More Specials [2002 Remaster]

1	Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think) 3:40
2	Man at C & A 3:38
3	Hey, Little Rich Girl 3:40
4	Do Nothing 3:45
5	Pearl's Café 3:10
6	Sock It to 'Em J.B. 3:00
7	Stereotypes/Stereotypes, Pt. 2 7:25
8	Holiday Fortnight 2:46
9	I Can't Stand It 4:04
10	International Jet Set 5:38
11	Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think) (Reprise) 1:49

Barnes & Noble

With their kinetic R&B rhythms, dub-wise organ lines, and searing social commentary, the Specials were the archetypal band of ska's "2-Tone" revival, which blasted onto the charts in riot-torn Britain at the turn of the '80s. Themes of urban decay and social unrest still abound on More Specials -- on the eerie "Man at C&A" and "Do Nothing" -- but stylistically, the band was branching out from the heady punk rock-dub reggae fusion they perfected on their eponymous debut. The guys have a little fun on the half-sardonic "Enjoy Yourself" (with some Go-Go's on harmonies), the bouncy barroom duet "Pearl's Café" (on which Terry Hall trades verses with Bodysnatchers singer Rhoda Dakar), and the horn-pumped Bond ode "Sock It to 'em J.B." But the Specials signal a new direction with the scathing, two-part "Stereotypes," a bash at contemporary British culture that makes good on the promise of experimental dub production techniques. Elsewhere, keyboardist and unofficial bandleader Jerry Dammers dabbles in the kitschy sounds of the lounge jazz era on the unsettling "International Jet Set" and "I Can't Stand It," another Hall-Dakar duet. Strangely, two of the best tracks are relegated to the enhanced part of the disc, appearing as videos: "Rat Race," which was released prior to the album in the U.K. but originally included on the U.S. version, and "Ghost Town," the band's timely swan song, which topped the British charts just as race riots were exploding and remains the jewel in their rude-boy crown. Lydia Vanderloo

All Music Guide

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-flavored "Holiday Fortnight" -- as well as a duo of minimally vocalized 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 Bodysnatcher 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 centered 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. In retrospect, there's no surprise that only "Enjoy Yourself" appeared regularly in the band and its related projects' sets. Which may explain why this enhanced-CD reissue includes videos not of the album's singles, but of the two hits not on the set, "Ghost Town" and "Rat Race." ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide