More Specials

Feels like some elevator music, but an elevator in a weird fever dream that never really ends, but there is a fun dude dancing in the elevator with you so it’s okay.

"guys you are pretty normal, you might wanna change your band name"

The specials were my first album I got when we starting this adventure before we made the group. And let me tell you I did not need more specials

This album really surprised me. It's different from anything I usually listen to and very different from anything else I've heard from this list but it goes hard. A lot of it has a 50s or 60s vibe but you can tell that it's from the 80s which is very cool to hear in the 2020s. I also like how it goes from being very upbeat and happy to rather dark and morbid by the end of the album. Enjoy Yourself is rather upbeat for the dark theme and it's fantastic. Then Man at C&A has warnings of a nuclear attack but is still energetic. I love the saxophone on Hey, Little Rich Girl because of course I do. Do Nothing features a strange piano part that gives an otherwise upbeat song a minor sound and a TROMBONE SOLO! Pearl's Cafe continues the trend of depressing lyrics with a cheery musical background, this time complete with a cheesy glockenspiel. It almost feels like carnival music (a carnival with people singing "it's all a load of bollocks"). But I would say that Stereotype is when the album really loses its cheerful disguise. I Can't Stand It continues this and International Jet Set ends with a plane crash leading into a much darker version of Enjoy Yourself to close off the album. Favorite songs: Enjoy Yourself; Hey, Little Rich Girl; Pearl's Cafe; Sock It to 'Em, J.B.; I Can't Stand It Least favorite songs: None Strong 8/10

Awful, serious ordeal to listen to the whole album.

A deceptively casual title and cover photo frames this hugely inventive collection of songs. A joyful mix of ska, music hall, lounge and witty social commentary with a dash of dub and Goldfinger. As usual, I'll marvel how diverse, interesting and skillful "pop" bands used to be when I was young. So accomplished, they hadn't even written "Ghost Town" yet! I'll also take the opportunity to crown Terry Hall the King Of Fey (unless "Virgins and Philistines" awaits us?) - an all-time-great vocalist/songwriter dispensing absolute bangers in various styles consistently his whole life, from "Stereotype" here through many other '80s greats (look 'em up), Vegas (a secret fey classic), the best (non-football) Lightning Seeds song and a bouncy Arabic-y collaboration with Mushtaq. What a talent, sadly missed.

Some of the reggae/ska moments are chill and groovy, but then it hits moments where it feels like it's Happy Birthday To You level music.

Not my style... but listening nonetheless Suffering through this Don't like Not my style "I can't stand it" is nearly unlistenable. The female harmony is f*cking awful.

Impossible not to get moving to the Specials.

The Specials- More Specials (1980): 7/10 Starts off on a bouncy ska sorta tone and continues to fuse many different genres throughout the album, utilizing many different instruments. Really weird, but in a good way. Probably not something I’d listen to in my spare time, but definitely a fun and interesting one time listen.

Not 1 star bad but it's maybe a 1.5 for me so will lean on the generous side. Didn't click much at all.

This is one of the worst bands I've ever heard. fuuuuuck it just sucks. This is the second album of theirs on this list so far, and neither of them is even worth wiping your arse with, let alone pretending it's "must hear before you die" material. 0/5.

Brutal.

Brilliant. So proud to be from Coventry and to have grown up in this era

Why has it taken me over 40 years to hear this gem? About half of the 21st century's music is influenced by this album. It's of its time, yet harkens strongly to the future. I thought Ghost Town was an outlier, but you can hear them building up to it. It's taken me nearly 50 years to realise what I need in an album - variety, but with an overarching connection. So many albums become boring, I'm thinking of famous ones like Exile On Main Street, and almost every electronic album. Then we have some that vary too much - psychedelic music springs to mind. This is why classic bands like Queen, Beatles, Led Zep, were able to release so many great albums: they instantly sound recognisable, but provide a dish of varied ingredients. Dammers nearly went too far - International Jet Set, but this is a great, skilful, sometimes funny, almost apocalyptic joy.

Never listened to this is full. Pretty solid all round album with some real classics in the mix

This had the playful wobbliness of great dub, frequently surprising toylike sounds, and the sort of inventiveness that comes off as utterly free while born of hard experimentation. There’s a sour, sometimes nasty tang to the lyrics, which is era-appropriate, as is the Latin American burst on Holiday Fortnight.

Diverse album, with just a solid set of tracks. Very fun, and I could see it growing on me for sure.

Not quite up to the standard of the debut album, but a good album nonetheless. Diluted a little by the variety of styles but still an enjoyable listen.

Almost done with the album. This was just a fun listen. It's a bit trippy but I like it. I'll rate either a 3 or 4.

Baffled by some people giving this one star. I don't normally worry about opinions that differ from mine, but... eh? Anyway. I love The Specials. No, the singers don't sound like they could audition for X Factor. Thank goodness! Can people not hear the tight band, the wonderful cross rhythms in the bass and that punchy brass? All fronted by a laconic, grumpy Midlander and his mates, having fun but despairing at what's happening aroung them in Thatcher's Britain (and oh gawd, it got far worse), and/or making wry observations; I chortled more than once. My family are from Coventry, and I was 12 when this came out, so I'm biased. But surely, it's great isn't it? Did I mention I love The Specials? Their debut was maybe better, but this is ace.

