More Specials

Less Specials

Bit too special for me.

Interesting to hear how this album was an influencer to many bands like No Doubt and The Interrupters. But it sounds dated by today's standards. If you didn't grow up listening to this album, then it's hard to get into it now.

Nothing special. Just annoying. Not even especially annoying. Just annoying

So at first this seemed mostly harmless fun, but by the final few songs it had started becoming actively irritating to listen to. The brief little novelty tune "Enjoy Yourself" at the end took some of the sting out of listening to it, but I'm glad I don't have to listen to any more of these guys. Wait! I just found out that there are THREE albums by these guys on the list of 1001 I must hear before I die. This on a list that includes exactly ZERO albums by Warren Zevon. Some days, I do not understand this list at all.

I do not like ska

Upbeat and somewhat fun, but that doesn’t mean it’s good.

You’re having a crazy fever dream in a beach bar. You faintly register some kind of funky elevator jazz playing in the background, but what really grabs your attention is the little monkey on your shoulder, unenthusiastically whispering melodies into your ears that sound a bit like children’s songs. It’s a weird and annoying experience. That’s how "More Specials" feels to me. It’s an ambitious record that doesn't really know what it wants to be, except quirky and weird. Some Melodies like the one in the opener and closer “Enjoy Yourself” feel extremely dull, like something you’d come up with spontaneously in the shower. Others, on tracks like “Pearl’s Cafe” and “I Can’t Stand It,” remind me of children’s TV shows. The extremely dry, detached vocal delivery doesn’t help, sucking any potential energy out of the songs. For example, “Stereotype” pulls from Latin music, but the singing is so uninterested that there’s nothing fun about the track. The instrumentation often adds to the irritation. At times the wind instruments feel like they’re actively trying to get on my nerves, and the frequent call-and-response patterns just come off as uninspired. I do appreciate that the band was willing to take a risk with this album instead of playing it safe, but this one really isn’t for me. A decent 1 for the ambition, and that’s it.

1001 hits me with the most utter dog shit when I’m pissed off. You don’t get a review, specials. This was not an enjoyable listen.

I don't know about this one my dudes. It even says on Wikipedia they were inspired by Muzak so I guess they were successful at least?

how incredibly mundane.

3/10

this is how it feels to chew 5 gum Kakav je ovo depresivni rege

За мене је ска кад га свирају пијани ћелави момци, није то то

Седим у ресторану и конобарица ми препоручује специјалитете, ја кажем "нисам неки љубитељ ска али послушаћу хаха" није се насмејала и више ме није погледала у очи и наручио сам чорбу и била је врела па сам се мало опекао па сам узео чашу воде као Брус Ли али нешто је било у води па нисам пио воде А и албум је јако јако добар...

Do Nothing 🔥 Izdvajam još i Hey Little Rich Girl, kao i Rat Race i Ghost Town koji se nalaze na deluxe verziji ovog albuma

Nemam neki poseban note, dobar album, sviđa mi se zvuk 8/10

Rating: 3/10 First listen: Yes Would listen again: no Fav track: Man at C&A Comment: Ceo album zvuci kao da je neko snimao sample-ove za Jungle/DnB. Gotivim ja SKA al ovo mi zvuci kao da je snimano kod mene u kotlarnici na Budinom ozvucenju. Dve mrsave zvezdice

2 stars As a fan of their self-titled, I always knew this wasn’t going to be very good. The better songs they released after their s/t were all singles not included on this album. There are some good moments, but all in all not great. There is much better ska punk out there but they seem to have ignored third wave on this thing.

It’s like if the E street band crashed on an island ran by Bacardi rum advertising and everyone started playing coconuts thinking they’d cheer everyone up but it actually creates Lord of the Flies

No standouts

It was fine, but as someone who *loved* the first one, this fell flat for me.

I liked what I heard, but there's still nothing that would make me listen to it over and over again.

This album is a lot slower than what I am used to with ska music. That isn't a bad thing though. Its easy to listen to and enjoyable. Not something I will seek out in the future but I enjoyed myself listening through the songs today.

This was a fun eclectic album. This band could be around now and would make good music

A few good tracks, but their previous releases were more iconic in sound.

You know I love 1980s British ska!

Ska. I was there for the Less Than Jake era. I am not well versed on the classic ska sounds. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reggae, surf rock, ska, musak. I understand they are having fun here, but this positive attitude is hard to muster in my grumbly middle aged end stage capitalist apocalypse. Maybe I should just "enjoy myself". It's all well constructed, performed, but a bit too chill and lounge-y. I appreciate the more spooky sound that the "Man at C and A" and "International Jet Set" brings - it feels like the real message of the album and cast against the musak tracks they hit harder. Politically charged, more punk energy, more fire. A funny album. Two tone you might say. Wait - is this a concept album? You can certainly feel the rumblings of Ghost Town herein. 3* 1) 3/5 2) 5/5 Dark. Approve. 3) 1/5 4) 1/5 Nothing. 5) 1/5 Children's TV show vibe? 6) 4/5 Some sass, bit of needed energy. Shouting James Bond movies. 7) 4/5 Slightly spooky. 8) 2/5 Well named - does sound like holiday music. 9) 0/5 Gross. Female vocal with male vocal is bad, and there's some chirpy instrument throughout that is annoying. 10) 4/5 More scary ska - spooky - stick to this please 11) Cursed version of track one. Feel like I just died on the plane in track 10. 4/5

Listened to the re-release. Should've only listened to the first disc.

