| The Specials – The Specials (1979) |
It seems that in most of rock’s more notable subgenres you’re always bound to find at least one or two albums that stand out as transcendent of their genre, and are really accessible to anyone. The Specials’ 1979 debut strikes me as one of those albums considering I’m not really a fan of ska at all, but the songs on this album are just so good that it doesn’t matter at all.
I guess the reason I’ve always been fairly indifferent to ska is that it just seems to me that in general the genre is just punk with some horns and reggae thrown in, and it usually lacks punk’s intensity or grittiness. Well on The Specials, the music obviously has that prominent reggae element to it, but it has an undeniable grittiness that you rarely find in later ska revival groups. Much of it has to do with the way The Specials and producer Elvis Costello delve into a no-nonsense sound, but also the way the songs deal with the racial and political tensions of late-70’s Britain.
Still, despite the fact that the album does have elements of punk’s grittiness, there are still plenty of songs like “Nite Klub” and “Monkey Man” that are just a lot of fun, and embody the easy skankin’, pork-pie hat wearin’ imagery that comes to mind when you think of ska. I think it’s that combination of militant disaffection as well as the attention to pop songcraft that makes an album like The Specials feel so potent, even when it’s part of a genre that might seem a little too breezy and monotonous for outsiders like myself.
Hmm, seems this is the fourth week in a row we’ve done a debut album. I wonder how long we can keep that up.
Favorite Tracks: “A Message To You Rudy”, “Concrete Jungle”, “(Dawning Of A) New Era”
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