So that's what "real" ska actually sounds like! I can get down with this.

Wild time. Album was all over the place and just a lot of fun. Favorite tracks: “Man at C&A” and “Sock It To ‘Em”

I remember seeing the Specials on the Warped Tour in 1998. For several of my friends, it was one of the most important things that could ever happen - apparently they didn’t tour much then or something. They didn’t really grab me at that show, but I wasn’t much of a ska fan then. I’m still not, if I’m being honest. This is a pretty good album, but it’s unlikely I’ll revisit it.

3.5 That was an interesting first listen. It started off with “Oh, ska. Nice!” and ended with “Wait wtf just happened?” It felt like a trip that started out all nice and fun and ended in a weirdly scary place. Can't say I didn't enjoy it though. I'm a sucker for horns.

The only thing I like about the amount of times ska has been revived is that it has died so many times as well

Meh. Maybe the extended version left a bunch of stuff that didn’t need to be there. Kinda lame. I thought I liked the specials though

Nr. 130/1001 Enjoy Yourself 2/5 Men At C&A 2/5 Hey Little Rich Girl 3/5 Do Nothing 3/5 Pearl's Cafe 3/5 Sock It To 'Em J. B. 2/5 Stereotype, Stereotype, Pt. 2 2/5 Holiday Fortnight 3/5 I Can't Stand It 3/5 International Jet Set 2/5 Enjoy Yourself (Reprise) NR Average: 2,4 This just didn't click with me at all.

there are plenty of bands that fit the Ska bill. The Specials definitely work but if I was to choose an album of theirs that is representative of the genre; introduces listeners to on of 1,001 albums to listen to and influential albums of their discography or the genre in particular - this is not it. 2.5/5

Early ska + Brit pop. Some fun beats but not my thing.

Some fun sounding songs but overall too inconsistent

Not my favorite

звучит хорошо, но немного нудно

Didn't enjoy. The music superficial; out of step with the lyrics (social change)

The styles on this album are a mish-mash of bleh. A lot of it has a ska feel, which has never been my favorite, and the rest was unappealing enough to make me almost turn it off. I finished it, and I like it slightly better than the Elvis album, but not enough to give it a 2-star rating.

Liked this way better than the debut.

One of my favorite albums. Second wave Ska was my lead in to third wave which defined my teenage years. It's fun, loud, and catchy. Love the sound and feeling you get while listening.

it's hard to follow up a debut album as good as theirs but this does a pretty decent effort.

I enjoy this sound, I can definitely hear the bands they've inspired.

Smash

RIP Terry Hall.

Fantastic album. Love it as much now as I always have.

Digging this, feels like drinking with buds. I enjoyed the entire thing. I actually listened to it twice, it's amazing. It will always now remind me of dancing in the kitchen with my daughter.

Inte lika vass som föregående platta men det spelar ingen roll. Det här är top notch ändå.

Love the Specials. Very sad when Terry hall died last year, massive talent. Didn't know this album, but knew a few tracks. Looks like I missed a few classics. Only complaint is that it was too short. Great lyrics and sounds, added to collection.

cool

Great to hear this, never actually had all the way through which is damning, considering my roots. Intelligence, anger, social observation, cultural history and great musicianship. Marvellous.

i've loved this album since I first got it back in 1985 or so. Everybody seems to love the first specials album, but I thought this one had much more diversity and range and has held up better.

A really good album, I like the style of music. Recently found out this band later becomes Fun Boy Three which I also love. So many good songs! Do nothing would have to be my favorite.

curto o som deles

Defining album of 2nd wave ska and definitely deserves a spot on this list. So good. I played this record to death as a high school kid. Still have the vinyl.

I just love their execution of the SKA theme. Makes me want to listen to more songs. It's a rather refreshing album, with a bit of a christmasy theme?

I don’t know how to describe it, it’s like lounge, meets ska, meets reggae, meets funk, meets elevator muzak. It’s really interesting and different compared to much of the stuff the generator spits out on the daily. Still, I’m going through the exercise of trying to find reasons not to like this and coming up short. An album about how shit everything in life is, ‘More Specials’ is bleak, but darkly humorous and catchy as fuck.

Yesss

giving this one a 5, i dont care about anything else in the world right now other than letting go

The Specials are legends for a reason. A fantastic blend of ska, punk, and social commentary.

Got it when it came out!

Not as immediate as some of their other work, but really interesting and enjoyable. Roughly the same age as me, from the same island, and with a similar wide range of musical influences - of course I love it. Fully deserves its place on this list, and fully deserves 5 big stars!

One of my favourite albums ever, quite a bit better and more varied than their debut (also 5-star) for a big part due to Jerry Dammers, but song contributions of other band members are also great. Favourite song: the 7.5 minute extended version of Stereotypes.

