Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Certainly average reggae.
Spoko, ale zrobiło się nudne po jakimś czasie
Not as gritty as Burning Spear or Marley, but a bit more listenable.
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.
Could be better. Could be Worse. Favorite tracks: 12bar, 25%
An interesting trip to mediocre funky town. Some fun synth stuff mixed in here
Liked a few of them probaby a 3.5 if i could give it that
Not too bad. Reggae is meh for me right now, but the instrumentals were cool. Wasn't a huge fan of the vocals personally.
Nada especial
UB3star
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.
baš chill ugođaj, neka pozitiva
Dobar đir
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.
Not bad, but I wouldn't listen again. I'm just not a fan of their style of reggae.
Enjoyed Tyler.
Good working music, good music for smokin da ganjaaa monnnnn Long live Jah in Babylonia 🟢🟡🔴 3/5
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
Decent. Didn’t make a huge impression of me, but I enjoyed it.
Alright, some good bits, some a bit off
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.
Good background music.
it was fine
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.
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.
3 I guess, but two hours of this is too much. I'll listen to disc two some other time.
Classic reggae album
this took a 80s turn. 3 stars solid. very classic rasta vid.
Just a great feel to it, and a few good songs. Would have been a 4 at the time but a 3 now.
Some solid reggae songs but others sound like they shouldn't even be played in a grocery store.
Not like their later releases where they become more authentic. The debut is simply too similar to other raggae from the time.
Reggae album that fails to leave a lasting impression as all the songs sound very much the same and fade into ambience very quickly
Ps si mucho reage ... Pero muy sin chiste o muy igual
Bueno pero largo.
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
Perfectly fine background music
It’s alright. Not my jam really, but it’s nice to chill out to I guess.
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.]
Canny
Gut hörbar, aber Reggae ist einfach nicht meins!
had to listen on utube
Expected to hate it, really liked the first track and nothing after offended me but the album could do with being shorter.
Bonito disco de reggae y, sobre todo, de dub. Tranquilísimo y muy escuchable. Sin ningún tema que predomine.
brilliant.
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
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.
Muy reggae, rumboso. Buenos acordes. Tranquilo de escuchar
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
All reggae music sounds the same but this is okay
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
Reggae. Bien, pero demasiado largo.
A true classic of British reggae, before they went the pop-reggae route (which wasn't that bad, IMHO).
good, but not really my kind of music. i can appreciate what they were doing tho.
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.
For me this just kept fading into background reggae. Good but not engaging. My regard for political lyrics is not what it once was.
Chill
nice to listen to
Cool beats, good vibes. Nice background music to work to.
Red red wine, mon
pretty decent reggae but doesn't seem to be my vibe.
reggae isnt really my thing but solid album
pretty good dub record!
Starts out with that classic reggae beat. Rock solid reggae album front to back. Madame Medusa drug on a bit. Solid but I'm not coming back to it.
This was some pretty lame reggae
I bailed out early. Love me some anti-thatcher class warfare but I just can’t do reggae
Not a fan of reggae sorry.
All the songs end up blending together. Nothing really stands out.
First Listen: NA OVERALL: UB40 make what is possibly the whitest move in history by doing a reggae cover of Strange Fruit. I didn't enjoy this.
UB40...? More like you U be 80 (with hearing loss) to enjoy this. Blech
Kinda boring after a few songs
I like the sound that the band makes but have never enjoyed the vocals.
I did not have the capacity to listen to this today. It all sounded the same and I'm not on a beach sipping a margarita.
Not unpleasant. But so repetitive and overall boring. 4/10 Acceptable
i liked burden of shame
I’m sure this is great for people who are into this kind of music. I really have no way of knowing.
Yeh I think Ima sign off too actually
meh
Hard pass
I’m a bit ambivalent about reggae as a genre of music. This album doesn’t alter that. Like some UB40 songs, but also dislike others. Food for Thought and Tyler are both good on here.
I’m sure this is good for reggae either, she’s not me. Two starts.
'Tyler is guilty, a white judge has said so / What right do we have to say it's not so?' Appreciating the politics of an artist is not a sustainable practice, particularly for a leftist like myself, which is not to say that there's no great leftist art, or that conservatives have an aesthetic advantage in this regard, only that political leanings are neither necessary nor sufficient. W/ UB40, this fact comes to the fore almost immediately, Ali Campbell lamenting the unjust sentencing of a black man by a white judge, a righteous project but not done engagingly or charmingly. Just compare this group to The Clash, or The Specials, & it's apparent who gets it & who doesn't. Besides a few moments of blessed reggaeism, Campbell is just too whiney to fit the bill.
