With Friends Less can be More., 31 Jul 2008
After the trilogy of Friends albums Jools returned with an album where the style and tone of the music was more suited to the big band sound of his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. I was hoping he reverted to being the main singer but he shares the vocal duties with his regular female vocalists Sam Brown and Ruby Turner with a star turn by Beverly Turner and two with Solomon Burke including his greatest creation `Everybody Needs Somebody to Love'.

I think the album works best with the arrangement of the instrumental numbers and the songs which Jools sings but some of the guest vocalists are given sympathetic arrangements particularly Ruby Turners ambitious take on Dylan's `Blowin' in the Wind'.
Not a total return to form but still a worthwhile entry in the Holland cannon which was beginning to appear tired with the Friends albums coming out with seemingly the only reason to pay to keep an eighteen piece big band on the road.


Great......just great, 21 Jan 2008
I have been a great fan of Jools Holland for a long time, and brought this album without any need to look at reviews, and I wasn't disappointed, great piano led Blues and Jazz, along side fantastic vocals.

Magnificent, 24 Feb 2007
I have had this disc for 6 months or so. I have never written a review before but this disc demands it. I have a huge music collection and this energetic album is a real outstanding jewel. Every track is bursting with energy & tempo, huge big-band sounds and well mastered. For any fan of piano led blues and jazz this album is an absolute peach.

Cracking disc, 30 Aug 2006
Another winner from Jools and the gang. A great combination of foot-tapping tracks.

Great, 17 May 2006
This is an amazing album, one of Holland's best so far; every song is a gem; not to be missed by any fan of jazz or blues.

The beat that got a generation dancing and brought ska back into the public eye. Produced by Elvis Costello, then still a boy wonder himself, the album built on the sound of the Specials' first two singles, and gave the world its first extended look at Two Tone. Inspired writing and arranging (much of it down to founder Jerry Dammers) with Terry Hall as the laconic front man made for a perfect combination, the riddim of ska and the speed of punk. As a testament to its power, two decades haven't lessened its impact. --Chris Nickson

With Friends Less can be More., 31 Jul 2008
After the trilogy of Friends albums Jools returned with an album where the style and tone of the music was more suited to the big band sound of his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. I was hoping he reverted to being the main singer but he shares the vocal duties with his regular female vocalists Sam Brown and Ruby Turner with a star turn by Beverly Turner and two with Solomon Burke including his greatest creation `Everybody Needs Somebody to Love'.

I think the album works best with the arrangement of the instrumental numbers and the songs which Jools sings but some of the guest vocalists are given sympathetic arrangements particularly Ruby Turners ambitious take on Dylan's `Blowin' in the Wind'.
Not a total return to form but still a worthwhile entry in the Holland cannon which was beginning to appear tired with the Friends albums coming out with seemingly the only reason to pay to keep an eighteen piece big band on the road.


Great......just great, 21 Jan 2008
I have been a great fan of Jools Holland for a long time, and brought this album without any need to look at reviews, and I wasn't disappointed, great piano led Blues and Jazz, along side fantastic vocals.

Magnificent, 24 Feb 2007
I have had this disc for 6 months or so. I have never written a review before but this disc demands it. I have a huge music collection and this energetic album is a real outstanding jewel. Every track is bursting with energy & tempo, huge big-band sounds and well mastered. For any fan of piano led blues and jazz this album is an absolute peach.

Cracking disc, 30 Aug 2006
Another winner from Jools and the gang. A great combination of foot-tapping tracks.

Great, 17 May 2006
This is an amazing album, one of Holland's best so far; every song is a gem; not to be missed by any fan of jazz or blues.

Pretty Special, 24 Aug 2006
This is my favourite of the 2 Specials albums. 'More Specials' is quirkier, but this is equally fun and more up-tempo. I love to leap around to this record at every oportunity, (much to the annoyance of my neighbours). I could wiffle on about all of the profound lyrics and such and Terry Hall's deadpan style, but once you buy this record then you will find out for yourself. Suffice to say that this record is well worth getting for your collection. If you like that 2 tone sound, then it really doesn't get any better than this. And at this price it is a steal!!!!

