12" vinyl single Special Request 1980 (2022 reissue)
(Review by Steve Shafer)
Remastered and reissued for the first time since 1980, the John Collins-produced/co-written 12" single featuring Victor Romero Evans' "At the Club" and The Detonators' "Lift Off" should be of interest to Specials' fans, as it's forever linked to their most brilliant release--the Ghost Town EP.
Back in the day, after the Evans/Detonators record was played on Radio One's "Roundtable" program and favorably reviewed (it also was #1 on Black Echoes' reggae chart at the time), Collins received a late-night call from Jerry Dammers asking him if he might be interested in producing The Specials' next recording. The band was very impressed with Collins' production (recorded on a four-track in the front room of his house and released on his own label) and, in the wake of More Specials' not completely welcome excursion into muzak/lounge and the hi-tech 24-track studio it had been recorded in (that offered Dammers too many choices!), The Specials wanted to capture a more authentic reggae sound for these new songs in a much simpler fashion. And they believed Collins was their man.
When The Specials' met John Collins, they didn't expect him to be white. Lynval Golding and Neville Staple told him, "We were expecting someone like Lee Perry; a wild rasta smoking ganja." Indeed, the seductive Lovers Rock of "At the Club" and mysterious outer space dub of "Lift Off" seem as if they could have come from the mixing desks of Dennis Bovell or Mad Professor, two of the top UK reggae producers back then--and now. (Trainspotters will be interested to know that Victor Romero Evans also played the part of Lover in Franco Rosso’s stellar 1980 film Babylon--an updated Thatcher-era The Harder They Come shot in South London, with a boss reggae soundtrack by Bovell, Yabby U, I-Roy, Cassandra, Aswad, Vin Gordon, and Michael Rose.)
Of these two tracks, the wonderful dub instrumental "Lift Off" is clearly the sonic blueprint for what Dammers wanted for "Ghost Town." It sports a clean, warm, roots reggae sound with electro percussion and trippy synth effects (shades of every B 1950s sci-fi film you've ever seen)--and features the same ghost synth that is later used to open and close "Ghost Town." (To these ears, John Bradbury's drumming on "Ghost Town" and "Friday Night, Saturday Morning" sounds like its programmed, even though it's not; but I think it's a combination of how Brad is drumming--reportedly influenced by Gregory Isaacs' "Night Nurse"--and how Collins recorded him.)
Specials' completists will want to snap up a copy of this (I ordered a copy through Juno.co.uk), but the Victor Romero Evans "At the Club"/Detonators "Lift Off" 12" is worth having in its own right. It's a fantastic slice of early '80s UK reggae that stands the test of time.
The Specials' new album Protest Songs 1924-2012 (CD/LP, Island Records, 2021)--their follow-up to 2019's excellent Encore (read my review here)--is a strange beast. It manages to be both a powerful and beautifully realized concept album and a huge sod off to their fans. Anyone who has faithfully supported The Specials through its various incarnations and diminishing ranks of original members, lo these 40+ years, is not unreasonably expecting some ska. But Protest Songs adamantly delivers none, though there's folk, blues, spirituals, soul, skiffle, rock, and post punk (having said that, I did catch a bit of ska rhythm guitar in "Listening Wind!"). What's odd is that as you listen through the tracks, it's quite easy to imagine at least some of them recast as ska or reggae songs. So, for whatever reason, the band--Terry Hall, Lynval Golding, and Horace Panter (plus Nikolaj Torp Larsen, Kendrick Rowe, Steve Cradock, Tim Smart, Pablo Mendelssohn, Jim Hunt, Michael "Bammie" Rose, Tony "Groco" Uter, and Hanna Hu)--opted to go in this direction, surely well-aware that it would dash fans' expectations and piss many of them off mightily.
Before the pandemic disrupted everything, The Specials had been planning to record a reggae album in Jamaica--and then the world-wide George Floyd protests erupted in the wake of Floyd's horrific murder at the hands of the police. So, they decided to record a covers album of protest songs in response (and one imagines that the resurgence of white supremacy and worsening cold civil war between Americans and seditious, anti-democratic forces in the US played a part, too), the majority of them by American musicians, as an interim project and to force them out of a post-Covid lockdown creative rut.
Once you set aside your disappointment regarding the absence of ska sounds (though the fact that these are protest songs is very much on brand), you may find that The Specials' Protest Songs 1924-2012 is a terrific album. The choice of tracks (with lyrics that pack a wallop), their interpretations, and performances are uniformly excellent. Some of the songs are direct in their messaging: The Staple Singers' "Freedom Highway" and The Freedom Singers' "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Us Around" are potent, raucous US Civil Rights Movement-era anti-racist anthems; Rod McKuen's "Soldiers Who Want to Be Heroes" ("...number practically zero/But there are millions/Who want to be civilians") is an anti-war earworm written before Vietnam, but reissued at its height, and relevant countless times since then; Frank Zappa's "Trouble Every Day," written in reaction to the 1965 Watts riots and decrying both the violence/looting unleashed in that neighborhood and ubiquitous racism that led to the social unrest; and Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up" is a general call for solidarity in support of universal human rights--though this quiet, acoustic version sung by Golding seems like something one would pull in on shortwave radio while hunkered down in some secret hiding place as in The Clash's English Civil War. While others are more oblique in subject matter or less-known for being protest songs.
Leonard Cohen's 1988 track "Everybody Knows"--about how everything is inexorably corrupt--was tailor-made for Hall's resigned/deadpan delivery. While it wasn't specifically written as such, it captures the mood of a lot of people in the US (and elsewhere) who want to live in and are working for a more just, equitable, and inclusive world, but are stymied at every turn by those with all the power and wealth:
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed Everybody knows the war is over Everybody knows the good guys lost Everybody knows the fight was fixed The poor stay poor, the rich get rich That's how it goes Everybody knows
Malvina Reynold's children's folk tune "I Live in a City" seems like a weird choice, but it's a strong endorsement of urban solidarity and multiculturalism: "Brown hands, yellow hands, white and black/All together built this town" (take that, rural MAGA-Again-heads!). And Reynold's proud rejection of American dog-eat-dog capitalism, "I Don't Mind Failing in This World," is positively punk rock in attitude, even if it's delivered via gentle folk song:
I don't mind failing in this world Don't mind wearing the ragged britches 'Cause those who succeed are sons of bitches...
...I don't mind failing in this world I'll stay down here with the raggedy crew 'Cause getting up there means stepping on you, so I don't mind failing in this world
...I don't mind failing in this world Some people ride in a car so fine While others walk on a picket line, so I don't mind failing in this world
One of the cruelest injustices that Black American GIs faced after fighting fascism during WW II in Europe was returning to the US and being subjected to racist Jim Crow laws in their own country (the Nazis based their Nuremberg Laws--their racial purity edicts--and their "Final Solution" on Jim Crow and the American eugenics movement). Blues musician Big Bill Broonzy first recorded his song "Black, Brown and White" in 1947 about this and the general Black American experience with white supremacy (wryly sung here by Golding):
I helped build this country And I fought for it too Now I guess that you can see What a black man has to do
They say if you're white, should be all right If you're brown, stick around But if you're black, oh brother, get back, get back, get back
I win sweet victory With my plough and hoe Now, brother, you tell me Whatcha gonna do 'bout the old Jim Crow?