Probably the best UB40 album before their big single hits. Good fusion of pop/reggae made this a very accessible album on its release in 1980, certainly in my school, although not really for me.
Cool. I like the sax, but the album as a whole does not rock my world
I was expecting this to suck since the only songs I've heard before are their shitty Elvis cover and Red Red Wine. This was fine for a reggae/dub album, 2.5 stars.
People who've known me long enough know my disdain for UB40, particularly the songs "Red Red Wine" and their cover of "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You". I have a hard time with reggae as it is, and British reggae sounds potentially even more awful . So this album pops up, and I let out a sigh mentally...ugh, not these guys. Well, I still don't love this album that much, but I didn't hate it, so its not a 1. I found it interesting that it has a bit more of a dismal feel than say a Bob Marley record, in both the lyrics and the music. It's difficult for me to get through this entire album, being very same-y sounding. It's a pass for me, but I came out of this respecting this a little more than I did.
Its fine, just not my type of music.
Yknow what? Like a lot of these other comments I was also ready to pass this off as white people reggae and it is, but there are a few solid grooves on this, some sweet harmonies and vox, and preeeetty good writing as far as being socially conscious goes. Some of it comes off to me as just a hair off the mark (the groove and vox on King are maybe my favorite on the album, but the lyrics would suggest that his work just up and died with him, which isn't true), but that doesn't bother me TOO too much. I wish there were a full horn section instead of one sax sometimes overdubbing the octave above for arranged parts and then kinda noodling around for solos. I also wish the white guy lead singer wasn't doing an accent, that's always been a dumb thing to do. If you feel the need to fake Jamaican patois when performing reggae, maybe uh don't? I think a 2.5 is appropriate. I do wanna note here mostly if not entirely for myself: one of the top reviews mentioned that Americans often view non-Jamaican reggae as poser music and that view is ameri-centric. I get where that thought is coming from, but I don't think it's the non-Jamaican aspect, I think it's the white guy reggae aspect. Steel Pulse is another band formed in the same city as UB40 years prior and is made up of guys who migrated as kids or whose parents migrated from the Caribbean to the UK. I'd take any album from Steel Pulse over this record on the list - I think they sound better, but pretty similar bands as far as time period, success, and musical/lyrical style go.
fav songs: king dub, mellow, one-dimensional 30/100
Eh
Good vibe while I worked, nothing that had me hitting save though
Reggae, enough said
This album will do nothing to change my opinion that reggae is redundant. It's the same rhythm and beat for an hour
another one in the "this album is too long but the longest song is the best one" canon. i *guess* i can see the appeal of having a vinyl record of mild vanilla reggae to set a vibe but listening to this in a time when i can skip ahead or play something on loop, it felt tedious more than anything
Неплохо для прослушивания на фоне, а так бы я не выдержал сидеть час с лишним и слушать однотипные песни. 2/5
Helt fint lyt men synes det blev lidt ensformigt
Feels very long, which is probably due to the slow nature of ska. It's good, but very monotone.
This music is not real. I don’t believe real people listen to UB40.
Pretty easy listening, but just not my jam.
Dont love rasta tbh
1.5
Very bpring reggae. 2 stars
UB40 minutes of my life I won’t get back. Actually, UB67 minutes because it’s an album with a bonus/penalty EP. UB40 of course stands for Unemployment Benefit and in this case also Ultra Boring. Band should have stuck to the day job(seeking).
Boring as hell, dawg
Just way too monotonous.
Something I'm just not getting, here. I find this quite turgid, albeit well played and well produced.
This is probably good reggae...it doesn't sound like bad reggae...but I'm sad to say reggae doesn't agree with me.
I liked it a little at the beginning but it really dragged for me and by the end I was bored out of my skull. It's so boring!!!
I didn’t hate it. But I also didn’t really like any of the songs. None of them stood out.
Best Song: Food For Thought. I liked like slight reverb, and how the guitar and saxophone played off one another. Worst Song: Madam Medusa. Thirteen minutes of just the slowest jam session. Overall: I'm just not a reggae guy, let alone a UK reggae guy.
Meh like the Specials more but there are some interesting moments. Rating: 2.2
Didn't even listened till the end.
