So why is The Specials on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
The Specials’ self-titled debut isThe Specials’ self-titled debut is far and away my favorite album of the second wave or two-tone ska era (more on this below).
It’s a perfect ska record, classic and iconic from end to end.
“A Message to You, Rudy,” the best-known Specials song of all, put me on the path to becoming a lifelong lover of ska as a young lad.
What’s rather interesting is that it’s one of the mellowest songs on what’s mostly a hyper-charged, upbeat, and rather raucous affair (though don’t confuse The Specials’ brand of ska with the horde of third wave and ska punk bands that would emerge by the late 1980s and early ‘90s.
There’s a bouncy groove and ultra-catchy quality to “A Message to You, Rudy” (a Dandy Livingstone cover) that’s quintessential to a great song. And I’m smiling a bit as I write those words as for decades my wife has admonished me for “bouncing” too much when I dance (increasingly rare these days!), borne from my era of attending ska, punk, and alt rock shows during my far-gone youth days.
On an album level, it’s remarkable how well The Specials hangs and meshes together from end to end.
Dig the spooky, mysterious ska groove of “Gangsters” to kick things off.
On many days, “Too Much Too Young” is my favorite Specials song of them all. And true to form for the band, it poses cheerful, bouncing, upbeat and ecstatically catchy music – produced by the legendary Elvis Costello(!) – with a more serious sentiment.
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!
I also unreservedly adore The Specials when they’re in wildly upbeat and near frantic mode. “Little Bitch” and “Concrete Jungle” exemplify this mode best.
And tracks like “Nite Klub” and “Doesn’t Make It Alright” make it clear to me why The Specials were influential on future of generations of ska and punk bands ranging from The Toasters to Rancid to The Mighty Mighty BossTones.
I should importantly note too that both the multiracial composition of The Specials and the band’s messaging in songs like “Doesn’t Make It Alright” are important statements about the power of music to help unite people.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with The Specials, Part I
From Wikipedia:
Two-tone, or 2 tone, also known as ska-rock and ska revival, is a genre of British popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s that fused traditional Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae music with elements of punk rock and new wave music. Its name derives from 2 Tone Records, a record label founded in 1979 by Jerry Dammers of the Specials, and references a desire to transcend and defuse racial tensions in Thatcher-era Britain: many two-tone groups, such as the Specials, the Selecter and the Beat, featured a mix of black, white, and multiracial people.
Other second wave ska albums that you’ll find on the best 1,000 albums ever include:
- The Selecter – Too Much Pressure (#303)
- Madness – Absolutely (#358)
- Madness – One Step Beyond (#957)
You could argue that The English Beat (see: I Just Can’t Stop It, #280) is second-wave ska, though of course they incorporate all kinds of different musical influences. Most importantly, they’re great, so that’s what matters most.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with The Specials, Part II
In case you’ve ever wanted to know what exactly a “rude boy” is (via OxfordLanguages): “a lawless urban youth who likes ska or reggae music.”
Some stats & info about The Specials
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Ska, New Wave, Ska Revival, Rock Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was The Specials released? 1979
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #82 out of 1,000
The Specials on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from The Specials that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Stop your fooling around, time you straighten right out. Better think of your future, else you’ll wind up in jail.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.