Signing Off
UB40
1980
Album Summary
Signing Off is the debut album by British reggae band UB40, released in the UK on 29 August 1980 by Dudley-based independent label Graduate Records. It was an immediate success in their home country, reaching number 2 on the UK albums chart, and made UB40 one of the many popular reggae bands in Britain, several years before the band found international fame. The politically-concerned lyrics struck a chord in a country with widespread public divisions over high unemployment, the policies of the recently elected Conservative party under Margaret Thatcher, and the rise of the racist National Front party, while the record's dub-influenced rhythms reflected the late 1970s influence in British pop music of West Indian music introduced by immigrants from the Caribbean after the Second World War, particularly reggae and ska – this was typified by the 2 Tone movement, at that point at the height of its success and led by fellow West Midlands act The Specials, with whom UB40 drew comparisons due to their multiracial band line-up and socialist views. Still considered by many fans and music critics to be UB40's best album, Signing Off was reissued for its 30th anniversary in 2010 as a "collector's edition" containing bonus tracks and a DVD of the videos for the singles plus television footage of the band from the time of the album's release.
WikipediaYou can't beat a bit of Brummie Reggae. A throw back to early 1980s black inequality, three million unemployed and on the dole in Thatcher's inner city Britain. A classic album, and a great document of that era. Used millions of times, usually accompanied with grainy news footage of inner city squaller, queues at the job centre, inner city riots, burnt out cars and striking industrial union members.
I tend to like the more dubby instrumental tracks/passages here. Always a fan of deep prominent basslines. It's okay but wouldn't be my first choice for reggae, etc.
i can only imagine that in the 80s the united kingdoms was resplendent with reggae norm macdonalds putting unique and terrible white boy flows on reggae
UB40, political motivated lyrics influenced by their folk singing families. Formed whilst signing on, Ali Campbell was glassed in the face and his eye popped out, with the compensation he bought a drum kit for the band. They drank the rest of the cash in the local pub. Now split due to disagreements about money Ali and Astro tour signing the hits whilst Robin Campbell his brother is suing Ali, what a shambles. Great songs that tell a story of the social struggles of the 80s in reggae.
Eh, it's ok. White guys singing reggae always makes me laugh. +1 stars for being from Birmingham
Did not realize UB40 sang political messaging, so a bit more respect to them. I'm not a huuuge fan of Reggae but as this goes it's pretty good. Reggae is kind of nice background music for me. It all is groovy and easy listening.
I loved the sax added to the reggae vibe. I thought that was cool and unique. Otherwise it was awfully redundant. I could have Listened to the first 30 seconds of each song and still gotten the same experience musically
Later UB40 is very annoying. Early UB40 as seen here has a few decent songs but is mostly forgettable.
I don't get reggae, never did. But at least with Marley, I get that he's the real deal and a pioneer. UB40 just sound fake and lame. This is what I imagine my personal hell sounds like. F
If it is not Bob Marley, the appeal to reggae is hard to feel. While the songs and styling are certainly reggae, this foray into pop puts a clear line of demarcation between pop reggae and reggae as a culture. The positive and well-earned critique is that UB40 does reggae really well as a song and musical style. The sounds and pop infused elements make for a different yet acceptable take. However, and perhaps this is the differentiator of what Bob Marley gave us vs. what other reggae artists have done is that there is a measure of heart and soul in the cultural significance of Bob Marley that we truthfully need to consider not holding other reggae artists accountable to. As objectively as possible, UB40's "Signing Off" is a good, well executed reggae pop album if the listener is into it for the sake of reggae... and pop. The sounds are clean and the groovy elements are all the signature expectations that one might have listening to reggae, but with more pop. For this review however, the premise is based on whether or not this album is a prerequisite to the afterlife, and that is difficult to really justify here.
Love the vibes of the album. Need to throw it into my reggae and ska rotation.
Awesome, a classic imo and so chill Didn't know they were british but knowing this list it checks out
Wow. Creo que este ha sido la mayor sorpresa hasta el momento. Yo tenía la impresión de una banda de reggae que hacía cosas pegajosas, no tenía idea que tenían semejante declaración de principios y tremendos rolones. Hasta voy a conseguir el vinil, está verguísima esto.
Unbelievable… had know idea these cats pumped out such great dub. I’ll be revisiting this album 100%
Debut album of the most successfull reggae band in the world. Perfect! Must be listened.
I like how this group brings forward political statements especially songs about truth during the time this was written.