The inclusion of Talking Heads' incredible "Listening Wind" (from Remain in Light and used in The Americans) is an unusual choice--it's a Cold War-era anti-American imperialism cut from the point of view of a African freedom fighter planting bombs to drive out the Yanks from his country (singer Hannah Hu takes lead vocals here). I'm a little surprised The Specials' didn't work in a little of John Holt's "Man Next Door" into their version of Jerry McCain's "My Next Door Neighbor" (essentially a long rant about someone driving you mad by always borrowing all your stuff). Perhaps the most Terry Hall-ish song ever, the country lullaby "Fuck All The Perfect People" by Chip Taylor of "Wild Thing" fame--about prison inmates who have no agency while they do their time ("To sing or not to sing/To swing or not to swing/Hell fills up the silence like chalk on the wall")--was chosen as it "rails against all those people who are So. Damn. Right." (Hopefully, it's not a message to you.)
My imported red vinyl LP included an exclusive and exceptionally good 7" single containing their "Vote for Me" and a cover of The Valentines' "Blam Blam Fever," recorded live at Coventry Cathedral during the 2019 Encore tour. Admittedly, this helped take the sting out of the lack of ska on Protest Songs, but also reminded me of what was missing. One of The Specials' brilliant strengths has been their ability to offer up songs that make you both think and dance--their medium, 2 Tone, is also the message. But Protest Songs, as great an album as it is, obliterates half of that formula and may turn off a good portion of their audience as a result.
10" vinyl record with Walt Jabsco on the paper label and cardboard label sleeve 2020
(Review by Steve Shafer)
After years of re-issues upon re-issues--and only one 45 with previously unreleased mixes ("Sock It To 'Em J.B. (Dub)" b/w "Rat Race (Dub)"; read my review here)--2 Tone/Chrysalis have finally unearthed some truly remarkable Specials tracks from the vaults that have never before seen the light of day, giving Specials' fans a surprisingly satisfying treat. Issued for Record Store Day 2020 (Drop #3), The Specials' "Dub Mixes Exclusive" 10" EP--featuring "Gangsters ('Clangsters' Dub)" b/w "Too Much Too Young (Piano Instrumental)" and "Why (Dub)"--is a thing of beauty (kudos to all who were involved in putting this together; every detail is right!). All of these alternate versions were recorded and mixed contemporaneously to their originals (1979 and 1981, respectively), which, as my colleagues at 2-Tone.info already have pointed out, is proof positive that the band was interested in pushing the boundaries of their revved-up, trademark ska sound from the very start.
Generally, when one mentions The Specials, you think of something like the fierce and seething "Nite Klub" not dub. Yet, their debut single yielded a fully realized dub mix. Perhaps it wasn't what the average 2 Tone fan wanted/expected in '79 or '80--their live set at the time, captured on the brilliant Live at the Moonlight Club was explosive--but in the ensuing years and decades our musical palates have certainly expanded. "Gangsters ('Clangsters' Dub)" begins with the familiar screeching tires borrowed from Prince Buster, but then everything veers off the expected route from there. A rapid, unrelenting percussive element--a wood block sound likely generated by a drum machine--runs that through the entire track, creating almost unbearable tension, and foreshadows Dammers' incorporation of muzak and more synthesized beats on parts of More Specials. The song's guitar skank drops in and out, and eerie, theremin-like B-movie sci-fi outer space sounds hover at various pitches over the rhythm track (2-Tone.info helpfully notes that 'Clangsters' is a reference to a UK kids TV show The Clangers who communicated via slide whistle sounds). Even in its deconstructed form, "Gangsters" retains its menace.
"Too Much Too Young's" debt to Lloyd Charmers' "Birth Control" is all the more pronounced in this instrumental version's piano line (and Dammers' playful improvisation on the melody is fantastic), plus the subtle touches of organ help remind one of, and honor, the song's skinhead reggae roots. It's absolutely superb.
"Why (Dub)" takes us far from the stripped down, horror show reggae of the original ("Why did you try to kill me?," wrote Lynval Golding after being viciously beaten and stabbed in a racist attack), prominently featuring Rico's plaintive trombone riff (with Dick Cuthell's cornet in there, too), along with Horace Panter's nimble bass work and John Bradbury's super precise percussion. It's a wonderfully inventive version that transforms the song into something strikingly new.
This EP is still available at very reasonable prices and should be snapped right up by Specials' fans, as these mixes are an essential addition to the band's core discography, and provide a fascinating glimpse into their creative process and willingness to experiment. Dare one ask if there's more? And, for Pete's sake, why weren't these mixes released before now?
Both The Specials and Madness were so completely gobsmacked by The Go-Go's that each invited them to tour with them in the UK later that year. So, The Go-Go's manager Ginger Canzoneri pawned her jewelry and sold her car and anything else of value to finance the trip overseas, and The Go-Go's spent about three months in 1980 opening for Madness and The Specials on various tours of the UK (including The Specials' 1980 seaside tour with The Bodysnatchers), oftentimes enduring hostile reactions from the less open-minded ska fans (particularly NF skinheads). Having said that, The Go-Go's one-off single for Stiff Records "We Got the Beat" sold reasonably well (and helped them secure a record deal with Miles Copeland's I.R.S in the US), and the many romances between members of The Go-Go's and The Specials yielded musical dividends. Terry Hall and Go-Go's rhythm guitarist Jane Wiedlin's under-the-radar romance led them to co-write "Our Lips Are Sealed," which became a massive hit, first in 1981 for The Go-Go's and then for Fun Boy Three in 1983; and Wiedlin, Belinda Carlisle (Go-Go's singer), and Charlotte Caffey (Go-Go's lead guitarist) were invited to provide backing vocals on much of The Specials' second album, More Specials.
In The Go-Go's documentary, both Madness' Lee Thompson and The Specials' Lynval Golding are featured and sing The Go-Go's praises. Thompson frames how unique The Go-Go's were at the time: "An all girl band who wrote their own tunes--outrageous!" And Golding notes how important The Go-Go's were to The Specials' story and vice versa (and declares that he was so crazy for Go-Go's drummer Gina Shock that he should have asked her to marry him, even though he knew the answer would have been no). Sharp-eyed ska fans will catch Walt Jabsco making a brief appearance in one of the doc's animated segments.
Barely a day after fans had a chance to unwrap the cellophane from their CDs or LPs and social media was already afire, grinding out both brutal condemnations of and impassioned praise for the new Specials album Encore. (In contrast, in the music press, the album has generated mostly positive, if not glowing, reviews.)
What seems to be lost in the instantaneous rush to judgment is that after years of touring since their reunion in 2009, we finally have an album of new music from the current, if pared-down, version of The Specials (Terry Hall, Lynval Golding, and Horace Panter--joined by top collaborators Nikolaj Torp Larsen on keys, Kenrick Rowe on drums, and Steve Craddock on guitar) and they deserve fans' respect and support for doing so, full stop. This in itself it is momentous.
As for why The Specials have released this album now, one suspects that they didn't want to show up for the 40th anniversary of 2 Tone with nothing in hand. Their peers have been pretty busy moving forward of late (see Madness' Can't Touch Us Now, The Selecter's Daylight, Dave Wakeling's Here We Go Love, Ranking Roger's Public Confidential, and Rhoda Dakar's The Lotek Four, Volume II--all of which are great!), while The Specials have been mining their catalogue for their admittedly phenomenal live shows for years now (I just re-watched the video I shot of them playing "Nite Klub" on Pier 26 in NYC in 2013 and they're so good that the hair on the back of my neck was on end). So, fan expectations are high, probably impossibly so.
Perhaps the best way to approach The Specials' Encore is to attempt to put The Specials' late '70s/early '80s releases temporarily out of mind (these classics do loom large) and take a break from basking in the comforting and familiar nostalgia for all things 2 Tone (if you want The Specials of '79, break out their debut). All of the brilliant, youthful, creative tension generated by the original band members' various personalities, talents, egos, opinions, class, educational backgrounds, and drug choices (sped up or slowed down) was never going to be resurrected on this record. This is the middle-aged core of the band that's still standing and able to stand each other. You pined for new music from this decades-on version of The Specials and here it is. So, have at it. (Give it some spins on the turntable or CD player, and live with it for awhile before coming to conclusions.)
