Greatest Hits

Performer: The Specials
Producer: John Avila; Neville Staple; John Avila...
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: The Specials: Travis Laws (vocals, guitar); Chris Colonnier (vocals, trombone); Ed Kampwirth (vocals, bass instrument); Chris Clawson (drums); Jesse Wilder, Neville Staple. Personnel: Jesse Wilder (vocals, guitar); Chris Colonnier (vocals, trombone); Ed Kampwirth, Neville Staple (vocals); John Avila (background vocals). Audio Mixers: John Avila; Cisco DeLuna. Recording information: Brando's Paradise, San Gabriel, CA. Who ever heard of a Specials Greatest Hits collection that didn't include "Concrete Jungle" or "Rat Race"? It's not like the music that is here isn't wonderful -- it is, and the choices made are righteous insofar as they go. The problem is that the missing cuts leave such a gaping hole. Other best-ofs -- including the one compiled by Disky -- contain 15 tracks or more. Other tracks that could have been included here are "Guns of Navarone," "Nike Klub," and "Racist Friend." As for what is here, you get the uptempo bluebeat skankers like "A Message to You Rudy," "Ghost Town," "Man at C & A," "Rude Boys Outta Jail," "Simmer Down," and "Too Hot." So this is an enjoyable spin, but there are way better collections out there. ~ Thom Jurek

Leaders of ska music's second wave in England during the late 1970s and early '80s, the Specials founded the 2 Tone record label, and added like-minded bands such as the Selecter, the English Beat, and Madness to the roster. Combining socially conscious messages with jaunty, danceable melodies, the Specials (later known as the Special AKA) toured with the Clash, had their first album produced by Elvis Costello, and topped the British singles charts with ska anthems "Gangsters" and "Rudi, A Message to You." At the peak of their success in 1981, internal tensions led to the group fragmenting, with members departing to form the Fun Boy Three and, later, the Special Beat.

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