4.5/5. Very cool sound effects and backstory behind album + band name. 👍
One of the best things about @1001_albums_gen is reading the backstory of the albums - because this is a fabulous, non-covers debut album i'd never heard. They locked themselves away for a year learning instruments to play - and it's fab!
this is nice pure fucking vibes mm mm mmmmm a very long album but i listened gradually throughout the day and it was so lovely i can’t really fault it
Very cool. I would describe this style as the prog-rock of whatever umbrella genre this album belongs to.
Super chill reggae sounds, love it! Don't think I'd have checked this one out without this, so I'm really glad!
I had no idea that prior to being the house wives' favourite reggae-lite pop band UB40 were a politically charged reggae behemoth. The music on display here is rudimentary, it's clearly a band still learning to play, but the album is all the better for that. The rough around the edges feel provides an authenticity that you're not getting with Red, Red Wine! There's a soulful, sax driven, feel to the album that makes it much more than a straight up derivative of Jamaica's dub legends. I absolutely loved this album which I did not expect.
How can a band making this political, interesting, honest album filled with Dub and other fantastic rhythms make such rubbish afterwards? Madame Medusa, Food for Thought, Burden of Shame, King, Tyler, album is full of true classics. This one deserves the full 5 stars!
This is pretty enjoyable, actually. I hadn’t ever heard of them, but I do like reggae.
I really like the UB40 vibe. There are some good songs in the mix, and the tail end of the album really fines a nice groove. In the middle there is a slight sameness... i'll still round up a little bit since i like the sound.
I’ve never listened to their music aside from red red wine. So we’ll see, I’m not the biggest reggae fan. So far it’s actually been quite enjoyable. Very groovy. I wish red red wine was on this album
Pachecón, que así describirlo, tratandose de reggae, es una redundancia. Me gustó el toque de sax. Canción favorita: Madam Medusa, porque sí está mareadora. Mood: hiperfrito
7/10. Might even have been a bit higher, it felt a little bit more interesting than some of the other Reggae albums we've had.
i like this one! some of the songs aren't that notable but it's still fun to listen to the album lol
Super white boy reggae from the Campbell Bros et al. Highlights are "King" a great reggae version of "Strange Fruit" (I wonder what Billie Holliday would have thought?) and "Food For Thought" Lovely time educing sounds
Nice hearing their early stuff, actually, rather than the hits that have been crammed down my ears since childhood! Plus one star out of Brummie pride... Fave track - "Tyler" was a great opening. "Reefer Madness" was fun, too.
Super horn section, classy reggae riffs, such a great group, I loved it.
Really liked this album! I don't listen to enough reggae so I'm glad to know of this band
Great melodies, loved the way they incorporated jazz ska and reggae a reggae classic! Main Critism was it was two long :(
Just-right reggae, with squeaky clean beats and perfectly balanced tempos, nary a note goes wrong.
Never really knew anything outside of "Red Red Wine" from this band but the whole album is pretty chill. I think I've always wrote off reggae as stoner music but I should give it another chance because I really liked the entire album.
Takes me back. the 80s were a great time for reggae and ska to hit the mainstream.
I really enjoyed this. They were doing it long before I knew about them...
Really didn't want to like this. In my memory, UB40 is Red Red Wine, and The Way You Do the Things You Do. This album was not that. I really enjoyed these songs, front to back a very enjoyable album, I'll definitely add some of these tracks to my playlists.
I think, as Americans, we often think of reggae from anywhere but Jamaica as poser music. But that's an ameri-centric view that's almost offensively dismissive of the Jamaican diaspora's impact on British culture. Reggae and ska (the original stuff, not the Cali-ska, third wave trash from my youth) took root in the UK in a way that they didn't in the US. The diaspora and the music it brought changed the game and created brand-new, uniquely British genres like Jungle, House, Dub and, eventually, Grime. You can feel its impact in UK punk bands even. The Clash's "London Calling" album wouldn't exist without British reggae. Anyway, all that to say, I don't have a problem with a bunch of lads from Birmingham making reggae. Especially when it's this good. Does it have the raw edge of Marley's reggae? No. But, then again, comparing every reggae album to Marley seems a bit unfair. The songs are excellently composed, well-performed, and the recordings are damn near immaculate. The lyrics are thoughtful and thought-provoking. I wish there was about 60% less saxophone but I'll let it slide this time because it's just part of the genre. Overall, a pretty great album.
Ub40 luisteren terwijl je aan het fietsen bent op een maandagochtend in de gietende regen geeft je toch nog een beetje een warm gevoel...life is good en het is maar regen.
way more dub than i was expecting. i've no idea what it is about UB40 but i have a soft spot for them and this album almost validates my soft spot. the lack of credibility the more poppy cod reggae brings is easily counteracted by their debut dub album.
Easily 3.75 stars. I had a copy of "Labour of Love" just like everybody else but admittedly have never heard any of UB40's non-cover song work. This came off as a pretty genuine dub record. If I had to pick a reggae band from Birmingham, Steel Pulse would still stand heads and shoulders above IMO, but this was pretty good
This album didn't have any of the traditional Labour of Love UB40 tracks that I'm used to, but I enjoyed it. It's amazing that this is a British, and I love the origin of their band name, too.
For me this just kept fading into background reggae. Good but not engaging. My regard for political lyrics is not what it once was.
Had not heard of this band but I think I liked them by the end. Where it got weird for me is when the onligitory 80's synths combined with the soulful reggae grooves.
good, but not really my kind of music. i can appreciate what they were doing tho.
A true classic of British reggae, before they went the pop-reggae route (which wasn't that bad, IMHO).
No, pues no, me doy cuenta una vez más de que el reggae no es para mí. Si bien, de pronto tiene una vibras muy chill, muy buenaonda, me parece un bucle y espero en algún momento una variación o algo que "explote". Es personal, pero bueno, supongo que para los fans del género, debe ser un gran disco (espero). 7/10
It was less bad than I was expecting. A lot of the songs were somewhat groovy and I liked some of the messages in the songs. Still, it was over an hour of reggae so I’ll toss it a 6
I really liked this, though I found some of the songs to be a bit too long/repetitive (which is generally what I don't like about reggae). Overall though it had good vibes, and I liked the cool 80s elements you could hear in it as well.
more enjoyable than I expected from the "red, red wine" band. "food for thought" was a high point for me. listening to reggae brought me back to high school days
Bonito disco de reggae y, sobre todo, de dub. Tranquilísimo y muy escuchable. Sin ningún tema que predomine.
Of course I remember a couple of popular songs from UB40 from the late 80s. It was good to hear this album, because my primary exposure to UB40 was through their cover songs. The album was good enough. I think I liked the instrumentals the most ("12 bar" and "25%"), but there wasn't anything that I disliked. There was at least one cover song on this album, which was probably my least favorite track ("Strange Fruit"). (3 stars) [I listened to the Cassette version of this album which has ¿3? more tracks than the LP -- "Strange Fruit" wasn't on the LP.]
It’s alright. Not my jam really, but it’s nice to chill out to I guess.
Not bad, just not my style. Reminded me of a Jimmy Buffet album. The songs sounded too similar from track to track for my taste
Reggae album that fails to leave a lasting impression as all the songs sound very much the same and fade into ambience very quickly
Not like their later releases where they become more authentic. The debut is simply too similar to other raggae from the time.
Some solid reggae songs but others sound like they shouldn't even be played in a grocery store.
Just a great feel to it, and a few good songs. Would have been a 4 at the time but a 3 now.
3 I guess, but two hours of this is too much. I'll listen to disc two some other time.
Pretty solid. I really enjoyed it. More of a traditional reggae sound than most of their hits that I'm familiar with. I was really excited when they first song had more of a modern reggae dub sound but it seems like that was the only one. A bit repetitive and long at times but a solid 3.5 for me.
UB40 is probably one of those bands who are judged solely on their radio hit(s). In this case, I think it's not entirely fair to do so, to be honest.
Good, I don't perhaps have the historical context to really enjoy this to the fullest, but I never wanted to turn it off. Enjoyable listen.
Red, Red Wine really, really sucks, but this is not that, so it turned out to be better than I expected. However, it's still reggae made by white guys from Birmingham (lol). The instrumentals are the best parts. Best track: Adella
Good working music, good music for smokin da ganjaaa monnnnn Long live Jah in Babylonia 🟢🟡🔴 3/5
Not bad, but I wouldn't listen again. I'm just not a fan of their style of reggae.
I don't really know any other reggae than the stuff Bob Marley and his sons put out which I hate with passion (seriously, how can anyone stand any of that ***?). Turns out it's not all that horrible. This album was a lot jazzier than what I'd think of as typical reggae and with a much stronger focus on instrumentation, rather than on sluggishly delivered vocal hooks. It's still not something I'd actively seek out and listen to, but it was perfectly fine in the background and even enjoyable at times. Definitely a good experience to listen to this one, as it was the first time I've ever heard any reggae without instantly thinking "wow, this sucks so much". The one song that stood out for being horrible was Madam Medusa though, that one really sucked. All the rest of the album was fine though.
Well, this was not what I was expecting. I grew up with the pop UB40 of the 90s. It's weird to hear them as an actual reggae band, not doing uninspired covers of Elvis songs. I've never disliked this band, but this album gave me newfound respect for them. There's much more authenticity about this album than the later stuff that I was aware of. I'm not much of a reggae fan, but it's enjoyable when it's done well, instead of being the same handful of Bob Marley songs being blasted out the window of some frat boy's car. 3/5 It's a fine listen, but ultimately uninspiring.
Not too bad. Reggae is meh for me right now, but the instrumentals were cool. Wasn't a huge fan of the vocals personally.
An interesting trip to mediocre funky town. Some fun synth stuff mixed in here
A nice representation of UB40's music during their serious One in Ten era, before they went commercial. However, as far as reggae music from that era is concerned, I much prefer The Police's interpretation from Reggatta de Blanc.
Decent music, I will give them another listen and check out their other albums to make a long term judgement whether i like it or not.
Pretty well put together but that sax got a bit droning at times, hit the high note every once in a while son!
Album je dobar kad ga slušaš u pozadini onak, tako mi se sviđa. Međutim vjerujem da je dost dugačak za ovaj žanr, a i ovakih ima slučajeva kolko ti polje široko.
Reggae za picke? Malo mi je dosadan album al je okej za pozadinsku glazbu.
It is an interesting take on reggae for sure. Much more spacey and jazzy than the usual style which I enjoyed. The lyrics are potent political sentiments, but a bit too simple (often just a few lines over and over). 6/10
Better than expected, some nice dub reggae. Always like a bit of melodica so this went down well.
Well that took me back ! No, not the music, the UB40 form ! That was very familiar when I worked for the UBO. At the time I wasn’t keen on Two-Tone but I enjoyed this. High 3*
Pas mon genre habituel, mais j'aime bien les pièces dub. Ça s'écoute bien, mais encore une fois, c'est un peu trop long. Je préfère cet album aux reprises qui ont faites le succès du groupe. Pièces préférées: Signing Off et 25%
C’est cool et c’est bien fait. Je me tanne rapidement par contre. Les tounes se ressemblent trop.
Robert vient donc nous proposer un album de 1h pleine de reggae. Il n'a donc surement pas lu nos multiples critiques à l'encontre de ce style musical absolument minable. Comme pour chaque album de reggae, la proposition artistique s'adresse uniquement aux adolescents déscolarisés, souhaitant mener une vie "à la cool". On ne cautionne pas et appliquons donc un 3/5 cher payé.
Une voix sublime à la texture R'n'B gâchée par des instrumentales reggae (?!).
huh, I didn't know there was a pre Red Red Wine UB40. Not bad. Some chill, reggae vibes. Socially conscious lyrics about being ashamed to be British. Ok UB40, you're alright...
This album as a whole is much better than the one ‘Red, Red Wine’ song of theirs that I know.
En mi radar UB40 era solo una banda de Reggae que había hecho covers famosos. No estoy totalmente lejos de la realidad, pero siento que tienen mucha legitimidad como la banda que hizo y ha hecho el reggae británico desde que empezó a sonar y no lo ha soltado. Eso no quita que el género no me encanta, pero sí sentí mucho más gusto por el disco de lo que imaginaba inicialmente. En especial me gusto Tyler, la que abre el disco, que habla de un negro víctima de un juez blanco. Me parece interesante por la época y porque la mitad de la banda son hombres blancos, pero aparentemente muy conscientes de cómo estaba (y sigue estando) el pedo.
Pues me gustó tanto como me puede gustar el reggae. Buena instrumentación, buenas canciones. Mi único problema es que no he encontrado un reggae que me vuele la cabeza pero seguro es mi tema con el género. La mejor es Burden of Shame.
60/100: I’ll start this review off by saying my knowledge of reggae is very much limited. It’s a genre I don’t listen to much, and therefore I don’t really feel well equipped to judge how this album stacks up within its genre. This was an album I had to listen to twice, partly because of that fact. My first listen through, I only really paid attention to the music itself—the sound and notes and nothing else. On that first listen through, I found this album really disappointing. Each song blended into one another, the sound was essentially the same from one track to the next. Now I know this is a critique coming from a place of not listening to much reggae, so I’ve tried to not let it factor into my review. Instead of focusing on just the music, then, I decided to dive into the lyrical composition of the album, and wow did I find this album goes so much deeper than what I initially thought. It almost feels intentional that UB40 hid their scathing criticism of conservatism and Margaret Thatcher’s government within such an otherwise unassuming album. The lyrics go beyond just that, though. This album has everything from a song about how Martin Luther King, Jr. died in vain, his dream still a dream to this day, to critiques on British colonialism and even a cover of “Strange Fruit.” Having discovered all of this, I find it extremely interesting—and perhaps unsettling—that a majority of this group, to include their lead singer, are white. There are members in UB40 of Jamaican-decent, so perhaps they were the creative minds behind this album, but it should be their story to tell—emphasis on tell. Having a white man as their lead singer actually telling these stories, is an odd thought. I’d feel pretty uncomfortable listening to a white man song a reggae cover of Strange Fruit, and frankly I don’t know how they got/get away with it. All in all, at its face, this is a good album, but I wouldn’t listen to it again on my own volition and I certainly wouldn’t see them perform live. (Fun fact: Brett Kavanaugh did see them live and then got into a bar fight at Yale that same night along with future NBA star Chris Dudley—who famously got dunked on hard by Shaq and then threw a ball at him)
Starts off strong but gets a bit stale throughout. Definitely great background music pretty chilled out but not something I'd listen to on a regular basis
2,5/5 Nicht mein Genre Etwas monotoner Reggae Krine Zeit deswegen zum einschlafen
I've heard of UB40, but never delved into their stuff before. This is my second reggae album in a row (yesterday I had Bob Marley). Unlike Bob's sound, this has more pop sensibilities to it, and the saxophone is a great addition to the overall feel of the album. This album deals with some pretty heavy topics about racism, politics, and poverty. I enjoyed this album, but not as much as Bob Marley's album. This record had a lot of instrumentals, experimentation, and drawn out solos throughout, whereas Bob Marley kept his album on track and tight, which is why I liked it more. Favourite songs: Tyler, Burden of Shame, Little By Little, Food For Thought Least favourite songs: Madam Medusa (13 minute song that just felt too long and drawn out), I Think It's Going To Rain Today 3/5
Better than I expected - it's early UB40, so quite moody and not popularist white boy reggae Plus, Food for Thought, immense
This is the debut album by British reggae band UB40. It was an immediate success in the UK, making the band one of the more popular reggae bands at the time, and the album has remained one of the band's best. Signing Off is an almost perfect debut album and a cool British take on reggae. It has a mellow sound, but the political lyrics still pack a punch. I really enjoyed this chilled out album and would recommend everyone to give it a listen.
This album broadened my horizons on what reggae could be. Silky smooth with the sax. Relaxing in a way.
I don't think I was in the right headspace to fully enjoy this one. I need to give it another listen as I think that there's some real magic on this if I give it more attention. So it's a 3+*
Not my style of music, but I get why people like it. The rhythms are hypnotic, but this album is repetitive to me. Every song sounded very similar to the preceding track. However, I really dug the longest song, Madam Medusa, but that was really the only highlight for me. 2.5/5.
not my genre, disc 1 lang nakayanan kong tapusin, every song seems the same im sorry
I went into this kind of dreading it. I hate "Red Red Wine", so I was expecting more of the same. While I did get a bunch of it, I did also get some interesting dub parts. Inoffensive enough background music, not for me. Favorite track: "Burden of Shame"
Look, we've talked about this before. Reggae is something for which I really need to be in the mood. Generally, I like UB40. This album, however, just didn't do it for me. 2 stars.
It's reggae, but it's easy listening reggae. Not a big fan. And BTW Burden of Shame is a blatant ripoff of Moondance by Van Morrison - almost identical melody. I wonder if they got sued. 2 stars.
Not bad I guess... lots of dub tracks. I listened to it while running errands and found it inoffensive but at no point really clicked with this.
As a first release, this was really good. However, I'd probably not listen to this more than once a quarter.
Ich weiß nicht, in meiner Erinnerung war die immer Schwung. Davon habe ich bei dem Album nichts bemerkt
I do not enjoy this very much. Normally I would blame it on the weather, but its a beautiful sunny day out, so I think it's just bad. 4 reggae was a mistake, ska forever
Even though I used to like their hit songs I was not in the mood for this. I might revisit it at a later time.
Reggae is nice but the overuse of reverb and echo effects tires my ears in the long run. Burden of shame is basically reggae moondance. I understand the value this album had on the british scene back when it was released but I value this only as background music.
Yks saatanan pitkä reggaebiisi? Tekis mieli antaa yks tähti ihan vaan ykstoikkosuudesta, mut kyllä sen sieti läpi kuunnella.
Pitkä kuin nälkävuosi. En oikein ymmärrä mikä tässä levyssä oli niin hienoa, että on nostettu tälle listalle?
Bah, un poco rollo patatero. 2.Venga, no, un 3. Pero es bastante rollo. No, un 2, porque, intencionadamente, no lo volvería a escuchar.
I got through disc one, which is not bad for me! I would say probably my favorite reggae album to date, but I truly do not like this genre in any way.