A masterpiece yes, 01 Jun 2006
Whilst it is indeed masterpiece of pop creation and you really must own it. It is still only a pop creation, really very pop and i wouldn't really say it sounded "fresh" on every listen. Its good for a few plays, by which time it will all be in your head already - such is the quality of the songwriting. Buy, listen, love then place on a shelf and hum.

A Classic., 13 Feb 2006
This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If your are into Punk or Ska this really is a must buy.

A Classic of Musical Re-Invention. Brilliant !, 25 Sep 2004
The Specials album is and was without doubt, a fantastic album. Anyone with any appreciation for music whatsoever, should buy this. The beats are great, the lyrics are great, the tunes are great. A great shame so much of our modern music is so dull and spiritless compared to music like this. As much a breath of fresh air as it was all those years ago. Superb !!!!!

Am i missing something of the first hand Ska experience?, 15 Aug 2004
Having recently decided to correct one or two oversights in my music collection I bought this C.D. Ska was one of the few genres that passed me by originally.( The other being jazz funk which I've never considered a great loss.) Of course I heard all the singles and I even bought some of them but really I was far too pale and interesting and well dull to really explore music that despite it's often serious subject matter often seemed to me an excuse to indulge in lots of silly knees up dancing.

This 2002 re-mastered version of the 1979 debut album by The Specials seemed to me the perfect place to start. "Ghost Town" is after all one of the greatest number 1,s of all time while "Gangsters" is a superbly idiosyncratic song. Plus it's produced by a sprightly youth called Elvis Costello which is something I never knew till I read it on these very pages. ...And it's great, with some truly wonderful songs and an irresistible energy and laconic humour. However I don't think it's quite the all-out masterpiece that many of my fellow reviewers think it is, and I think I know why. The live cuts ,"Monkey Man" off this album and the single version of "Too Much Too Young" exude a tremendous blast of the hedonistic verve and sense of communal spirit that existed around the Ska scene and i, never experienced that first hand so in a sense I'm coming into this album cold and lacking the empirical knowledge of the Ska experience..
It's taut wired energy seems to be lifted straight from the aftermath of punk and the genesis of the new-wave movement but thrown in with rhythms of reggae, which of course bands like The Clash had already incorporated into their sound, and elements of dub and R & B it's an intoxicating mix and when it all gels together it's fantastic., but I found some of the material here a little repetitive (Which is one of the problems I have with reggae.) and one or two of the songs a touch mundane. "Too Hot" and "Blank Expression" are prime examples of this.

Mainly though this is terrific stuff." Concrete Jungle", "Little Bitch", "Nite Klub" and "You're Wondering Know" which sounds like a track off Enos,s "Here Comes the Warm Jets" particularly. Even the six minute version of "Too Much Too Young" though lacking the vivacious outrage of the live single version is great. "A Message to You Rudy" still sounds fresh as well.
I really missed out when I pompously ignored this stuff first time round and now I'm way too old to do the silly knees up dance............I think.

With Friends Less can be More., 31 Jul 2008
After the trilogy of Friends albums Jools returned with an album where the style and tone of the music was more suited to the big band sound of his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. I was hoping he reverted to being the main singer but he shares the vocal duties with his regular female vocalists Sam Brown and Ruby Turner with a star turn by Beverly Turner and two with Solomon Burke including his greatest creation `Everybody Needs Somebody to Love'.

I think the album works best with the arrangement of the instrumental numbers and the songs which Jools sings but some of the guest vocalists are given sympathetic arrangements particularly Ruby Turners ambitious take on Dylan's `Blowin' in the Wind'.
Not a total return to form but still a worthwhile entry in the Holland cannon which was beginning to appear tired with the Friends albums coming out with seemingly the only reason to pay to keep an eighteen piece big band on the road.


Great......just great, 21 Jan 2008
I have been a great fan of Jools Holland for a long time, and brought this album without any need to look at reviews, and I wasn't disappointed, great piano led Blues and Jazz, along side fantastic vocals.

