THE SPECIALS @ 45

Released on October 19th, 1979, the debut eponymous LP from The Specials is turning 45 years old today. If you were to only have one UK ska album in your collection, it might as well be this one because it’s simply so concise and thorough that it captures every important aspect of the genre and movement, at least as far as it manifested in its revived form at the end of the 1970s.

Following in the wake of punk, the UK SKA scene took the anger and social outrage of punk and channelled it into a racially diverse commentary on cultural fusion. The “2 Tone” ideology of black and white working together, in balance and unity, was a forward thinking approach that seems so sadly distant in the post “Brexit” era of UK bigotry and anti-immigration furor. Though there were many vital artists who also came out of this scene, the Specials remain the most memorable and this album captures all the best of their essence across 14 compact and infectious songs.

The Specials came together starting in 1977, with Jerry Dammers as the principal instigator and architect of the band's sound. Initially billed as "Specials AKA", their first brush with success was independently releasing the split single, Gangsters b/w The Selector by the group, The Selector. The success of the single attracted the attention of the majors, and Dammers negotiated a deal with Chrysalis Records to set up 2-Tone as an independent sub-label, leveraging the financial input of the major label while retaining the freedom of 2-Tone to release records by unsigned bands, without requiring them to commit to any obligations to the parent label.

The band had also been making a name for themselves by joining The Clash on tour around the UK. The two bands were very simpatico in terms of their political and social stances, so it was a natural fit and helped to bring the band to national prominence. With their first singles then charting, a full length album was in order, and the group secured Elvis Costello as producer for the sessions. Recording was focused on mostly attempting to recreate the band's live set on LP, incorporating their mix of original songs with updated versions of classic Rock Steady and Ska tunes from the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Surprisingly, when the album was released, while it was a hit in terms of sales, critics at the time were divided on its success. Most of the criticisms that the album received were from people who were intimately familiar with the band's live sound, and they felt that Costello had dampened and muted the group's energy compared to what they delivered on stage. That may well be true, but for those not biased by such preconceptions, the album is considered a flawless masterpiece, encapsulating the spirit and essence of the times with a selection of songs that are unfailing when it comes to delivering the goods. It's an album that has retained every ounce of its power to engage, enrage and inspire, as sharply observant of the times while still completely relevant to the modern worlds. None of the issues it tackles have been really resolved in the decades since its release, so its critiques remain as valid today as they were 45 years ago. Plus you can dance to it!
 

FUN BOY THREE - WAITING @ 40

 

Marking it’s 40th anniversary this month is the second and final album from Fun Boy Three, Waiting, which was released in February of 1983. Produced by Talking Heads main man, David Byrne, The album upped the ante in terms of production values and song writing sophistication while sharpening the group’s ability to make pointed sociopolitical commentary within the context of accessible pop music.

The first FB3 album, which is still my personal favorite, was nonetheless something of a rushed affair and the group didn’t have the luxury of fully developing their ideas. Despite this, they still created an album loaded with innovative and challenging music, all the while keeping the proceedings “fun” and playful and tuneful enough to make a mark on the singles charts. But their second album gave them a chance to catch their breath and indulge in a more evolved and advanced state of song-craft. Whereas their debut focused on tribal African inspired percussion, the focus for this album seemed to move back to the UK and delve into an almost “music hall” retro feel reminiscent of 1930s pop music. The instrumentation on the album was also expanded to include a broader palette of sounds, from strings to horns to keyboards. The sparseness of the debut was replaced by a more layered sound, though never so dense as to lose the cleanliness of the mix. Lyrically, songs like The More I See drive home the disillusionment hiding behind the happy melodies, though on the other hand, Our Lips Are Sealed brings things back to something less confrontational, becoming a major hit for the group. In an interview with Terry Hall, he commented on how, when he first met David Byrne, the two literally just stared at each other in silence for ages, sizing each other up, but once the ice was broken, the collaboration turned out to be perfect for the album.