Just kinda fine. Some good sounds but nothing I got too excited about.

This is the equivalent of a banana mayo sandwich. Apparently it's good, but not for me. Voices don't work together and are out of beat. Music has interesting bit but what's with the mix match in genre in the same song? wtf. I'm writing that while listening to "I can't stand it" and it's accurate. And fuck "Stereotype" fucking bad.

Strange album. Some good vibes occasionally but not quite my jam.

Pretty good ska. First half of the album is great. Last few songs are a slog.

Fun, but not as good as their self titled

Meh

Didn’t like it. I can’t tell if they’re having a joke. And, I have to take a star because Specials is clearly better than More Specials.

Kind of a spooky reggae vibe, not my cup of tea I'd say

What was that....

Thought it was just fine in the 90s when I listened the specials… and I still feel the same way. 2.6

It was fine! Definitely some fun moments. 6/10 Pretty Good

*sigh* ska can be so hit or miss. I thought this was going to be a complete dud when I heard the first song (and that message! I don’t want someone else to remind me that I’m wasting my youth not doing anything!), but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit charmed as it went on.

I loved this album! I had never heard of The Specials, but I found the songs to be really entertaining. “Man at C&A” felt a bit misplaced to me, but everything else flowed so well. “Enjoy Yourself” really hit home for me and I found “Sock It to ‘em J.B.” very creative. Some of the lyrics tackled some pretty heavy topics, but the whole album was really easy to listen to straight through lyrically, instrumentally, and vocally. I kind of felt like I was listening to what would happen if you blended The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and They Might Be Giants. I will definitely listen to this record again.

6.4/10. Although not my favorite, I did enjoy parts and the genre used to make it. The 2-tone/ska used to make it was obvious, and switching between a Jamaican and an English singer was a hard shift to hear. Still decent, and started/ended with the strongest song.

I just really do not like sky music at all. I think it’s a pretty well-made album, but I hate this genre. One star.

🤷🏿‍♀️ I dunno

it's mostly enjoyable. debut was better imo. also, 2 specials albums? at least pick a different ska album

this was supposed to be a ska album. it wasn't. smh.

Really liked their first album. This was poor

A lot of disappointment in this album when it came out but it has some great songs and is a strong 3, would have been 4 but for the international jet set

The punky energy of the debut is now replaced with end of the pier vibes and occasionally sounds like the background music in an episode of death in paradise. Terry Hall is charismatic, and musically most of the band are super tight. However, Jerry Dammers keys are often a bit seaside special and the tone is really uneven. Interesting but nothing more

Holy geese and ska this is so fascinating to me. Surf rock reggae I mean this is everything. Do nothing is a perfect song about life and how can I be myself if everyone wants to be someone else. You hear it right. This has it moments and it’s yet again another album where I haven’t heard anything like this.

yessss..... finally something for the rudeboys........ yeah this whips. ive heard a few specials tracks before but never realised just how much of their music was doing the "spooky ska" thing. i really should've looked em up sooner cos this is awesome. i especially like "the man at c&a" and "international jet set", but my favourite track is "stereotypes/stereotypes pt. 2". i just love the way it just goes full dub for the second half. it's a great vibe. i guess really this whole album is a great vibe. thats ska! its close but for now, im giving this a 4. im getting a tingle of the "i literally love music" feeling but, there's a few tracks on here im not fully warmed up to yet. its very close tho....

I only knew 2 of the songs o. This one it was an alright listen

tbh i hated this. annoying ass music. i was in a bad mood today though

I respect the swings that this record takes and I wish I liked it more than I do, but the choice to fuse Ska with lounge/musak just kinda results in Ska that is lacking energy. The record makes up for it with weird genre experiments (especially in the second half), but the end result is a cool if inconsistent record rather than a masterpiece.

This one is bad. Boring, full of nonsense, and nothing about it feels exciting. I kept waiting for something to snap into place and it never did. The energy that made the first Specials record sharp is mostly gone. The songs drag, the ideas feel half formed, and the whole album sits in a dull, restless place without any real payoff. Even the more experimental turns come off as messy rather than interesting. It just doesn’t land. The production is clean enough, but that only makes the lack of strong material more obvious. Everything is audible and properly recorded, yet none of it carries much weight or urgency. More Specials is a clear step down. Flat, uninspired, and easy to forget.