Magnificent, 24 Feb 2007
I have had this disc for 6 months or so. I have never written a review before but this disc demands it. I have a huge music collection and this energetic album is a real outstanding jewel. Every track is bursting with energy & tempo, huge big-band sounds and well mastered. For any fan of piano led blues and jazz this album is an absolute peach.

Cracking disc, 30 Aug 2006
Another winner from Jools and the gang. A great combination of foot-tapping tracks.

Great, 17 May 2006
This is an amazing album, one of Holland's best so far; every song is a gem; not to be missed by any fan of jazz or blues.

Pretty Special, 24 Aug 2006
This is my favourite of the 2 Specials albums. 'More Specials' is quirkier, but this is equally fun and more up-tempo. I love to leap around to this record at every oportunity, (much to the annoyance of my neighbours). I could wiffle on about all of the profound lyrics and such and Terry Hall's deadpan style, but once you buy this record then you will find out for yourself. Suffice to say that this record is well worth getting for your collection. If you like that 2 tone sound, then it really doesn't get any better than this. And at this price it is a steal!!!!

A masterpiece yes, 01 Jun 2006
Whilst it is indeed masterpiece of pop creation and you really must own it. It is still only a pop creation, really very pop and i wouldn't really say it sounded "fresh" on every listen. Its good for a few plays, by which time it will all be in your head already - such is the quality of the songwriting. Buy, listen, love then place on a shelf and hum.

A Classic., 13 Feb 2006
This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If your are into Punk or Ska this really is a must buy.

A Classic of Musical Re-Invention. Brilliant !, 25 Sep 2004
The Specials album is and was without doubt, a fantastic album. Anyone with any appreciation for music whatsoever, should buy this. The beats are great, the lyrics are great, the tunes are great. A great shame so much of our modern music is so dull and spiritless compared to music like this. As much a breath of fresh air as it was all those years ago. Superb !!!!!

Am i missing something of the first hand Ska experience?, 15 Aug 2004
Having recently decided to correct one or two oversights in my music collection I bought this C.D. Ska was one of the few genres that passed me by originally.( The other being jazz funk which I've never considered a great loss.) Of course I heard all the singles and I even bought some of them but really I was far too pale and interesting and well dull to really explore music that despite it's often serious subject matter often seemed to me an excuse to indulge in lots of silly knees up dancing.

This 2002 re-mastered version of the 1979 debut album by The Specials seemed to me the perfect place to start. "Ghost Town" is after all one of the greatest number 1,s of all time while "Gangsters" is a superbly idiosyncratic song. Plus it's produced by a sprightly youth called Elvis Costello which is something I never knew till I read it on these very pages. ...And it's great, with some truly wonderful songs and an irresistible energy and laconic humour. However I don't think it's quite the all-out masterpiece that many of my fellow reviewers think it is, and I think I know why. The live cuts ,"Monkey Man" off this album and the single version of "Too Much Too Young" exude a tremendous blast of the hedonistic verve and sense of communal spirit that existed around the Ska scene and i, never experienced that first hand so in a sense I'm coming into this album cold and lacking the empirical knowledge of the Ska experience..
It's taut wired energy seems to be lifted straight from the aftermath of punk and the genesis of the new-wave movement but thrown in with rhythms of reggae, which of course bands like The Clash had already incorporated into their sound, and elements of dub and R & B it's an intoxicating mix and when it all gels together it's fantastic., but I found some of the material here a little repetitive (Which is one of the problems I have with reggae.) and one or two of the songs a touch mundane. "Too Hot" and "Blank Expression" are prime examples of this.

Mainly though this is terrific stuff." Concrete Jungle", "Little Bitch", "Nite Klub" and "You're Wondering Know" which sounds like a track off Enos,s "Here Comes the Warm Jets" particularly. Even the six minute version of "Too Much Too Young" though lacking the vivacious outrage of the live single version is great. "A Message to You Rudy" still sounds fresh as well.
I really missed out when I pompously ignored this stuff first time round and now I'm way too old to do the silly knees up dance............I think.