Starts off enjoyable. Music continues to be decent. Absolutely nothing wrong with the reggae groves & instrumentals whatsoever. But my god it gets tedious in the second half. A bit of variety wouldn't go amiss here - each song starts to blend into the other and as a result the album loses so much of its appeal or intriuge. It ultimately begins to feel like background instrumental.
Non sono sicuro rientri tra i 1000 migliori album di sempre
Not my vibe at all
Regge soundeja mutta on se pitkäpiimäistä
I’ll admit I’ve never really taken them seriously but I tried as hard as I could on this listen and I definitely have more respect, but was still pretty bored.
I haven’t heard this one before. I’ve heard UB40 before, but only the radio hits of uninspired cover songs in the late 80s and early 90s. It’s nice to hear some of their original music finally. This is definitely better than their radio songs but it all seems very run of the mill; all of this had been done before and done better by reggae and dub artists in the seventies and while they have their own spin on it, they don’t bring anything new to the genre and only a few of the songs really stand out. Part of this is I’m not a huge dub fan, so I’m sure someone knowledgeable about the history of dub could sort me out. Unlike their radio hits, I wouldn’t call any of this uninspired but it’s definitely uninspiring.
Shrug. I didn’t make it halfway through.
Life’s too short to listen to dub influenced British reggae while sober.
Sick with a fever. UB40 definitely hasn't helped.
Is there such a thing as "progressive reggae"? Because this album definitely felt like that at times. Ultimately, it seems like those nuances are provided by the "dub" aspect of this album. Ultimately, I didn't really feel that into this album. I don't pretend to be a reggae expert, but this project has had a few reggae albums, and this one left me a bit underwhelmed compared to others. I'd probably put this at about a 2.5, but not really any desire to round up.
I like chill reggae vibes, but on the long run all songs seems similar to me. Nothing stands out here.
Its a vibe!
So, I hate reggae. This record really doesn’t change that at all. I love Red Red Wine (which might be the exception that proves the rule that I hate the loathsome sounds of the Caribbean). But that song isn’t in this record. The real reggae fan reviews I’ve read of this record seem very positive, but it’s just a style I don’t enjoy. For me, this record kinda sucks. But I can understand why folks that like the style would like this record. That’s really the best I can say about it. 4/10
I can get with reggae, but this just sounds too polished. Too fancy. It's like some West-enders did their makeup and put on their tight jeans while their Jamaican roadies loaded all their shit into the venue. I want to hear the roadies!
Started strong but then was all the same. Not a Reggae album I think I should hear before I die
Honestly, I enjoyed a song or two but I think this is really mood music.
UB40 are ass
It was ok 2
Okay, not the biggest reggae fan, this was solid if uninspiring. Wild cover of Strange Fruit was ah . . . Interesting.
It just felt so long. I feel like you have to be in a certain mood for this
I wasn't prepared for a full album of reggae. There were good songs but damn, is it a one-trick pony. The songs just sound too similar to listen a full album. Hence forewards, reggae = single songs only.
I have very little exposure to Reggae, I didnt hate this but it sort of feels like someone took all of the parts of jazz that a lot of people dislike, and that (in my opinion) make jazz interesting). It is in many ways *super* palpable, But its also really boring. Proof that ideological agreement (I hate Margaret Thatcher too) != enjoyment 2/5
Bit slow and boring
Das ist einfach nicht so mein Ding. Ich mag den grundsätzlichen Sound schon ganz gern, aber ich finde es einfach zu öde. Die Songs sind zu lang, es gibt mir zu wenig Ideen. Da muss man wohl einfach in der richtigen Stimmung für sein.
Feels very long. All sounds the same
I don't really know how to rate this. I mean it's not terrible, but I don't want to listen to it. It's reggae, which I don't like in general. It's 80s music, which I do like in general. It's British, which I do like in general. It's the reggae that makes it something I don't want to listen to. I wish I could formulate better thoughts about this album, but I don't want to think about it anymore.
Idk, it's ok. Pretty fun reverb, but when that's legit the entire album there are diminishing returns.
Tyler - 2.5/5 King - 2/5 12 Bar - 2/5 Burden Of Shame - 3/5 Adella - 2/5 I Think It's Going To Rain Today - 2.5/5 25% - 2/5 Food For Thought - 2/5 Little By Little 2/5 Signing Off - 2/5 Madam Medusa - 1/5 Strange Fruit - 2.5/5 Reefer Madness - 2.5
Kinda same-y. Not for me.