J'ai trouvé ça très quelconque.

Also a good vibe either way this group

How on earth did this make the list?

I'm not big on ska, but this was actually really good!

Favorite Track: Man at C&A

I get that the Specials were very influential in the 2nd wave of Ska, but I just can't help but to think of the really weird kids I knew who were wayyyyy to into ska. Plus this album somehow feels happy and manic at the same time.

Officially they are ska, but the album covers a bunch of different styles (some reggae, pop/alt rock, etc). It's a fun listen.

There’s too many song that don’t quite work for me to go all in on this album, but I do appreciate the ambition and “don’t just deliver what people expect” aspect of this album. Also, they get credit for beating the Gorillaz to their sound by a quarter of a century.

They lost a lot of their urgency.

The angel on my shoulder is trying to focus on how neat the weird stuff is, but the devil on the other is laughing at how funny this record is.

Decent rocksteady/ska record. Again, these guys are a compilation band- some good songs but I don't find the album cuts anything beyond listenable

I did not care for this. It seems that the group wanted to drastically change their sound after a quite successful and competent debut album. What we got in return was...much less ska and more elevator/lounge music. Not sure I agree with that change, as that creates a huge drop off in energy as the album goes on. But hey, I guess that change was good enough to land it on this list.

My first experience with The Specials. I liked it! Some of the faux patois was cringy but the music was solid. I will probably check out more from them. 3.5 stars

Eh, decent, but not one of there better albums. Nothing is particularly standout good in the album, it just sort of blends together in mediocrity.

Not as keen on this one as I am the self-titled, mainly due to the vocals and harmonies which feel much more grating to my ear. After a fairly poor opener in that regard I felt the dust beginning to settle, but then tracks such as "Pearl's Cafe" reaffirmed my early concerns. Instrumentally it's well-assembled and clearly a high quality ska album though, even if ska isn't much my thing.

First sophomore slump I can easily point to. That first album was so special, this feels so less genuine, fun, and innovative. They definitely aren’t picking it up as hard as the last one and that made me sad.

Awesome and different! Wouldn't mind a revisit. Light 8

this is not shit, its shite

Some great bits of Ska are to be had on this record. Give it a listen and Enjoy yourself

6. oktobar 2026. 21.24h danas sam saznala da ne volim ska best: do nothing

Jøsses de vil meget uden at man mestre noget... Klart specielt. Med at åbne et album med et børne kor som synger om at nyde sig selv til regere toner.. Dét stikker...

Mere sjælden end køn

there are just like, so many different vibes here.

Pretty good - I like this type of ska

Pretty nice but nothing particularly for me

I like the idea of the funky off beat sound. But I really just can’t bring myself to enjoy it here. It’s a shame I enjoy a couple of their other songs but this just ain’t it

Average

Enjoyable.

Thought I would like it more than I did.

Side one is decent though a bit repetitive. Side two flags quite a bit. Three minus.

It was good, not as good as their debut.

I like that they tried! But this sounds crazy.

#442 There’s an enjoyable and fun feel to this album, perhaps in stark opposition to the themes; it sounds varied and culturally eclectic in the way London Calling is, and has a distinct London feel to it, although I know they are from Coventry. I’ve always liked the songs I knew as they have naturally permeated British culture, but this was the first time I’ve listened to one of their albums. Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ✅ Listen before you die? ✅ Fave track(s): Enjoy Yourself; I Can’t Stand It; International Jet Set Rating: 7/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You can hear a mix of rhythms in this album The Specials are a great band

Specials were my favorite part of school. Was not expecting to hear "enjoy yourself" but i guess it had to come from somewhere. I wasn't sure what genere of music this was but i guess it is Ska; they've got some funk.

The American mind cannot comprehend this album. And I am a proud American 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

uhhh special is right

It was so bad that when I got distracted in the middle and paused it temporarily, I proceeded to completely block it out of my mind and I didn't remember to finish it until I came on here to check my next album. That or I just have ADHD but either way it was not a great listening experience.

Enjoyed myself. I liked Hey, Little Rich Girl

How can you not feel lifted by this? It is joy for your ears even when its dealing with the issues of the day. Lacking some of the rawness and hits of their first album but a pleasure to listen to today even with a bit of filler.

Somewhat inconsistent, but super fun nonetheless. Prefer the follow up.

Has some good tracks, but nothing close to the level of their absolutely essential debut. By most accounts, the divergence of artistic vision throughout the making of this album is what led to the departure of most of the band. I can see why - it feels like there's very little cohesion. Also, I get the whole thing with wanting to bookend the album, but this is probably the most glaring instance of "the first track should be the closing track" in existence.

Fun. Political without being overbearing. Very danceable which is a bonus, even if I'm not normally a dancer. I'm going to say this is an album you really should listen to. If it doesn't make you smile... and think give yourself a good shake. 5/5

Fun.