Product Info
Less frenzied than its predecessor, but more musically adventurous, More Specials was nearly as popular in its day as its predecessor, falling just one chart place below their debut. It kicked off in similar fashion as well, with a classic cover, this time with an exuberant take on Carl Sigman and Conrad Magidson's 1940s chestnut "Enjoy Yourself." A slower, brooding version with the Go-Go's in tow brings the album to a close, taking the place of the set-sealing "You're Wondering Now," which brought the curtain down on their first set.
But there the similarities come to an end. The rest of the album is comprised of originals, including a pair of instrumentals -- the Northern soul-esque "Sock It to 'Em JB" and the Mexican-flavoured "Holiday Fortnight" -- as well as a duo of minimally vocalised pieces, the intriguing "International Jet Set," and the overtly apocalyptic "Man at C&A." But fans had already been primed for the band's changing musical directions by the release the month before of "Stereotypes," its spaghetti western aura filled with the group's more mournful mood. It's an emotional despair taken to even greater heights on "Do Nothing," as the group futilely searches for a future, but musically stumbles upon a cheery, easygoing rhythm more appropriate to the pop styles of the English Beat than the angrier sounds the Specials had made their own.
But to prove it's no fluke, there's the equally bright and breezy "Hey, Little Rich Girl," boasting fabulous sax solos from Madness' Lee Thompson. However, it's an immortal line from "Pearl's Cafe" that Terry Hall and the guesting Bodysnatchers' Rhoda Dakar deliver up in duet that best sums up their own, and the country's pure frustration: "It's all a load of bollocks, and bollocks to it all." It was an intensely satisfying set in its day, even if it wasn't as centred as their debut. The group seems to be moving simultaneously in too many directions, while the lyrics, too, are not quite as hard-hitting as earlier efforts.
Tracklist
- Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think) 3:39
- Man At C & A 3:36
- Hey, Little Rich Girl 3:35
- Do Nothing 3:43
- Pearl's Cafe 3:07
- Sock It To 'Em J.B. 2:56
- Stereotypes / Stereotypes Part 2 7:24
- Holiday Fortnight 2:45
- I Can't Stand It 4:01
- International Jet Set 5:37
- Enjoy Yourself (Reprise)
2CD:
CD1 as vinyl tracklist.
CD2:
1 Rat Race (2015 Remastered Version)
2 Rude Buoys Outa Jail (2015 Remastered Version)
3 Stereotype Pts. 1 & 2 (John Peel BBC Radio 1 Session)
4 International Jet Set (Single Version) [2015 Remastered Version]
5 Rude Buoys Outa Jail (Version) [2015 Remastered Version] - Neville Staples AKA Judge Roughneck
6 Do Nothing (feat. Rico with the Ice Rink String Sounds) [Single Version] (2015 Remastered Version)
7 Maggie's Farm (2015 Remastered Version)
8 Racquel (2015 Remastered Version)
9 Why? (Extended Version) [2015 Remastered Version]
10 Friday Night, Saturday Morning (2015 Remastered Version)
11 Ghost Town (Full Version) [2015 Remastered Version]
12 Sea Cruise (feat. Rico) [John Peel BBC Radio 1 Session]
13 You're Wondering Now (Kid Jensen BBC Radio 1 Session)
Soundwave
https://youtu.be/roE5l5aVWs8