😐
The whole album is based on the same reggae beat. Too easy listening, too predictable... too boring. It's reggae for someone who doesn't like reggae. It's so weak, that it can turn the breeze of a joint into a smelly smoke of a cigarette.
top 3 - Food For Thought, Little By Little, Reefer Madness
I only care for Red Red Wine by UB40 unfortunately.
Have we all been so skewed by the great Bob Marley that all other reggae just sounds meh? Or is the reggae we’ve heard so far that wasn’t him, really just meh objectively? This was boring and repetitive. There was only one song on there that I liked and I can’t even remember which one it was. Yawn.
Fine, uninspiring British Reggae. Too chill for its own good. Like a sedative with a backbeat.
Reggae is only enjoyable when performed by Bob Marley, or when at the beach with a tropical cocktail in your hand. It all just sounds the same to me and I'm yet to hear anything that will change my opinion. I like UB40 well enough, saxophone was a nice addition. Couple exceptions, but for the most part songs were too long and boring.
nope
Yeah… I don’t know. Not really my jam
though i do like other ska acts of this era (Madness, The Beat, The Specials), this felt a little too slow and meandering for my liking.
The songs are too "same-ish" for me.
This felt like elevator reggae. Didn't really catch me in the groove.
Relaxing and beachy, but god instrumental reggae is boring.
ThisB40minutestoolong
UB40? More like UB-boring
the vibes are there but my gen z attention span can’t handle it lol, draaaags on and just not my thing
Not bad for reggae -- which equates to two stars.
т.к. гитарная работа на альбоме тривиальная, больше часа слушать это устаешь пиздец
I’m sure there is a time, a place, a setting where I could get more out of this. It sounds like winding down music at a big party which I wish I’d already made my way home from. It’s nice, not particularly hateable but very chilled and drawn out for something which didn’t grab me.
Worthy, but rather dreary - there are many more vital reggae albums that have not appeared on the list yet - Dr Alimantado : Born For A Purpose, Culture : Two Sevens Clash, Augustus Pablo : King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown to name but three.
Harmless, but not exactly notable. I don't feel this record pushes the boundaries it could've. Everything seems very middle of the road and not particularly exciting. Best Tracks: - Food For Thought Worst Tracks: - Strange Fruit Rating: 3/10
I really wanted to live this album. I listened to it for a few days before taking a break and the saddest part is that I found the whole album to be shockingly forgettable. There were highlights, I enjoyed food for thought, as well as 12 bar, and burden of shame. But there wasn’t quiet enough variety of sounds and the whole album just kinda blended together. A very homogenous album but almost to a fault. I’m still waiting to hear a reggae album from this list that blows me away. I guess I’ll go drink some red red wiiiinnneeee.
I've never listened to this album (72). It's really reggae. Not much else.
I don’t think I finished this album. It’s not that it’s bad or that I dislike the band, I just think it’s such a distinctive sound that hearing one song feels like you’ve heard them all.
Good songs but terribly uninteresting. 2/5
Hate the Tories Fave track: Tyler
To było bardzo słabe. Raggae białych ludzi dla białych ludzi. Ten dwunastominutowy kawałek mnie prawie pokonał. Niewiele dobrego mogę powiedzieć, nie bujało i nawet nie niosło ze sobą tej radości, która kojarzy mi się z reggae. 4/10
not bad, not good
English reggae just ain’t my bag.
- jahman meininki maistuu kyllä, mutta tää on vähän tämmöstä taustamusiikkia tämä levy - jos istuisin kesäpäivää puistossa ni hyvin maistuis tämä levy
It's alright, well done, good commentary for the times. Doesn't blow me away. Probably worth being on the list. Album is long. Strong 2 weak 3.
Not for me
This is gunna be a no for me dawg
I like Reggae, but I don't see what warrants this album to be on the list...
There's a straight line from this record coming out to Roe v. Wade getting overturned.
This record just didn't end.
I know giving an album one song isn’t really fair, but I could have been convinced this was Sublime if it was on in the background and I wasn’t paying attention.
I almost signed off early.
Voru þetta fleiri en eitt lag?
Is this good? Is it really an album I had to hear before I died? Although not unpleasant, I felt like I had heard everything most of these tracks had to offer less than halfway through each of their runtimes, for Burden of Shame, Adella and Madam Medusa. The tracks are almost all too muzak and easy-listening for me, they need more bite. Boring.
Just feels entirely derivative.