With expectations re-calibrated, you'll find that Encore is a thoughtful, well-crafted album with ace performances that picks up where the two camps of the band were heading during and after More Specials (less ska/reggae and a bit more of everything else) and is legitimately great, at times outright stellar, in its own right. The brilliance of the original Specials output (and of 2 Tone in general) was that the music and lyrics moved both your body and mind, and Encore is highly relevant--if generally downbeat--music for our dark and dystopian-seeming times. However, one senses that the music occasionally takes back seat to the very worthy messages contained within (there are three spoken word tracks on the album). Like The Special AKA's In the Studio (which I previously wrote was "a record that often found the world to be a terribly and disappointingly ugly, petty, predatory, and unjust place"), Encore needs its one moment of pure joy, its own "Nelson Mandela" (an impassioned anti-apartheid song about an unjustly jailed political prisoner/freedom fighter that also managed the trick of compelling you to sing along and dance) to counterbalance some of the gloom in the songs and the world around us.
The Specials' deep commitment to the anti-racist ethos of 2 Tone is emphatically and explicitly reaffirmed by Encore's first two tracks--an unexpected but right on cover of the interracial Equals' fantastic hard funk, anti-white supremacist 1971 UK top ten hit "Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys" written by Eddy "Electric Avenue" Grant (which imagines a world of human beings free from socially constructed divisions: "They ain't got no country/They ain't got no creed/People won't be black or white/This world will be half-breed") and "B.L.M.," a spoken word piece by Lynval Golding (which musically quotes both "Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys" and "Ghost Town") that recounts his father's experiences of racism as part of the Windrush generation, as well his own as an immigrant to both England and America ("In England they call me a black bastard/In America they call me a goddam n*gger/Boy, welcome to my world/But I'm not here to teach you.../Black lives matter"). Like his song "Why" (which recounted the horrific, racially-motivated knife attack he endured in 1980 outside the Moonlight Club for walking and talking with two white women), Golding's personal stories of encountering ubiquitous, everyday racism--whether, verbal, physical, or institutional--resonate powerfully.
Upon first listen, it's sort of a shock to hear the opening bars of "Vote For Me" musically quote a bit of "Ghost Town" and then settle into the moody, minor-key territory staked out by The Special AKA's In the Studio (think the reggae and jazz of "Racist Friend,""Alcohol," and "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend," plus a bit of Rico's Jama; there's also a wonderful, Madness-like bridge with strings in there, too!). On one hand, it makes sense for the remaining Specials to go this route--they're essentially time traveling to pick up where The Specials left off at their demise (and Hall, Golding, and Staple went on to form the Fun Boy Three). So, in one sense, "Vote For Me" is a safe move, reminding the listener of Specials' sounds and songs of old that are ingrained on fans' hearts and minds. Yet, it's also sort of audacious, given how The Specials' dissolution was driven in part by dissatisfaction with the musical direction Dammers had taken with More Specials (he was the band's primary--though by no means sole--songwriter and arranger), as well as his leadership style (his given nickname "The General" was not meant to be endearing). Whether intentional or not, with "Vote For Me" they've validated Dammers' vision for the evolution of The Specials' post-"Ghost Town" music that was realized through In the Studio. It's just a shame that Dammers, Staples, Radiation, and Bradbury and Rico (RIP) couldn't be back for the ride, as "Vote For Me" successfully keeps faith with The Specials' collective sound and mission.
Lyrically, "Vote For Me" is pointed commentary on the corruption, lies, self-dealing, and moral bankruptcy of political leaders in England and America during this dreadfully bleak age of Brexit and Trumpism ("You tore our families apart" has to refer to the absolutely horrific, repugnant, racist, and inhumane Trump policy of sometimes permanently separating migrant/asylum-seeking kids from their parents at the US-Mexico border)--it continues the kind of "government leaving the youth on the shelf"/should be serving the greater good and needs of the people criticism expressed back in '81. And it's fantastic how the chorus ("There are no rocks at Rockaway Beach/And all that glitters isn't gold") references Queens, NY's bruddah's The Ramones, William Shakespeare (and Bob Marley's nod to the bard in "Get Up, Stand Up"), and dings Trump's penchant for gaudiness to hammer home its point about political deception.
Their cover of their own/Fun Boy Three's "The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum" (1981) and the new "Breaking Point" are cut from the same cloth. The former was about Reagan's itchy nuclear trigger and Thatcher's indifference to the poor and destitute and has now been revived for the utter madness of Trump and May. "Breaking Point"--a terrific Madness-y ska track!--is about trying to live in a seemingly out of control world ("Progress would be wonderful/If only it would stop") run by self-dealing and morally bankrupt leaders ("The sales pitch from door to door/Says feed the rich and hang the poor/Twinkle, twinkle little star/Point me to the nearest bar/I'll drown my sorrows with the rest") that is seemingly on the path to oblivion ("With the help of God and a few marines/We'll blow this place to smithereens/Here we are at the breaking point').
The Specials' wonderful version of The Valentines' "Blam Blam Fever" comes closest to being that moment of musical bliss on the album while decrying gun violence--and the band adds some lyrics to address America's insane love affair with guns, its outrageous tolerance of mass shootings of kids, concertgoers, you name it, and the very fact that weapons of war are readily available for commercial sale: "What we gonna do/About amendment number two/Gun fever is back/And we think it is obscene/You can buy AR-15/The gun fever is back/Every time you read the New York Times/Seventeen dead in a school crime...The simplest thing is rat, tat tat, tat tat/NRA how you deal with that?"
This is not the first answer record to Buster's "Ten Commandments." Buster himself released “Ten Commandments (From Woman to Man)” featuring Princess Buster in 1967, which pushed back hard--for the 1960s and within the confines of marriage--against Buster's sexism ("Commandment One: Thou shall have no other woman but me. Two: Thou shall not provoke me to anger or thou will have no peace at night..."). Khan's commandments powerfully and unequivocally refute all of the limitations and expectations that our patriarchal and chauvinist society would impose on her body and volition, solely on the basis of her gender. Her assured declarations of independence and take no prisoners support for women's rights are thrilling to behold. Yet, it's incredibly depressing to realize how little has changed at a societal level--these same ugly and pernicious attitudes towards women were prevalent when The Specials debuted four decades ago (and they were not completely immune to them either; see "Little Bitch"). In fact, apart from the references to femi-nazis, femoids, the internet, and YouTube, these spoken word lyrics could have been written back in 1979.
The Specials back Khan with an orderly, brisk reggae skank that emphasizes the rock solid bass line (Khan says it's from Dawn Penn's "No No No"), but never distracts the listener's focus from her spoken word lyrics. But on the periphery of the entire song there are swirling, dubby synth effects and during interludes between the verses, there are descending, minor-key violin lines--all suggesting a lurking danger and barely contained chaos, like the bottom could fall out at any moment. It's as if Khan's thoughts, will, and voice keep the demons at bay; but in their absence, a terrible darkness seeks to fill the void.
After years of decrying the (eventually repealed) racist Sus laws (where the police could stop anyone merely on the suspicion that they might commit a crime and was used as an excuse to harass/abuse black youth in general) and playing Rock Against Racism gigs back in the day, The Specials' "Embarrassed By You" is a catchy, straight up ska track that calls out the perpetrators of knife violence and muggings by moped gangs for feeding into the pernicious stereotype of black Britons as nothing but low-life criminals preying on whites ("We never fought for freedom for nasty little brutes like you/To come undo the work we do...Shame on the footprints you're leaving behind").