With the recent, untimely passing of Terry Hall, the beauty of this album has become far more poignant. I must confess that it took me a long, long time to finally appreciate this record. I LOVED the experimentation and spontaneity of the debut, so when this was released, if felt too “conventional” for me and too mainstream. As I’ve reevaluated it in recent years, I’ve come to appreciate its more subtle qualities. It conceals its teeth behind its sealed lips, but it’ll take a bite out of you when you least expect it.

THE FUN BOY THREE - FB3 @ 40

 

Released in March of 1982, the eponymous debut LP by Fun Boy Three is celebrating 40 years on the shelves this month.

After splitting from The Specials, Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding decided to step out of the ska framework and move into a more Afro-centric vibe with a heavy emphasis on percussion on their debut as Fun Boy Three. With the trio working predominantly on their own with only guest background vocalists on some songs and Dick Cuthell doing some horn work, the album took on a singularly esoteric sound that combined electronic drum machines with acoustic percussion, guitars, piano and ambitious vocal arrangements. Production on the album was somewhat rushed, however, which drove the group to work spontaneously, writing songs and working out arrangements in a manner that created a distinctive looseness. It’s a situation which Terry Hall bemoaned in later years, dismissing the album as being underdeveloped, but this free-form, by-the-seat-of-their-pants methodology resulted in an album that feels fresh and innovative. In fact, I find it’s held up incredibly well over the years and, in some respects, remains a peerless pop record. There was nothing that sounded quite like it back then and nothing has sounded like it since.

Aside from the vibrancy of the atmosphere created by the album, it manages to hit hard in terms of social consciousness, particularly with its lead single, The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum. Its a song which has continually increased in relevance as we’ve seen the world spiral down a rabbit hole of social insanity and political corruption. It really should be considered THE anthem of the 21st century. On a lighter note, the album also introduced the world Bananarama, the all girl vocal trio who’d go on to massive success on their own following their appearance on the joint FB3 follow up single from the LP, T'Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It).

The album enjoyed considerable commercial success and the group would go on to expand their lineup for their second album, allowing them to become a full live performing act rather than only a studio creation. Their second album and a few other singles continued the group’s popularity, though with a more conventional pop song structure, but they’d disband after that and Hall would move on to other projects like The Colour Field before moving on to a full solo career. For me, their debut remains one of my all-time favorite records from its era and still finds itself getting into my music rotation on a regular basis. I’d neglected it for a while in the 1990s and early 2000s, but since rediscovering it, I never leave it for too long without a listen.

INFLUENTIAL ALBUM - THE FUN BOY THREE

In 1982, The Specials fractured and the front loaded trio from the group, Lynval Golding, Neville Staple & Terry Hall, broke off to form the short lived, but highly influential Fun Boy Three.  Hall has been pretty dismissive of the group's first LP release, but I've always found it to be a grossly underrated and daringly innovative hybrid of pop song craft with African rhythmic sophistication.  Though the album was somewhat of a rush job, I think the spontaneity that was captured in the performances is more valuable than if they'd had the time to premeditate their assault more carefully.

The album is a masterclass in the mixing of extremes both in style and content.  Not only does it manage to bridge a wide variety of musical genres, but also techniques, bringing together electronics and acoustics in innovative and surprising ways.  It does the same with the themes within the songs going from the sheer playful joy of something like T'Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It), which famously brought the world the delight which was Bananarama, right down to the dour resignation of The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum.   That latter song, surely, must be considered the top candidate for the theme song for western civilization for the past 40 years.  Its timeless message of madness in the realms of power has only become more and more relevant with every year that's  passed since its release. 

FB3 only put out one other album before Hall moved on to new pastures, an album which is more finely crafted in its songwriting, but slightly lacking in the exuberantly spontaneous joy and innovation of this debut.  Both, however have stood well the test of time with this album defying the aging process nearly completely as it retains its freshness even after 4 decades since its release.