#748. Reggae? No. Reggae made by white people? Double no. Reggae made by British people? Triple no. Yet another artist on here that's a one hit wonder, but we're listening to a different album for unknown reasons? Quadruple no. 2/5: just no
Si no catanran, me costaria menos entender porque lo han metido en esta lista. Canciones muy largas que solo son largas porque repiten lo mismo hasta la saciedad
Like most of the world, my introduction to UB40 came in the late '80s with their cover of Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine." It wasn't until much later that I learned UB40 did something other than cover songs, and it wasn't until today that I actually listened to any of them. I love the socio-political themes here, which must've caused consternation in the UK at the time. But musically the album settles into a groove and basically stays there for an hour. It doesn't take long to get tedious, though I appreciated their take on "Strange Fruit."
no Red Red Wine, no high score
Pretty boring, to be honest. Not bad, but it didn't do anything for me. 2.4
wanted to rate a 3 but it's just not engaging enough, even if the context is interesting
Autumn days are not built for Reggae.
2/5
Sigh. This is getting tedious, 1,001. Here we have yet another album from a British one-hit wonder that is conspicuously missing the hit(s). I'm all for including one (1) album that is the best representation of a subgenre of music. Is UB40 the best representation of Reggae-Dub? Is Reggae-Dub a legit subgenre that we should be including here? See what I mean? Tedious. Influence 2. Quality 2. Hits 1. It's actually good background music with a nice vibe, but it's nothing more than that 3. 2
Checking out by this reviewer.
Always felt UB40 was were reggae went to die
2.5
3.2
BORING. The blatant moondance ripoff was funny though
Eh British reggae isn’t really my bag
Forgettable
I'm sure there are many more reggae albums on this list. I understand the impact of this band and the album on England, but it just doesn't land. Mid level reggae from a band whose biggest hits were covers. Not for me.
Seen these live. Always a good show but never listened to an album. I guess I hoped for more, a bit more upbeat. The same beat for every song including the little gap before a doot made me wonder if the album started over again a few times.
This was sort of a drag to get through. I wouldn't say I liked the pop spin on reggae and I didn't like the lead singer's voice much, so it just wasn't for me.
2 reggae albums in a row? Lord have mercy
These dorky white boys had the balls to say “we should be as big as Oasis”. The Gallagher brothers may be assholes but their music makes up for it. UB40 did not make that level of contribution with their pretend accents.
If you’re really looking for reggae, I guess this could be a good album. Very chill the whole time and got pretty repetitive. Nothing memorable.
They ain't no bob marley
Pretty standard middling reggae album. Was there a moondance melody in there?
I was signing off while listening to this
Call me an uncultured swine (I probably am), but each song is indistinguishable from another. I don’t think they were phonies or anything, but this was too long and redundant for me to enjoy.
the style isn’t exactly my fav genre of music, i like red red wine by them but got a bit bored listening. maybe i’ll try it again sometime. also was p hungover and tired listening
historycznie znaczące chyba? ale ja nie przepadam za reagge, troche wszystko dla mnie brzmi tak samo 4 piosenka i troche mam dość
Background music, doesn't stand out too much to me. Feels a bit repetitive, though I guess it being reggae it doesn't hurt as much as other genres would be. Not too much else to say.
I liked a lot of this, but did it really need to be over an hour?
Decent modern dub nothing stood out for me
Not really my kind of stuff...
I really wonder how they thought it would be a great idea to make this thing last 1h06.
I don't really know how to assess reggae. It just all sound kind of the same to me, and I'm not really a fan of this genre's conventions (although I'm far from an expert and can't say I fully understand it, of course). Reggae doesn't appeal to me whatsoever. It's really hard for me to imagine an album of this genre that I would enjoy. So it's not really this album fault that I didn't like it all that much. Yeah, I don't really know what to say about this album. All the problems I have with it are the same every other reggae album I've heard has. I felt like Tyler was by far the best song on this album, and the rest were just whatever (Madam Medusa is decent too, I guess). This album is inoffensive and even kind of nice in some places but just not interesting to me. It's too simple and repetitive, without variation or enough emphasis on certain parts of the composition, just like reggae is supposed to be—and I don't like it. It doesn't catch my interest at all. It sounds like elevator music, which is not a problem to me if songs build up to something, but reggae doesn't seem to ever do it. This is not my type of music, so it's really hard for me to enjoy it. 5/10
Rough and raw reggae, social commentaries, with horns adding colour. Quite different from the popular radio hits of later years.