"The Life and Times (of a Man Called Depression)" gives the listener heartbreaking insight as to what Terry Hall has endured for years while dealing with manic depression and schizophrenia (at first self-medicating and finally being treated with psychotropics): "The voices inside his head are playing/Chinese whispers/As all around him play hide and seek; But don't ask him to put a smile on his face or to cheer up." The really lovely jazzy, oddly metered backing instrumental track under Hall's words has horn and flute lines that wouldn't be out of place on In the Studio (or what Dammers has done recently with his Spatial AKA Orchestra). The album ends with the subdued orchestral pop gem "We Sell Hope," which is a plea for love and tolerance and a much needed reminder of what could be if we had a bit more empathy and compassion for each other: "Looked all around the world/Could be a beautiful place to live in...We've got to take care of each other/Do what you need to do/Without making others suffer." The 2 Tone message, version 2.0.
That Hall, Golding, Panter and company have delivered a great Specials album at this point in time is a true gift to the fans. (Take the time to fully appreciate it.)
As we edge ever closer to the release date of The Specials'Encore (out on February 1, 2019 on CD and LP from UMC), the band is previewing a remarkable second song from the album, a response of sorts to Prince Buster's over the top and wildly misogynistic (so much so that you think it has to be parody, though many would miss the distinction) "Ten Commandments," which was released and re-issued several times from 1963 to 1967. While The Specials' track shares the same title as Prince Buster's song, it's not a cover with new lyrics. The Specials' version is a spoken-word answer record to Buster's original with a new instrumental track beneath it (that opens with a similar drum roll) and features Saffiyah Khan listing her version of the commandments from a feminist perspective.
This is not the first answer record to Buster's "Ten Commandments." Buster himself released “Ten Commandments (From Woman to Man)” featuring Princess Buster in 1967, which pushed back hard--for the 1960s and within the confines of marriage--against Buster's sexism ("Commandment One: Thou shall have no other woman but me. Two: Thou shall not provoke me to anger or thou will have no peace at night..."). Khan's commandments, listed below, powerfully and unequivocally refute all of the limitations and expectations that our patriarchal and chauvinist society would impose on her body and volition, solely on the basis of her gender. Her assured declarations of independence and take no prisoners support for women's rights are thrilling to behold. Yet, it's incredibly depressing to realize how little has changed at a societal level--these same ugly and pernicious attitudes towards women were prevalent when The Specials debuted four decades ago. In fact, apart from the references to femi-nazis, femoids, the internet, and YouTube, these spoken word lyrics could have been written back in 1979. Khan and The Specials remain true to 2 Tone's ethos, it's the world that never quite got the message.
The Specials back Khan with an orderly, brisk reggae skank that emphasizes the rock solid bass line (Khan says it's from Dawn Penn's "No No No"), but never distracts the listener's focus from her spoken word lyrics. But on the periphery of the entire song there are swirling, dubby synth effects and during interludes between the verses, there are descending, minor-key violin lines--all suggesting a lurking danger and barely contained chaos, like the bottom could fall out at any moment. It's as if Khan's thoughts, will, and voice keep the demons at bay; but in their absence, a terrible darkness seeks to fill the void.
Here are Khan's spoken word lyrics for "Ten Commandments":
The commandments of I, Saffiyah Khan Thou shall not listen to Prince Buster Or any other man offering kindly advice in matters of my own conduct You may call me a femi-nazi or a femoid And then see if I give a stinking shit Pseudo-intellectuals on the internet They tell me I'm unhappy because I'm not feminine Failing to consider that I may be unhappy Because it's 3 am and I'm in the depths of YouTube watching them whining Thou may catcall me on the street But thou should take note that I'll catcall you right back To tell you that you look pretty sexy, too, in your joggers, or your suit, or your newfound look of confusion Girls should not turn on each other or use man-made ideals like pars Don't you realize you're only making a fool of yourself when you ask, "why don't you wear make-up?" Is that what it takes to impress a bloke whose brain is made up of promises of curvy size zeros and anti-gravity tits Thou shall not tell a girl she deserved it because her skirt was too short She walks home, streetlights illuminating her as a target But she started it because she looked at him And he finished it because he wanted to And they'll bring out her skirt as Exhibit A before the judge And she should have the right to say Thou shall not tell me what to wear Nor how to wear it I shall not be the icing on your cake And I shall not be the candy on your arm But I shall be seen And I will be heard! The commandments of I, Saffiyah Khan
This is a profound and affecting track that makes its points spectacularly well. Bravo to all involved.
To help whet fans' appetites for the new Specials' album Encore (to be released on CD/LP on February 1, 2019 from UMC), the band is previewing their terrific song "Vote For Me" on their YouTube channel and FB page.
Upon first listen, it's sort of a shock to hear the opening bars of "Vote For Me" musically quote a bit of "Ghost Town" and then settle into the moody, minor-key territory staked out by The Special AKA's In the Studio (think the reggae and jazz of "Racist Friend,""Alcohol," and "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend," plus a bit of Rico's Jama; there's also a wonderful, Madness-likebridge with strings in there, too!). On one hand, it makes sense for the remaining Specials (Terry Hall, Lynval Golding, and Horace Panter--joined by top collaborators Nikolaj Torp Larsen on keys, Kenrick Rowe on drums, and Steve Craddock on guitar) to go this route--they're essentially time traveling to pick up where The Specials left off with More Specials and the Ghost Town EP--which is exactly what Jerry Dammers and John Bradbury did with The Special AKA after Terry Hall, Neville Staple, and Lynval Golding left The Specials to form Fun Boy 3 (some of the songs that appeared on The Special AKA's In the Studio were written before the split for The Specials' then-planned third album; and it should be noted that Panter, Golding, and Radiation did guest perform on a few In the Studio tracks).
So, in some sense, "Vote For Me" is a safe move, reminding the listener of Specials' sounds and songs of old that are ingrained on fans' hearts and minds. Yet, it's also sort of audacious, given how The Specials' dissolution was driven in part by dissatisfaction with the musical direction Dammers had taken with More Specials (he was the band's primary--though by no means sole--songwriter and arranger), as well as his leadership style (his given nickname "The General" was not meant to be endearing). Whether intentional or not, with "Vote For Me" they've validated Dammers' vision for the evolution of The Specials' post-"Ghost Town" music that was realized through In the Studio. It's just a shame that Dammers, Staples, Radiation, and Bradbury (RIP) couldn't be back for the ride, as "Vote For Me" successfully keeps faith with The Specials' collective sound and mission.
Lyrically, "Vote For Me" is pointed commentary on the corruption, lies, self-dealing, and moral bankruptcy of political leaders in England and America during this dreadfully bleak age of Brexit and Trumpism ("You tore our families apart" has to refer to the absolutely horrific, repugnant, racist, and inhumane Trump policy of sometimes permanently separating migrant/asylum-seeking kids from their parents at the US-Mexico border)--it continues the kind of "government leaving the youth on the shelf"/should be serving the greater good and needs of the people criticism expressed back in '81. And it's fantastic how the chorus references Queens, NY's bruddah's The Ramones and William Shakespeare (and Bob Marley's nod to the bard in "Get Up, Stand Up") to hammer home its point about political deception.
Every vote for you, do you promise To be upright, decent, and honest To have our best interests at heart? You understand why we don't believe you You're way too easy to see through Not the best places to start There are no rocks at Rockaway Beach And all that glitters isn't gold You're all so drunk on money and power Inside your ivory tower Teaching us not to be smart Making laws that serve to protect you But we won't ever forget that You tore our families apart There are no rocks at Rockaway Beach And all that glitters isn't gold So, every vote for you, do you promise To be upright, decent, and honest To take away all of the fear? You said you wait for us to elect you But all we'll do is reject you Your politics bore us to tears There are no rocks at Rockaway Beach And all that glitters isn't gold
"Vote For Me" is a powerful and more than credible opening salvo from The Specials' Encore. Based on this track, it seems like fans' expectations for the new album should be high.
