UB40
Signing Off

But how is there not even one review of UB40 in DeB? Just a modest reference to who they were and what their curious name derived from (the code of the unemployment benefit application form used in the United Kingdom at the time, precisely what appears on this cover, and which perhaps some group member had handled and filled out.....). It's time to do justice to a band that has sold around seventy million records, meaning a few dozen more than Vasco Rossi, just to mention a very famous hero (?) within household walls.

Well, these 8 guys from Birmingham, just over twenty, towards the end of '78 decided it was time to try playing something, hopefully something easy since they weren't very experienced with instruments in general, and so they thought it wise to approach reggae, which was in vogue thanks to the global Bob. Someone pointed out to them that the white color of their skin didn't quite match the Caribbean origins of that music, but they didn't get disoriented and started playing in local pubs looking for luck. It seems the first gig was little more than a birthday party they were called to, to break the monotony, but the enthusiasm was such that they succeeded and were called elsewhere too. During 1979, they put together a dozen very enjoyable tracks, so much so that a certain Robert Lamb, attending their performances, convinced them to produce under the unknown record label NER. Thus, in the following summer, "Signing Off" was released, which means "Approved", ironically referring to the form that gives them their name.

And indeed, they were greatly approved, reaching as high as second place on the UK album sales chart and staying there for a full 78 weeks, an enormous success for a debut band made up of unknowns.

The reason for such success? Well, just listen to "Signing Off" and you'll discover it too, provided the reggae genre doesn't bore you, but if you've delved into it a little, you won't regret it.

Without wanting to spill out the characteristics of the 13 tracks of the expanded version, here are some Usage Recommendations: the first track "jumps", meaning it presents a couple of discontinuities, don't ask me why, but I can imagine it's due to the relative modesty of NER, although, in truth, the technical quality of the track's reproduction is truly remarkable. My favorite track coincidentally is the very last one: the 13th (which also brings bad luck to the Saxons) or "Reefer Madness", the only instrumental alongside the title track, with that unforgettable echo of the sax in the fade-out that gives flavor to the whole piece. In the same "Signing Off", Brian Travers' contribution on the sax is still remarkable, which "interrupts the monotony of the reggae rhythm."

This should not diminish the qualities of Ali Campbell, the "white Marley" of the situation, who instead does a very good job making the music overall very Jamaican-British, excellent percussion although not complex in execution.

In short, for being unknown, UB40 had plenty of talent to sell, and indeed they reaffirmed themselves with their subsequent works.

The album cannot deserve 5 stars because only Marley can boast that when it comes to reggae, but as a debut album and for its intrinsic qualities, 4 stars are well deserved and even insufficient.