I only knew UB40 from their mainstream hits in the late 80s / early 90s. It was associated in my mind with "uninspired pop-reggae", so I was expecting the worst. However, listening to their first album made me realize it was actually not *that* bad. Well, I still think it’s boring, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not abysmal-boring, just regular-boring. As often with reggae (Bob Marley excepted), it’s loooooong and dragged-out. Listening to the whole album felt like a 3 or 4 hours ordeal. Man, reggae really IS music for stoners with a lot of time on their hands... There are a couple of slightly more interesting and dynamic tracks here and there (like Burden Of Shame, with its nice use of synth sounds, or the classic Food For Thought), probably so the listener doesn’t fall asleep half-way through the album. Overall not a very pleasant experience for me, but I’ll admit they’re not the commercial hacks I thought they were. The cheesy sax is somewhat a welcome addition, and the jazz / blues influences do bring something new to the table in terms of experimentation. I’ll give them 2 stars for originality.
Rather boring
Este es el ✨tropical✨ no el anterior. Puta página de mierda
wow this was really bad. the only thing i knew about these guys was from the phish song David Bowie. just boring bad reggae for over an hour. bowie is light years better
Whole album sort of ran together for me. Not bad, but felt pretty forgettable.
This was barely UB30
Very mellow reggae, almost felt like a rebelution “dub” style album. Listened while driving to Milford
2 for 2 long. Otherwise 2 5
Felt very repetitive and long. Favorite tracks were the instruments
My band opened for UB40 once. They brought their own "stage lighting" which was meant for stadiums but this was a small venue. I was blinded by these insanely bright floor lights pointed directly up at me. Every picture of our band from that show looks like we are incandescent. Oh, and they also walled off a third of the venue floor with curtains for their own "green room" because they had at least 40 people in tow with all their crew and family.
I think this one is a big hit in HI. I remember some of these tracks. I heard moondance also and I also heard some Gorillaz influences. I'm not a huge reggae fan though.
I enjoyed it at the start, I like me some reggae, but it kinda dragged. I'd give it a 2.5 if possible, but definitely zoned out here and there 1 - would not listen to again 2 - if some one played it, I'd probably just zone it out 3 - didn't hate it, didn't love it 4 - saved some songs from the album 5 - would buy the album or already own it
I feel like this would be great music if I lived on a beach. 2/5
Honestly comes off as a parody sometimes
This album was not created for me. This was an incredibly boring listen. Burden of shame is a phenomenal song, the rest of it is very samey/forgettable. I need to find the line to get into music like this or to gain the appreciation for it because other than a unique vibe, I don’t know that I need that vibe for over an hour. There’s some great playing on here but it feels so aimless or one dimensional. The last two songs are virtually interchangeable. Someone please let me know what I need to do to gain unlock the skill set to like this, I like some ska!!! There are some good Wailers tunes!! I like red red wine for like 20 seconds! Help. Burden of shame and lyrics good, need more from the songs.
Not a fan of reggae
Listened to the wrong UB40 album at first before listening to this one. Very solid lyrically and is some crisp reggae. Interesting transitions from lyrical tracks to instrumentals/jams. Another artist that musically peaked during their first album. Not many people like UB40 I guess but their early albums are very clean. Literall 12 minute track hating on Thatcher
Bad luck to be compared to Finley Qhaye, but it's also a pretty boring album. Soft 2.5 stars
Nothing interesting but not bad
I couldn't tell if this was an album of songs or just one song for 60 minutes.
Pretty mellow and ok, but not outstanding in any way.
Not for me, reggae
It's not bad but good lord did it overstay its welcome. I felt exhausted 5 tracks in and there was still another 40 minutes of album to go.
we hitting the bongos with this one
I liked UB40, but this has to be the worst mixed album I've ever heard. The drums and bass were right up front, but everything else was a muffled mess, including the vocals (using headphones). The bass and drums are outstanding here. Liked Songs Added: Food For Thought Signing Off
Almost immediately put me to sleep. I know they’d move away from dull dub, but apparently it’ll take them a while.
I came prepared to hate this. I have held a grudge against UB40 ever since my high school girlfriend taped the insipid overplayed cheesefest 'Labour of Love' over my tape of 'Rain Dogs'. Unforgivable. I gave this a legit listen and the dub elements, honey smooth voiced lead singer, and insurgent politics made some of it pretty okay. But a lot of too long reggae-lite.