Lastly, unlike the some of the stone-filled beaches I've seen in England, New York City's Rockaway Beach is pretty much all sand and you can take the A subway line to get there.
Word's been seeping out for a bit now about The Specials new record Encore, which is being released on February 1, 2019 (it's already available to pre-order through Amazon.co.uk, but not in the US yet). So, we're going to sum up what's publicly known and then some. The 10-track album will be available on vinyl and CD (the latter includes a bonus disc, titled The Best of The Specials Live). Of note, Encore is being issued on a major label by UMC (Universal Music Catalogue), which is part of the Universal Music Group. This particular imprint released Madness' most recent album Can't Touch Us Now and its current batch of new records includes The Beatles' deluxe reissue of The White Album, The Rolling Stones' 50th anniversary edition of Beggar's Banquet, and remastered back catalogue/comps from Massive Attack, Brian Eno, The Cure, The Beach Boys, John Lennon, The Police, Soft Cell, REM, Metallica, Guns n' Roses, and more. So, it'll be interesting to see what sort of promotional push this receives (The Specials are announcing their 2019 tour dates on October 30).
Encore's track list is a mix of new material and covers:
"Black Skinned Blue-Eyed Boys" [an Equals cover]
"B.L.M." [Black Lives Matter]
"Vote For Me"
"The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum" [a Fun Boy 3 cover]
"10 Commandments" [a Prince Buster cover, featuring Saffiyah Khan]
"Embarrassed By You"
"The Life And Times (Of a Man Called Depression)"
"We Sell Hope"
While various--but never all--members of The Specials have recorded as The Specials (King of Kings with Desmond Dekker, Today’s Specials, Guilty ’til Proved Innocent!, Skinhead Girl, and Conquering Ruler) in the years since the original group split in 1981 (into The Special AKA and Fun Boy 3), Encore marks the first time singer Terry Hall has recorded/released new material under The Specials banner since the extraordinary/incendiary Ghost Town EP.
This iteration of The Specials consists of original members Hall, Lynval Golding, and Horace Panter--joined by more recent collaborators: keyboardist Nikolaj Torp Larsen (who also co-wrote some of these tunes with Hall, Golding, and Panter), Kenrick Rowe on drums, and Ocean Colour Scene guitarist Steve Craddock. Founder, primary songwriter, and keyboardist Jerry Dammers steadfastly has refused to participate in any Specials reunions; guitarist Roddy Radiation and singer Neville Staple were part of many reunion tours, but opted out within the past few years to pursue their own musical projects; and, sadly, drummer John "Brad" Bradbury passed away unexpectedly in 2015.
Specials biographer Paul "Willo" Williams has posted an exclusive, glowing preview of Encore, which he states picks up "where More Specials left off" (so there will be bits of rock, pop, and soul with your 2 Tone); and if "'Ghost Town' was the anthem of 1981, then Encore is the snapshot of the world today--and on a global scale." Expect sharp political and social commentary on racism, sexism, gun violence, mental illness, and more--all of which you can dance to.
Needless to say, expectations are running high for this release (fans have been clamoring for new material ever since the first few reunion tours, which started back in 2008!). Here's really hoping that the band delivers!
Specials biographer/insider Paul "Willo" Williams posted an intriguing update regarding The Specials' (Terry Hall, Lynval Golding, and Sir Horace Panter) new album on his FB page:
The new album is at the final mix mastering stage. A fabulous collection of politics, life stories and personal tales. Imagine where the band should have gone after More Specials. This is The Specials with a lifetime of life experience behind them. Album will be out Feb 1st 2019 as they celebrate their 40th Anniversary. Are shows planned? YES. Hold onto your hats... More news end of month.
To be honest, I put a good amount of stock in Willo's opinion--I don't think this is mere hype.
We'll pass along any bits of news as we find them (nothing's on The Specials' website yet)!
Details are few and far between, but yesterday Specials' bass player Horace Panter revealed on his Facebook feed that he had spent his birthday recording tracks for a new Specials album (with original members Terry Hall and Lynval Golding), which is slated for a February 2019 release (he also posted this news on Twitter today). Specials biographer Paul Willo has apparently heard some of the tracks and commented online that they're "brilliant."
In case you missed it back in 2006--when they were the first band in 30 years (!) to sign to Trojan Records--Pama International has reissued the nothing-short-of-amazing Trojan Sessions LP, as well as the (mostly) new Trojan Sessions in Dub, a track-for-track companion album with dubs by Nick Manasseh, who co-produced the original Trojan Sessions with Sean Flowerdew (Heavyweight red and black vinyl LPs/CDs, Happy People Records, 2017 and 2018). Trojan Sessions features a mind-blowing roster of guest artists, including the late Rico Rodriguez, Dennis Alcapone, Dawn Penn, Dave and Ansel Collins, Derrick Morgan, and Winston Francis (and at this point Pama International included Specials Lynval Golding on guitar, and Horace Panter on bass) on a boss collection of original material. Between the host of 1960s JA superstars and various musical styles of these tracks, this record brilliantly honors the history and spirit of Trojan (and its artists), as well as serves as a primer of sorts of Jamaican music, circa 1965-1972. I love the album start to finish, but several highlights include Rico on The Skatalites'-sounding "Disobedient Children"; the early "Liquidator" reggae "Neither High Nor Dry" with Dennis Alcapone; a sublime Dawn Penn on the dubby "Betterment Blues"; Dave and Ansel Collins make it sound like '69 on "It Ain't Funny"; Pama's singer Finny shines on the funky reggae "I Got So Much to Shout About" and rootsier "One Step"; and Winston Francis on the rock-solid rocksteady "Fisherman" (which has echoes of "You're Wondering Now" lurking within). Once you're familiar with the tunes onTrojan Sessions, listening to how they're deconstructed and reassembled by Manasseh on Trojan Sessions in Dub is a real pleasure. "Disobedient Dub" in particular is stellar (love all the outer space effects, use of Rico's voice, and placement of sounds within the mix to create all sorts of aural distance), with "One Step Dub" and "Fisherman Dub" hot on its tail.
I don't know why it was so hard to obtain (I finally ordered it directly from VP Records after two failed attempts elsewhere), but The Jackie Mittoo Showcase EP (Black vinyl picture sleeve single, 17 North Parade/VP Records, 2018) was completely worth the wait and effort. Essentially, this four-track release presents some of the greatest tracks off last year's excellent double-CD Striker Showcase (which The Duff Guide to Ska reviewed here). These 1977-1978 cuts are prime, moody rocksteady/reggae Mittoo material (with his phenomenal soulful/jazzy Hammond keyboard lines floating above it all) from three essential albums co-produced by Bunny "Striker" Lee: "Disco Jack" and "Brain Mark" are off Hot Blood; "Earthquake" is from In Cold Blood; while "Drum Song" is on the original Showcase album. One can't have enough Jackie Mittoo in their collection.
Gifted is the latest in a series of excellent ska tribute/Teenage Cancer Trust benefit CD compilations from Specialized UK, which have been released in part on vinyl by Jump Up in the USA; previous efforts have focused on The Specials, The Beat, Madness, Bob Marley, and The Clash. The selection of cuts on the abridged, vinyl version of Gifted (in its original form, this is a 4 x CD release!) are a mix of The Jam's hit singles (in the UK, at least), b-sides, and album cuts (many from Setting Sons; all of them brilliant)--and the vast majority of the covers here bring something different and compelling to each version of these songs. In sum, Gifted is a powerful and winning set of tracks that do The Jam proud.