This was a favourite of my teenage years, as were all Specials albums. And I still love them

Skimmed the album, got caught up in the wonderful feel of it, will definately re-listen

One of the greatest albums ever made. And the reason no Specials 'reunion' without Dammers was ever going to be anything more than a heritage tribute act. The musical sophistication and progression from the first album is impressive. Great arrangements, insightful lyrics and a fair dash of lighter touches too, even if they are somewhat sardonic. No treading water for this band. The songs flow seamlessly but are not one-dimensional. The adoption of easy listening stylings was way ahead of its time, and songs like Stereotype seem both of their time and timeless. An absolute classic.

The transition from ska revivalists to something a little more meaningful runs throughout More Specials. This isn't the sound of a pastiche tribute; it's the sound of The Specials. They deserve their own genre. Enjoy Yourself sums up the entire album, both in spirit and sound. It's tremendous fun. The gang mentality comes across on each track, even though they were about to fall apart. It's a time capsule for the in-between period of post-punk and pre-80's pop. Do Nothing is just perfect.

Love it. Such a sound, such a band. and thanks to Grace's review I learnt that the cover image was taken in the Regent's Hotel in Leamington Spa :)

LOVE the specials love that they're from Coventry, love the album cover (photo from Leamington Spa), love the lyrics and themes, love the reggae sections, love the jazz sections, love the vocals, love the up-beat dance vibes, love the messages, love the power of music overall!

An all-time classic. Very inventive, brave and absolutely of its time, yet also timeless.

excellent stuff. a bit long but very worth it. very "london calling", has a bit of everything but none of it clashes (ehehe) and it all complements well. ska rock reggae punk it does it all. "enjoy yourself" really grows on you. "i cant stand it" and "stereotype" stand out.

Super cool! I really liked it - what a versatile band! It felt like the band had a blast making this music & that makes the music itself so much more fun.

What a band what an album cant be mess3d with

Soundtrack to my youth. The beginning of Thatcher's disaffected, unemployed and miserable Britain mixed with cold war paranoia and all wrapped up in a perfect ska-pop soundtrack. And Terry Hall. What's not to like? Pretty much perfect archive of the era.

Really good stuff

In some music you can here the work, the sweat that goes into making it. Rush would be an example. More Specials is an album where the music flows effortlessly, ever changing (unlike Do Nothing) and evolving. As off the cuff as prime Jack Nicholson. Yes there are nods to film music and easy listening from Dammers, but at heart it's as rocksteady as the debut. And as flawless.

Superrrrrrr

There's never a time where the specials can't be played

stupendous, 5 stars.

Still wonderful.

Gran disco. Tiene de todo, ska, rockabilly, reagge, guitarras latinas, coros. Entretenido y muy buena compañía.

Top Album

On paper, this seemed like the kind of thing I wouldn't like at all but I took their advice from the first track and enjoyed myself throughout. Some impressive horns and saxophone and rockabilly guitar here and there highlight a fun variety of styles. It made me happy.

10/10

wut? wut is this? I like this. It's a bit peculiar in the right ways for me. favorites: Enjoy Yourself, Man at C&A, Do Nothing, Holiday Fortnight, I Can't Stand It, International Jet Set, and the Enjoy yourself reprisal was a great way to end the album. I would be into Sock It to Em more if I was a James Bond fan. This is a special kind of ska.

The best

I wasn't quite sure about this at first, but as I kept listening, it got more and more fun. There are so many ingredients in this recipe! Ska-punk-mariachi-lounge organ-music hall with themes of nuclear war, James Bond films, emotional alienation, and maybe plane crashes?

Super fun ska.

Enjoyed

No le encontré mucho lo especial (*duh*), pero es un disco chistosón hasta cierto punto. De repente hay sonidos que se lucen, pero sobre todo lo sentí así, ligero, entretenido. Como música para no tomarse en serio, pero hecha por gente que sabe de música. Al principio pensé que iba a ser todo con vibras un poco de reggae, pero luego se fue diluyendo. Me divirtieron "Stereotype/Stereotype, Pt. 2" y "International Jet Set". Le doy 7.5/10.

Ska Klassiker und fast schon genre begründend.

genuinely was enjoying! lol

I don’t know what it is about ska, but I’ve always liked it This album was a fun listen, even though a few of the songs have heavy lyrics But like the first song says ‘ENJOY YOURSELF..IT’S LATER THEN YOU TINK’

Fun album

It isnt my style but i enjoyed some songs of the album

For me, this lacks the energy, anger and punch of The Specials.. I'd probably not have gone quite as pop-ward with it, but it is still a hoot.

Amazing talents. Such incredible grooves, I will listen to this album on repeat

Good refresher and enjoyable Ska.

A really fun and surprisingly political ska album. Would love to check out some of the band's other works now. 4/5. Favorite Track: Holiday Fortnight

Only knew the specials from their singles before but this whole album is excellent. Really enjoyable and fantastic energy to every song (but especially Enjoy Yourself and Sock It To Em JB)

When I hear \"ska\" I kind of roll my eyes but I think that's the unfortunate effect of bands like the Cherry Poppin Daddies. This shit is good. Like really good.

perfect album to wiggle to fav tracks pearls cafe international jet set hey little rich girl

Hey, you are using my project.

Good vibes. Almost reggae pop?