British reggae is a rough one. Just thinking of Eric Clapton's cover of "I Shot the Sheriff" brings great pain to me. I liked the mental work I needed to do to put myself in the right frame of mind to stay open to this. I have a pair of strange white-ish shoes that Abby calls my "Call Me Al" shoes, because they look like the ones Chevy Chase wears in the music video for that song, and I put those on to listen to this and it helped. Sort of saw myself as if I was poolside with my dad in Switzerland at a weird party in 1984. Ended up being sort of good, all said and done.
Appreciated the reggae remix of Moondance, but mostly found this album to be pretty bland
This was so hard to get through. A good enough band in small doses, but this album drags.
They’re good at what they do, but everything is so similar and goes on and on and on. I could probably listen to this whole album and enjoy it as background music is I was stoned and playing a chill video game or something, but this is an active listening chore.
Had never heard any UB40 beyond Red Red Wine. I'm all for some good reggae, but goddamn this thing bored me to tears. Appreciate the lyrical content, but about as interesting as elevator music. Only exceptions are the title track, which is a cool reggae soundscape, and burden of shame.
Het begint met onvervalste ska. Een drum die soms extreem galmend is, maar ook tikt de drummer vaak met zijn stokkies juist tegen de rand van de drum. De bas maakt die typische ska-melodietjes. Ali Campbell heeft trekjes van de overdreven Henny Vrienten, om je te amuseren. Zoals de wiki en de recensie in het boek al zegt: ze zijn hier nog niet commercieel gegaan. En ik moet zeggen dat ik daar vaak genoeg op afgeef, in de zin van: neem dan gewoon de commerciele doorbraak. Maar dit zit wel iets relaxter en beter in elkaar, het zijn nog geen oorwurmen. Ze hadden de nummers wel korter mogen maken, meer radio-edits, maar er schuilt nog wat meer puurheid in, dan de commerciele sell-outs die ze uiteindelijk werden. Niet voor niets zijn ze door ruzies om geld uit elkaar gedreven. Is dit dan als een BelleVue geuze: de latere commerciele producten zijn veel te zoet geworden, maar ze laten met hun Selection Lambic zien dat ze het wel gewoon konden? Nee, helaas, ska blijft het merendeel van de tijd kut en beresaai. Of zoals een luistermaatje zegt: ska is schijtirritant. 2 sterretjes voor de moeite, omdat we dit wel liever luisteren dan Joni of Fransie Bauert.
Much boom. Much chaka. Ad Nauseum. Reggae man. There's too much of it on this list.
Pretty boring overall to be honest. Every song sounds pretty same-y.
Ei ole reggae oma juttu, lainkaan, mutta ihan hyvää soitantaa on.
The sound of the keyboard haunts my dreams I’m not so sure this isn’t just one song that they took breaks in to rest before starting up again. They have the depth of a kiddie pool and the range of a car that’s running on fumes.
Blue-eyed reggae that's mostly dull as dishwater (yes, I know the band was diverse, but the lead singer was white and I'm sure that played no small part in their immense popularity). THIS is one of the top selling reggae bands in history? Sigh. Found the album really boring and I'm really glad my first reggae album in the 1001 was Bob Marley's amazing Exodus. Tracks that caught my attention: Tyler, Burden of Shame (first because of the Moondance ripoff, but I liked the instrumental section at the end), Signing Off.
I actually like both reggae and the political side of UB40, but Signing Off is just too slow and the dub bass too monotonous for me to ever really be invested.
It’s reggae and I can’t say much more, though I do appreciate the inclusion of a little tenor, and the interpolation of moondance is interesting.
Wish red red wine was in this album
Pretty boring honestly, a lot of the tracks have some cool sounds, but it drags out for so long that it doesn't interest me
Boring.
With all the great reggae out there, I don’t understand why this vanilla reggae is on this list. Some of these songs actually started to get annoying after a while. It’s not awful, but there’s better out there.Is it because it’s British? This list seems to be heavily weighted towards British artists, so much so that my previous misconception of Britain being home to fantastic music has been flipped on its head.
idk reggae isn't really my thing, but i suppose it was alright overall and i liked the political messaging behind some of the songs standout tracks: King, Food For Thought
A vibe, but kinda a boring vibe after awhile. Interesting mix of dubstep and reggae? It started sounding a lot of the same after a while
My thoughts can be summed up by a photo of a cat with wide eyes and ears flattened back.