Of particular note are the Meow Meows' "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" (which takes on a whole new level of dread with a woman singing about being brutally mugged/assaulted by right wing goons...and worrying about her wife back at home, since the thugs have the singer's house keys); my old bandmates Rude Boy George's "Town Called Malice" (which decries the meager quality of life and dashed dreams of the masses in Thatcher's England); King Hammond's swinging "I Got By In Time" (with life experience comes wisdom); the Pressure Tenants "Strange Town" (about being alienated in one's own gray and unwelcoming land); Erin Bardwell Collective's very Beatles-y "English Rose"; The Amphetameanies' "Funeral Pyre" (with its allusions to fascist book-burnings--and a chart hit for The Jam just a few weeks before The Specials' "Ghost Town" went #1, when riots tore through many of England's cities, mainly due to high youth unemployment and the police's outrageous and despicable use of the Sus law to harass black people); Los Chicklet's Spanish-sung "Saturday's Kids" ("These are the real creatures that time has forgot/Not given a thought, it's the system/Hate the system, what's the system?"); The Crombies' Joe Jackson-like (think the New Wave ska of his "Pretty Boys") "Girl on the Phone" (concerning the bizarre experience of losing all privacy in the face of fame); The Skapone's "Smithers-Jones" (Bruce Foxton's warning of how workers who play the game and conform to capitalism's rules and societal expectations are ground up and spit out in the end; by the way, Paul Willo shines here!); and Lynval Golding and Contra Coup's wild, dancehall DJ-effects filled "Tales of the Riverbank" (an admittedly nostalgic longing for the innocence and freedom that comes with being very young).
The Jam's songs (and Paul Weller's and Foxton's enormous empathy for their songs' protagonists) continue to be surprisingly immediate and relevant three decades on (and oftentimes they're more accessible, as you can much more easily discern the lyrics in these versions!). Most of all, Gifted reminds the listener that being young and/or powerless in your own cruel and unjust country--when all you want to do is have fun, pursue your dreams, and earn enough to get by--is the same as it ever was...
The Uptown Ska CollectiveThe Uptown EP (six-track 10" vinyl EP/cassette, Foruli Limited Edition Books and Records, 2016): In addition to his recent performances with The Specials in various parts of the globe and creating his now trademark cassette paintings (like the one he did for Lynval Golding's Know Your Rights EP), The Specials' bass player Horace Panter is keeping busy with his other band--The Uptown Ska Collective--which is devoted to (and honors/celebrates) 60s-style ska and rocksteady made by the originators (with nary a trace of 2 Tone in sight!). The core of The Uptown Ska Collective is made up of The Specials' touring band's keyboardist (Nikolaj Torp Larsen) and horn section augmented by a few other musicians, including vocalist Jocelyn Harris of The Pressure Tenants (who backed Laurel Aitken for a spell), and the quality of their playing and musicianship is really top-notch, as would be expected. The Uptown EP kicks off with a great rendition of Don Drummond's "Occupation," followed by a cover of Booker T. and the M.G.s' "Heads or Tails" that would have made Jackie Mittoo mighty proud, and "Bushfire," an original instrumental by TUSC's Jon Read (trumpet, guitar) which could slip into The Skatalites' oeuvre unnoticed. Harris' lovely and winning alto dominates the vocal side of the EP, with its reverent versions of Phyllis Dillon's "Don't Stay Away," Marley's "Simmer Down," and soul singer Clarence Carter's "Slip Away" (his "Back Door Santa" was sampled by Run-D.M.C. for "Christmas in Hollis"). Not much new territory is trod here (it's not really the point), but The Uptown Ska Collective do what they do so well that you'll be more than happy to have this record in heavy rotation on your turnable.
By the time The Clash released "Know Your Rights" in April 1982--the first single from their then forthcoming album Combat Rock--the notorious British Sus law, which gave police the right to racial profile and harass non-white Britons, had been repealed only about six months earlier. (Sus allowed the police to stop and search black and South Asian people on the flimsiest of pretenses, namely the officer's suspicion that someone is behaving like they might be a criminal and have the intent to commit an arrestable offense; outrage over the police's systemic racist treatment of non-white Britons helped fuel the Rock Against Racism movement in the late 70s--which was also an organized push-back to blunt the rise of the National Front as a political force in the UK, which worked!--and ongoing police oppression in black and Asian communities helped ignite widespread rioting in the late 70s/early 80s.) But this, of course, didn't mean that all the racist police brutality and violence had magically disappeared from England's green and pleasant land. Joe Strummer's first verse was still quite valid: "You have the right not to be killed/Murder is a crime!/Unless it was done/by a policeman/or an aristocrat." Keith Topping's book "The Complete Clash" posits that Strummer may have been thinking of the extrajudicial police killings of boxer Liddle Towers and anti-racist activist Blair Peach when he wrote this track. (In "Know Your Rights," Strummer asserts that the three basic human rights are the right to live, the right to basic necessities like food, and the right to free speech--but then notes all of society's exceptions to those rights, which render them meaningless.)
The Clash's original version of "Know Your Rights" is a skittery, stripped-down, post-punk rockabilly track (one could imagine Strummer singing it to a small crowd down a less-traveled side alley, while keeping an eye out for the brown-shirted thugs in the fascist takeover of the UK depicted in "English Civil War"), which is fantastically transformed into an urgent 70s-era roots reggae song (with echoes of Bob Marley and the Wailers' less cynical call to action "Get Up, Stand Up" in its arrangement and production--like the use of the instantly recognizable clavinet) by Golding and Contra Coup on this release. While I've always loved the message of the "Know Your Rights," the original version of the song has never felt fully formed--which is not the case here. Lynval Golding and Contra Coup's re-working of "Know Your Rights" fleshes out the song, finally giving the music a power that equals the still incendiary lyrics. Good and effective protest music requires both.
Contra Coup's "The Same" is great modern ska track (that might remind one of a Skaboom-era Toasters) which (I think) is about trying to do right and stand by a friend who can't recognize that they need help or that you're their ally. The EP includes cool remixes of both tracks by Specials Mark II member Mark Adams; "Know Your Rights" is given an interesting dubstep/dancehall treatment, while "The Same" is made-over into a dubby rocksteady cut.
I've read that Jerry Dammers has had fans approach him decades after the 2 Tone craze ended to tell him that The Specials' music and message led them to examine their racist beliefs and become anti-racist--which is extraordinary. (Dammers quoted in the May 2015 issue of MOJO: "I wanted to change all of society from within, which was a much harder and more risky thing to try and do. The amazing thing is that it worked at all, even to the small extent that some people say it did. I often meet people who tell me that if it wasn't for The Specials they would have been racists or whatever, and that they turned to more socialist ideas because of The Specials.") Obviously, the hope is that this new version of "Know Your' Rights" shakes us listeners out of our passivity and spurs us to some sort of action and involvement that helps bring about policies that end the unacceptable police killings of unarmed black people in the USA.
Of course, the Joe Strummer-penned track "Know Your Rights" first asserts everyone's basic human rights (the right to live, the right to basic necessities like food, and the right to free speech), but then notes all of society's restrictions and exceptions to those rights, which render them meaningless ("You have the right not to be killed/Murder is a crime!/Unless it was done/By a policeman or aristocrat").
It should be noted that the EP's cover features a Horace Panter cassette painting over the names of many of the unarmed black people killed during encounters with the police.
I'll have a review posted once my pre-ordered copy of the 12" arrives in the mail...
In these strange, terrible days when the forces of ignorance and fear are on the rise in so many supposedly civilized nations and baldfaced xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism, and sexism are increasingly (re-)mainstreamed, it's quite fantastic to behold Sonic Boom Six's singer Laila K. (a British woman of Pakistani descent) wearing a traditional Muslim niqab and staring out at you (with a glint in her eyes) from the cover of their fifth album, The F-Bomb.
