More Specials
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More Specials is an October 1980 (see 1980 in music) album from the ska band The Specials. The album was the band's second, after their self-titled debut, and expanded the group's 2 tone sound to include lounge music and other influences. It includes collaborations with The Go-Go's, Rhoda Dakar from The Bodysnatchers and Lee Jay Thompson from Madness. The lyrics, like the previous album, were often intensely political.
On the charts, the album hit the Top Five in the UK, where "Rat Race", "Stereotype" and "Do Nothing" hit the Top Ten. "Rat Race" hit #89 on Billboard Music Chart's (US) Club Play Singles chart, while the album as a whole hit #98 on Billboards Pop Albums chart.
More Specials was a hit in the two-tone movement, a late-1970s revival of Jamaican ska from the 1960s. Along with bands like the Bodysnatchers and Madness, The Specials would go on to be a leader in this revival, and later heroes for two further ska-punk revivals on the opposite side of the Atlantic: the late 1980s Southern California scene (NOFX, Operation Ivy) and the mid-1990s "third wave of ska" (Sublime, No Doubt) which popularised the mixture in the US.
The Track 'Hey, Little Rich Girl' has been covered by Amy Winehouse
Track listing
- "Enjoy Yourself" (Herb Magidson, Carl Sigman) – 3:39
- "Rat Race" (Byers) – 3:07 - NB: not included on UK release
- "Man at C & A" (Dammers, Hall) – 3:36
- "Hey, Little Rich Girl" (Byers) – 3:35 - featuring Lee Jay Thompson
- "Do Nothing" (Golding) – 3:43
- "Pearl's Cafe" (Dammers) – 3:07
- "Sock It to 'Em J.B." (Dunn, Garvin, Holman) – 2:56
- "Stereotype/Stereotypes, Pt. 2" (Dammers, Staple) – 7:24
- "Holiday Fortnight" (Byers) – 2:45
- "I Can't Stand It" (Dammers) – 4:01 - featuring Rhoda Dakar
- "International Jet Set" (Dammers) – 5:37
- "Enjoy Yourself (Reprise)" (Magidson, Sigman) – 1:46
Early copies included a free 7" single:
- "Braggin' & Tryin' Not To Lie" by Roddy Radiation and The Specials
- "Rude Boys Outa Jail (version)" featuring Neville Staple AKA Judge Roughneck
(The track listing is from the CD release. This album was originally released on vinyl LP and cassette.)
Personnel
- Terry Hall - vocals
- Lynval Golding - vocals, guitar
- Neville Staple - vocals, percussion
- Jerry Dammers - organ, piano, keyboards, producer
- Roddy Radiation - guitar
- Sir Horace Gentleman - bass guitar
- John Bradbury - drums
- Rico Rodriguez - trombone
- Dick Cuthell - cornet, flugelhorn, horn
- Lee Jay Thompson - saxophone
- Paul Heskett - saxophone
- Rhoda Dakar - vocals
- The Go-Go's - background vocals
- Dave Jordan - producer