Весело и в целом приятно, но будто бы бесконечный альбом. Лучшая песня - Food For Thought.
Naja, die Mucke mäandert so vor sich hin. Nur bei Food For Thought bin ich kurz wach geworden und dachte: na fein, ein Bob Marley Cover. Aber das war wohl nix. Ok, wenn man keine Ahnung sollte man manchmal lieber nichts sagen.
3/10
While they seem very sincere about it, white boy reggae is just not for me.
My only exposure to UB40 before this was Red Red Wine. This is much, much better. It is also very repetitive. I did not listen to the whole two hours, I just didn’t see the point in doing so.
I don't like reggae. (and I played in a reggae band). This all sounds like the same song over and over. Maybe one song has swang 8th notes. And I really couldn't care less about the political lyrics. I live too far away from England, on a different reality to care. I'd probably care more if the music wasn't the same each song over and over. Repetitive and boring to me. 2 stars because, at least, is well recorded, well performed and every instrument sounds good.
this was quite long, the style was okay but I've never been a big fan of UB40, it was okay but nothing that stood out to me.
Relaxing and sometimes boring album. A couple of nice songs
Good reggae nostalgia
Not my vibe fr fr
An hour of reggae, not really into it
After two songs I got the point. Then it continues for over an hour. 2/5
UB40 just feels so bland to me. I don't doubt their skill but reggae isn't my thing and if I was going to listen to reggae, it wouldn't be these guys.
En su momento este sonido reggae y ska tuvo su éxito, pero entiendo que han sido absorbidos y no destacan. Como pioneros hay que escucharlos. La portada con el formulario del paro que da nombre al grupo es un punto.
for the record I was moderately stoned.
I think I might be signing off of reggae.
A 2 for historical interest
im sorry. I dont like reggae . I dont im sorry.
I can't deal with this blue-eyed reggae nonsense. They are terrible. Well produced, but awful.
Has a few nice and interesting moments, madam Medusa, burden of shame, and the strange fruit cover being highlights, but lacks a real punch to it in my opinion.
Moments of musical interest can't overshadow the lackluster vocals and energy. 2/5
Ikke min smag. Fedt at høre noget reggae tho
This just does nothing for me. I kind of get the appeal, though. I can’t see how someone would give this a 5, but I can totally see how it’s a 4. Also this really didn’t need to be this long
Better than I expected.
some crazy sax but reggae is a bit too repetitve for me
I liked the brass added to the reggae sound and I liked some of the psych production on this record. I grew up with my parents listening to Labour Of Love II and other UB40 songs so I've heard UB40 quite a bit. This is my first time hearing this record. I just couldn't really get into this one and got pretty bored. The lyrics were pretty good but the vocals kinda bugged me. Reggae has never been a genre that has drawn me in.
It's a bland reggae album where one song is nearly indistinguishable from the next. It's not bad. It's just not actually good.
I had to suffer over an hour of this repetitive nonsense, and didn't even get to hear Red Red Wine Disgraceful 2 ⭐️
This album was pretty chill; I had low expectations given that I only knew “Red Red Wine,” but appreciated the social messaging and overall chill vibe. Probably wouldn’t revisit, but not bad-2.5 stars.
Not bad reggae, Not great reggae
The only highlight from this one is "Food for Thought", the rest of the album left me drowsy and bored in the worst possible way.
At first it was interesting. Then it became boring and felt too long
While their radio tunes that hit America were good, I just can't get into a bunch of Irishmen playing reggae.
I don't like reggae, not with this voice. The saxophone is ok but I didn't really like it. Every song seemed the same to me. 'King' is the one I liked the most. The album cover gives me a headache
электроника + даб регги + сакс? хз, ну это регги, оно оч одинаковое.. + это британское регги, что типа странно. оч однообразно, саксофон не очень интересный, вряд ли я послушаю еще раз, но буду знать группа стала самый популярным регги группой в мире, что нам опять говорит о том, что если в любом жанре поставить белых мужиков, то это будет популярней всего трушного регги это отстой какой то. спасибо им за популяризацию регги, но это кринж. они типа были хедлайнерами на регги фестах на ямайке ну что это? ну на 3 сойдет
Never been a huge fan of Reggae. It just doesn't really click with me. Overall I found this well made, but boring for my taste in music. Just kinda blended into the background.
Better than other stuff of theirs I've heard. But still, falls a bit flat to me. Sounds technically correct, but kinda... soulless?