The imagery, of course, is meant to provoke and challenge any overt or hidden biases you may hold regarding women, Muslims, ethnicity, or otherness. But, like the brilliant, joyful songs contained within, it's also about being fully empowered and unequivocally expressing support for gender equality, finding empathy for our fellow human beings (no matter how they're packaged), and fully embracing the wonderful diversity of people. The trick that the Sonic Boom Six so artfully pull off is that they address these issues without being preachy or resorting to polemics. These aren't dour songs of liberal indoctrination. The band aims to change hearts and minds with progressive social messages delivered in fantastic, hook-filled music that will make everyone want to dance (though one should be asking the question why advocating for true equality for everyone--no matter what their color, religion, gender, orientation, disability, or background--is solely seen as a liberal/left-wing cause). It's the tried-and-true 2 Tone formula that helped promote racial unity (along with other bands aligned with Rock Against Racism) during a time of great social and economic turmoil in England, when racist and fascist ideologues and groups like the National Front (which was making a play for real political power) were fomenting racial violence with incendiary language blaming all of the country's ills on non-white Britons and recent immigrants.
All of this is to say that for people who like their music to have a message, as I do, this extraordinary record is the mother-lode. In fact, Sonic Boom Six's The F-Bomb may just be the best ska album of the year.
The F-Bomb--I suppose it's up to the listener to decide if the F stands for female or feminist, though the implication is that these words are associated with an obscenity--roars out of the starting gate with the powerful and insistent "No Man, No Right," a gleefully unapologetic women's rights manifesto set to a brisk ska beat:
"No man, no right
To tell me what I should wear
Or what I put inside my body
While pretending to care
They've no right
And we can live our life with way we like
No man, no right
No man, no right
To put himself in my head
Judge the company I keep
Or what I do in my bed
They've no right
And we can live our life the way that we like
No man, no right
No man, no right
To define a sexuality
By a tattoo on the base of a back
No man, no right
They blame the victim, 'cause she chose that skirt
Not the animal who chose to attack
No man, no right
To decide it is a liberty
If I choose to take my own control
No man, no right
'Cause this is my body and I have my choice
And I pop it out and swallow it whole.
No man, no right
No man, no right to
Call the woman bitch 'cause she don’t want you boy
No man no right
No man no right to
What a foolish thing to do"
The final strains of "Rule, Britannia!" (one of Britain's unofficial anthems, closely associated with the Victorian era, when England's Empire consisted of great, colonized swaths of Africa and Southern Asia, which placed about a fifth of the planet's land mass and a quarter of the world's population under her rule) introduce "From The Fire to The Frying Pan" (check out the video here!), the tale of a young, disaffected, white Briton who comes under the influence of those who want to radicalize him to hate perceived foreigners like Laila K., who supposedly want to take over the country.
""See them coming over here to take what's yours"
Johnny nodded, but he wasn't really sure
"Won't be happy till we're living by their laws
--every time we give an inch they just want more!"
Johnny just take it easy, easy
Take a step back and see me, here I stand
Out of the fire to the frying pan
Well, if you want to hate me, here I am
He just a boy in an angry mob
Might throw a punch, but he ain't no yob
Proud of defending his own country
Blissfully blind of his history
"See them coming over here to take what's yours"
Johnny found a cause worth fighting for
"Some of them are gonna start a holy war
--how to tell the ones apart, I'm still not sure."
The irony, of course, is that a) she's as British as he is, and b) he's completely ignorant of England's imperialistic past, which forcibly brought many non-white people (living in their own countries, mind you) into the British Empire (many of whom emigrated to the "mother" country after WWII and helped rebuild its economy and enrich its culture). And then there's the personal connection between Johnny and the singer--she represents "those people," the object of their hate (refer to the album cover). But he knows her and should be aware that she doesn't represent what the nationalistic racists accuse the people who happen to look like her of wanting/plotting/being. It's the personal connections to people in the "other" group that always disprove the ridiculous racial stereotypes--they're firsthand evidence of how the supposedly true stereotype is false and a great example of why we all need to live in diverse communities. The song ends on an ominous note, though, quoting The Specials' "Why?" ("With a Nazi salute and a steel-capped boot/You follow like sheep inna wolf clothes"). Lynval Golding, of course, wrote this song after being severely beaten in a brutal racially-motivated attack in 1980 (his "offense" was walking down the street with two white women).
Sonic Boom Six
The ska/dubstep cut "Do What You Wanna Do" nicks the opening horn and bass lines from Dexys Midnight Runners' "Geno" (and towards the end there's a bit of The Specials' "Nite Klub" mixed in!) for a song about not conforming to societal norms or giving into other people's expectations of you (particularly, if you're a woman):
"Lead your life your way
After the middle of the night
Is a brand new day
Don't wait around, lady
Hesitate or stall
'Cause if you don't get on it now
Then you won't at all
Do what you want to
Not what they told you to
Your history is behind you
The sun is rising on a brand new day
Don't let their limits define you
It's doesn't matter what the neighbors say"
While this song is pitched to women specifically, it's sure to give encouragement to all the self-doubters who hear it, no matter what their gender.
"All the boys on the left
Want to shoot down
All the boys on the right
at their own town
There's a bomb going off in the background
Everybody's suffering
Angeline puts her faith in religion
Sits alone as she cries in the kitchen
At the scenes on her own television
Everybody's struggling
I don't know just what we need to do
All I have are just the words I sing to you
Please excuse my simple point of view
But if I stand for love
Will you stand there, too?
We've got to stand for something
It's all or nothing
If I stand for love
Will you stand there, too?
Because the way we're living
Is just not working
If we stand for love
Maybe they will, too
There's a war going on and we don't mind
There's a death on the screen and we rewind
Take an eye for an eye and we're all blind
Everybody's murdering
Now the town it'll drown in the bloodshed
or the god with a gun to his own head
Take a life for a life and we're all dead
It's time for something new
We've got to stand for something
It's all or nothing
If I stand for love
Will you stand there, too?
But the road we're taking
We just can't make it
And my heart is breaking...
Stand
'Cause if there's a chance to make
This for the human race
It's only love that can make amends
Now, that's why I'm standing for you
You've got to stand for something, my friend
L-O-V-E"
The song doesn't pretend to present specific solutions, but it's on the money for where we need to be in order to find ways to stop inflicting all of this pain and death on each other. (A little off the topic side note: I love the computer-y sound effects in the song, including one that seems like it's sampled from one of the blasters in "Star Wars.")
"Joanna"--a vibrant track that sounds like it could have been written by The Equators or The Beat--may be the first ska song about the experience of knowing someone who is transgendered. And it's a really great one.
"Joanna, I know it shouldn't matter
In this day and age
That you slipped into a dress
And you stepped out your cage
How can we deny her
When you're shining like a diamond
With a guitar, singing on the stage?
Oh, irony, irony
I get on my knees, ashamed
I thought everything was over
'Cause you changed your name
And then I saw a photograph
It still was you, but looking like you wanted to
I'll never see the world the same
Joanna, I don't care what the people say
'Cause we need you to guide the way
Shine you light for the world today
And we can follow your lead, I say
Joanna, light the way and we can take it together
Waiting for the day when all the world will see
That you never should have had to hide
All the beauty that you have inside
How could anybody miss it?
