More Specials

Less Specials

This started off fun, but it tapered off by the middle, I was ready for it to be over before it was over.

I said in my review of their debut album that it reminds me of partying with the punk kids in high school. I’ve never done DMT, but I’m pretty sure this album is what doing DMT with the punk kids in high school would have been like.

Seriously, this feels like such a weird follow up to their debut album. While I haven’t returned to their debut since it was generated a while ago, I remember it being a fun and upbeat ska record. This album on the other hand immediately goes off the rails into some pretty strange territory and almost feels like a nightmare version of their debut. It’s still ska, but with a lot of other influences thrown in and the themes seem much darker.

3.5
Opening/closing song a bit weak imo, enjoyed most of the rest though

I *want* to like it more than I do. I feel like it was probably pretty subversive back in the day, but it's kind of a tough listen. I'd give it 2.5 if I could.

I've only ever had the first Specials record and a couple Fun Boy Threes, so I'm happy to have the opportunity to check this one out too. And ah yes, I recognize a couple tracks, e.g., "Enjoy Yourself." This feels a little mellower than the first record - it's the usual ska with interesting lyrics, but a couple of tracks had some unexpected dancehall-y/soundtrack-y bits, which was fun.

Only disappointment was that I'd hoped "Ghost Town" would be on this one, but I'm now reminded that that song didn't come out until 1981, so it looks like that must have been a single that came out after this album. I loved that song when it was on the radio but never tried to find a copy.

But still, enjoyed it - 4/5

Absolutely no bangers. Such a downgrade from the debut

no

I didn’t enjoy it as much as their debut album. But even not great ska is still fun.

I'll be honest, my knowledge of The Specials was pretty much limited to "Too Much Too Young" and "Ghost Town" and none of this matches up to those songs, so pretty disappointing, really.

Believe it or not, I don't think that More Specials is all that special. Apparently, this album influenced a lot of trip-hop artists in the 90s but i just don't really see the influence they took from this album. I only really see this album as a ska album with a few electronic elements but not enough to be the influence for a lot of trip-hop records. As for the album, it's not bad but it is very forgettable as many of these songs just blend together and just don't have all that much to keep them interesting (except for International Jet Set, i actually rather enjoyed that one) It's not bad but it is something that makes me question the band's name.
Best Song: International Jet Set
Worst Song: Enjoy Yourself (Reprise)

1.82

For this review, I'm not bothering with the second disc of the 2015 deluxe version.

I've heard a song or two from the Specials, a very influential ska revival band. Given their legacy, I'm not surprised they had an album on the list, though I was not expecting to see their second album here. From what I gather, More Specials was more influential to later trip-hop acts like Massive Attack and Portishead, given the range of styles implemented. That got me curious, and after a full listen, I've come to appreciate the experimentation, even if it didn't work half the time.

For sure, there are still fun ska tracks in between like "Enjoy Yourself", "Hey, Rich Little Girl", and "Sock It to 'Em J.B." that maintain a fast-paced energy with the guitar and horn complements and Terry Hall's powerful vibrato vocals. Even some of the wilder experiments near the beginning were cool to listen to like the apocalyptic reggae of "Man at C&A" and the laidback vibes of "Do Nothing" with its lyrics warning about obliviousness.

But then side two gets weirder, and not necessarily for the better. They took more inspiration on side two from lounge music and exotica, with more dour sentimentality mixed in. As a result, I hate to say it but side two sounds more of a slog, except for the calypso-themed "Holiday Fortnight". Keyboardist and founding member Jerry Dammers was pushing the band in this lounge direction at the time, and I consider it a detriment. I can see why other members fought back to include more rockabilly and soul vibes because they needed the energy.

More Specials is an interesting curiosity for this list, one I didn't mind checking out despite its glaring issues. Cherry-pick your favorites and go from there.

A bit too scattered for me. I like several of the songs here, but it's all over the place stylistically which makes it not the best listen as an album. The ska elements are improved from their debut when they do appear.

Despite the band's name, I did not find this album to be very special at all. As much as I can appreciate the instrument work that went into this album, I didn't really care for the sound. None of the songs really stuck out as being that great to me. The singing wasn't anything to write home about. I can appreciate some of the lyricization for some of the songs, with there being some good messages in there as well, but other songs just didn't really make sense to me. While I can appreciate what this album tried to do and I have respect for the band itself, I just don't think I am a fan of this type of music. low 3/5.