learn the things you won't need
The promises you make tomorrow will carry no guarantee
I've seen your qualifications, you've got a Ph.D.
I've got an art O level, it did nothing for me.
Working for the rat race
You know you're wasting your time
Working for the rat race
You're no friend of mine
07 Stereotype (03:49)
He's just a stereotype
He drinks his age in pints
He has girls every night
But he doesn't really exist
He spends his weekends with a load of blokes
He forgets the punchline when he tells a joke
He wants to stay out, he don't want to go home
'Til his nicotine fingers are stuffed down his throat
He's just a stereotype
He drinks his age in pints
He drives home pissed at night
And he listens to his stereo
He blamed his fiancée when he caught VD
The doctor said no drink for seventeen weeks
He wants to go out but he has to stay home
Sit in and watch colour TV on his own
He's just a stereotype
He drinks his age in pints
He drives home pissed at night
And he listens to his stereo
The tablets are finished, the cure is complete
He hasn't had a drink now for seventeen weeks
Seventeen pints, tonight is the night
It goes straight to his head, he ends up in a fight
Police chase him home through the dark rainy night
Fluorescent jam sandwich with flashing blue light
His mums waiting up, she hopes he's alright
But he's wrapped round a lamp post on Saturday night
He's just a stereotype
He drinks his age in pints
He has girls every night
He doesn't really exist
08 International Jet Set (04:12)
Good evening ladies and gentlemen
This is your captain speaking
Welcome aboard DC-10 flight number 1313
We will be cruising at a height of 25,000 feet at an air speed of 600 miles per hour
Headphones will be provided by request for a varied program of in flight music
Have a good flight
Safety belts and sickness bags, jet lag downer pills
duty free booze and fags make me feel ill
A vapour trail from A to B, away from normal sanity
It all seems so absurd to me
I've seen the carpets on the walls of hotels rooms around the world
I never want to hear the screams of the teenage girls in other peoples dreams
Spread the disease, from the south China sea
To the beach hotel Malibu
Phone my girlfriend to ask her "How's her weekend?"
I say "Hi, Terry here", and she says "Terry who, the hell are you?"
The businessmen are having fun are they on a different plane to me
I've lost touch with reality, they all seem so absurd to me
Like well dressed chimpanzees
Spend and spend and spend and spend
Will the muzak never end?
Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking
Due to expected engine failures we will be forced to attempt an emergency landing
Please remain seated, extinguish all cigarettes, and fasten safety belts
Follow the emergency procedures laid out in the pamphlet located in front of your seats
For normal breathing, oxygen masks will be released from the compartment above your head
Please remain calm and follow the instructions of your stewardess at all times
This is a recording...
10 Ghost Town (05:58)
This town, is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs have been closed down
This place, is coming like a ghost town
Bands won't play no more
too much fighting on the dance floor
Do you remember the good old days
Before the ghost town?
We danced and sang,
And the music played inna de boomtown
This town, is coming like a ghost town
Why must the youth fight against themselves?
Government leaving the youth on the shelf
This place, is coming like a ghost town
No job to be found in this country
Can't go on no more
The people getting angry
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
11 Why? (03:55)
Why did you try to hurt me?
I got to know
Did you really want to kill me
Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
Why do we have to fight?
Why must we fight?
I have to defend myself
From attack last night
I know I am black
You know you are white
I'm proud of my black skin
And you are proud of your white, so
Why did you try to hurt me?
Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
Did you really want to kill me
Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
We don't need no British Movement
Nor the Ku Klux Klan
Nor the National Front
It makes me an angry man
I just want to live in peace
Why can't you be the same?
Why should I live in fear?
This fussing and fighting's insane
With a Nazi salute and a steel capped boot
A Nazi salute and a steel capped boot
You follow like sheep inna wolf clothes
You follow like sheep inna wolf clothes
We chase you out the dance hall, we chase you through the door
We chase you out the dance hall, we chase you through the door
Cos' we can't take no more of this at all
Cos' we can't take no more of this at all
With a Nazi salute and a steel capped boot
Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
You follow like sheep inna wolf clothes
Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
You're too scared to make a speech during the light
Without a thousand police protecting your rights
To threaten and abuse, incite or fight
But who will protect me from you in the night?
Why did you try to hurt me?
Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
Did you really want to kill me
Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
With a Nazi salute and a steel capped boot
Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
You follow like sheep inna wolf clothes
Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
13 War Crimes (04:00)
Bombs to settle arguments, the order of the boot
Can you hear them crying in the rubble of Beirut?
I can still see people dying, now who takes the blame?
the numbers are different, the crime is still the same
From the graves of Belsen where the innocent were burned
To the genocide in Beirut, Israel was nothing learned?
I can still hear people crying, now who takes the blame?
The numbers are different, the crime is still the same
Bombs to settle arguments, the order of the boot
From the graves of Belsen, to the ruins of Beirut
I can still see people dying, now who takes the blame?
The numbers are different, the crime is still the same
14 Racist Friend (03:46)
If you have a racist friend
Now is the time, now is the time for your friendship to end
Be it your sister
Be it your brother
Be it your cousin or your, uncle or your lover
If you have a racist friend
now is the time, now is the time for your friendship to end
Be it your best friend
Or any other
Is it your husband or your father or your mother?
Tell them to change their views
Or change their friends
Now is the time, now is the time, for your friendship to end
So if you know a racist who thinks he is your friend
Now is the time, now is the time for your friendship to end
Call yourself my friend?
Now is the time to make up your mind, don't try to pretend
Be it your sister
Be it your brother
Be it your cousin or your uncle or your lover
So if you are a racist
Our friendship has got to end
And if your friends are racists don't pretend to be my friend
So if you have a racist friend
Now is the time, now is the time for our friendship to end
16 (What I Like Most About You Is Your) Girlfriend (04:03)
Hello and how are you and how do you do?
And who is that girl standing right next to you?
And what is her name and what does she do?
I'm looking at her while I'm talking to you
Her love must be sweeter than candy
Must be stronger than brandy
Why does she like you not me?
Can I buy you a drink?
You seem a decent chap
I'm friendly to your face but behind your back
What I like most about you is your girlfriend, it's true
Her love must be sweeter than candy
Must be stronger than brandy
Why does she like you not me?
I agree with what you say, I think that it's true
Your girlfriend has only got one fault, that's you
What I like most about you is your girlfriend, it's true
When will we meet again and where will it be?
Why don't you both come over to my house for tea?
I'd rather she came round on her own, yes it's true
Your girlfriend is what I like most about you
What I like most about you is your girlfriend, it's true
What I like most about you is your girlfriend, it's true
What I like most about you is your girlfriend, it's true
What I like most about you is your girlfriend, it's true
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