Joanna, you shine so bright
Growing up is never easy, but it had to be
So confusing when you're losing your identity
Your gender is a riddle when you're swimming in the middle
Of a world that sees in binary
Only she led a life of desperation and torn
Between the life you envision and the way you're born
I really hope that you can have the patience to illuminate the way
It's always darkest just before the dawn"
This song makes the case that the best way to overcome one's fears/prejudices/misconceptions is through our connections to people who are different that you are. And, again, that's why it's so vital that we live, go to school, work, and socialize in diverse communities, so we come into regular, close contact with all sorts of people and have a greater understanding, acceptance, and love of other people's differences. (Racism and discrimination are learned behaviors; if kids are growing up amidst tolerance and diversity, it's likely that they won't turn out to be racist, homophobic, fearful adults.)
Other tracks on the album are concerned with boasting about making incredible dance music ("Drop The Bass (And Pick It Up)," which quotes The Skatalites' opening riff of their cover of "Guns of Navarone"); a sweet reggae-pop break-up ballad ("Train Leaves Tomorrow"--with guest vocals by Coolie Ranx!); ensuring that you take care of/respect yourself so other people can't abuse you ("Worship Yourself": "Don't doubt, worship yourself/Don't let him bring you down/Get out, break up, and stand your ground"); and trying to be aware of how the standards of seemingly effortless beauty that we're bombarded with via all of our screens are manufactured and fake, with no connection to reality ("All The Same To Me": "Do I look as thin as they do?/Is it too good to be true?").
"Echoes In The Dark," the final track on the album, is both harrowing and inspiring. It's about a woman who was sexually abused when she was barely in her teens, but who has the resilience to survive and eventually reclaim her life: "You, without a care in the world/Took everything and left me broken/Then did your best to avoid the little girl you destroyed/Was it all a dream?/A memory of that scene/A girl of age fourteen/A shadow in the park/And as I strengthen here/Through every passing year/The fears disappear/Like echoes in the dark...Was it all a dream?/Waking up from an endless night/With the shadows fading in the light/Was it all a dream?"
The Sonic Boom Six's The F-Bomb is brimming with immensely relevant, optimistic, and hopefully useful ska/dubstep/pop songs that are meant to inspire us to think about our own behavior and attitudes towards each other--and alter them for the better. They recognize that individual change ultimately can bring about societal change--and they want to be part of the catalyst that advances this type of progress that we all so desperately need.
What They're Saying About My Book "The Duff Guide to 2 Tone"
“An essential read…Stephen's eye for detail is incredible and his love for 2 Tone oozes from each page.” — Kevin Flowerdew, Do the Dog Skazine
“Written with a personal touch and with great passion about the bands and releases while giving a lot of emphasis to the lyrics, Stephen’s book is a great guiding hand to navigating your way to some great new music.” — Peter Walsh, 2-Tone.info
“It's some of the finest Madness analysis I've ever read.” —Donald Trull, Stateside Madness
“Steve's own story would make a great book, but instead he's written The Duff Guide to 2 Tone, a 250+ page collection of 2 Tone-related pieces from his blog. There are reviews of original pieces, but the book's real purpose is to show how the 2 Tone sound and—more importantly its ideals—carry on today...Get this book right away!" — Charles Benoit, Reggae Steady Ska
"...Shafer has definitely not forgotten how socially conscious issues were at the root of Ska even from the beginning. He makes certain to thread the political issues that motivated the development of Ska throughout his narrative; painting a picture that took both the oppressive political environments and the often ecstatic musical content into account. And in that, he nails down for me what the enduring pull of Ska was to its many fans. Was there ever a more upbeat dance music that combined its boundless energy with a push for progressive social values and calling truth to power?" —Post-Punk Monk
"...[The Duff Guide to 2 Tone is a] chatty, informative and knowledgeable work, one that you can either sit down and read or use as a reference source..." —Nik Skeat, Scootering Magazine
"During the reading of the book it is dangerous to have a screen open next to you with Discogs. I have found lots of ‘new music’ via the stories in The Duff Guide to 2 Tone which I must have." -- Peter Vrakking, Blue Beat & Ska
In the mail today, I received the first copy of my new paperback book The Duff Guide to 2 Tone --and am thrilled to announce that it is now...
About Your Duff Guide
Steve Shafer/The Duff Guide to Ska For most of the 1990s, I was the promotions, marketing, production guy for Moon Records (RIP). It was one of the best jobs I ever had. Seriously, I miss it badly. During 1999/2000, I ran 7 Wonders of the World Music, the first digital download-only ska label that was too ahead of the curve for its own good (RIP).
I filmed and edited this Toasters video for $2,500, which made its debut on MTV's 120 Minutes. I also put together these compilations for Moon: the first three Skarmageddons; Ska United: A Global Ska Sampler; Skank Down Under; This Are Moon Ska I, II, and III; and Moonshot!
Here's an old interview with Adam Monkey from Read Magazine that covers my days at Moon and 7 Wonders. I also did a somewhat more recent interview with Read Junk.
I've been interviewed about ska music and Moon Records for The New York Times, Heather Augustyn's "Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation," Aaron Carnes' "In Defense of Ska," Kenneth Partridge's "Hell of a Hat: The Rise of '90s Ska and Swing," and Marc Wasserman's "Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History" (I also wrote the introductory chapter "1985: The Year American Ska Broke" for Wasserman's book).
And I'm the author of "The Duff Guide to 2 Tone," which can be ordered from Amazon--and is available in the US from Jump Up Records, and in Europe from the 2 Tone Village Shop (Coventry, UK), Champion Sound Records (Hull, UK), Aggroshop (Nijmegen, Netherlands), and Copasetic Mailorder (Hamburg, Germany). Plus, my book was on sale in the museum shop for the "2 Tone: Lives & Legacies" exhibition (May 28 - September 12, 2021), curated by Simon Reynolds, Cory Barrett, Pete Chambers, Jennifer Otter Bickerdike and Daniel Rachel, at the Herbert Art Gallery Museum in Coventry, UK.
I'm now working on my next book, "Calling All the Rude Boys: The Duff Guide to The Toasters, 1981-1992," to be published in 2023.
If you have a ska or reggae release that you'd like me to consider reviewing, please send an e-mail to Steve at duffguidetoska@gmail.com. You should know that I am old school and prefer music in tangible formats (plus I might use your music when I DJ ska events). I'd also appreciate any news or tips you may have about bands.
All reviews and interviews posted on The Duff Guide to Ska are copyrighted and are the sole property of Steve Shafer. Please contact me for permission to reproduce anything on this blog.
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See Live Ska Bands in NYC!
Check out the NYC ska shows I co-host and co-DJ with Ryan Midnight!
Yours truly recently received a request for a complete Moon Records vinyl discography to help him out with tracking down some of the label...
Visit The Duff Guide to Ska Video Channel!
Check out The Duff Guide to Ska Video Channel for footage of ska bands in action in clubs around NYC, as well as unusual and rare ska videos from the 90s! Bands featured include The Toasters, The Bluebeats, The Forthrights, Across the Aisle, The Caroloregians, The Moon Invaders, The Rudie Crew, Tip the Van, Hey Stranger, Beat Brigade, Bigger Thomas, King Chango, The Scofflaws, UB40, The Hard Times, Jah Love and the Valentinians, The Shifters, Rudies Don't Care, Big Audio Dynamite, Stranger Cole and Patsy with Crazy Baldhead, Queen P of Ocean 11, King Hammond, The Snails, King Django, Doomsday! The Ultimate Tribute to Mephiskapheles Consisting of Former Members of Mephiskapheles, Destroy Babylon, The Frightnrs, The Pandemics, Los Skarroneros, The Bullbuckers, The Scofflaws, The Reggay Lords, The Copacetics, Rude Boy George, Dave Hillyard and the Rocksteady 7, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, The Specials, Roddy Radiation and Lynval Golding, The Ladrones, Chris Murray, Radio Riddler, UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro, and Mickey Virtue, Barbicide, The Twilights, Bim Skala Bim featuring John Bunkley (Gangster Fun), The Pomps, and more!