Singularily Special, 01 May 2008
The Specials Singles is just that containing at least the a-sides of the 45's of one the greatest bands of all time. Opening with one of the strongest debut single of all time `Gangsters' it moves through double `a' side `Rudi, a Message to You' and `Nite Klub' to the first side of there live EP `Too Much Too Young' and the Skatalite inspired `Guns of Navarone'.

Stand alone single `Rat Race' is next before we move into less comfortable territory with double `a' `Stereotype' b/w `International Jet Set' and then `Do Nothing'. The magnificent `Ghost Town' is next together with both of its equally good b-sides `Why?' and `Friday Night, Saturday Morning'.

The quality drops as Terry Hall, Neville Staples and Lynval Golding leave to form Fun Boy Three and The Special AKA give us a poor `War Crimes' and `Racist Friend' . The temperature rises again with the fantastic `Nelson Mandela' but it's too late to save the band and `Girlfriend' leaves the album, and indeed the band, with a disappointing ending. Hopefully now the full band is reforming The Specials will be given the coda they deserve.


the best, 08 Aug 2001
I was in my late teens when ska hit the world (my world), saw specials, madness etc at various concerts, have all the albums and 45's. love them still, nothing will come close the the beat. this is a great album. buy it and you won't keep still.

Coventry's sublime answer to New Wave, 13 Mar 2001
The bulk of the Specials' career between 1979 and 1981 is solidly collated in this truly excellent compilation album.

Jerry Dammers was the musical genius who provided the main driving force behind the diverse talent he had collated, all of which were excellent live rock musicians. Furthermore, many have frontman viewed Terry Hall as the direct precursor of Morrissey, with his deadpan, sardonic vocals and tragi-comedic lyrics about life's more mundane subject-matter, eg, 'I'd rather have lipstick on my collar than piss-stains on my shoes'.... truly inspired ! For 18 months or so, The Special's were deservedly Britain's biggest band, even making a sizeable impact in the USA, where they achieved cult status.

There are several standout tracks here, particularly the three #1 hits, Too Much Too Young (about teenage pregnancy), Rat Race (about the Coventry band's resentment of having to move south to London to succeed) and the haunting Ghost Town, from 1981. Ghost Town is an excellent snapshot of a country at the end of its tether, highlighting Coventry's rapid social, economic and psychological desolation during Thatcher's first two years in power, and it proved extremely prophetic when just months later, several major cities experienced rioting on an unprecedented scale (this theme was also inherent in their famous Concrete Jungle track). However, with choice tracks such as the classic Gangsters, A Message To You Rudi, Do Nothing and Friday Night, Saturday Morning plus the Special AKA's Nelson Mandela, there is quality here in adbundance.

The sound of ska has never sounded so good and you will find few who do not hold this band with the utmost respect. The Special's proved to be one of the world's first socially-aware bands that did'nt ram their messages down our throats but just concentrated on sounded great (some irritatingly called them The Clash of Ska). They certainly led the way, if not musically, but thematically, for the likes of The Smiths and Billy Bragg and were a welcome diversion from the materialistic, New Romantic tosh that was rapidly swamping Britain at the time. Eventually it all came to an abrupt end after Ghost Town, but the offshoot was the brilliant, Terry Hall-led Fun Boy Three followed by his excellent Colourfield project, proving that Dammers was not the only musical genius onboard the ska phenomenon that brought the 'Dance Craze' to Britain.

The Best of The Specials, 07 Feb 2001
This is a truly brilliant album for anyone who loves the whole ska scene.Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!

With Friends Less can be More., 31 Jul 2008
After the trilogy of Friends albums Jools returned with an album where the style and tone of the music was more suited to the big band sound of his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. I was hoping he reverted to being the main singer but he shares the vocal duties with his regular female vocalists Sam Brown and Ruby Turner with a star turn by Beverly Turner and two with Solomon Burke including his greatest creation `Everybody Needs Somebody to Love'.

I think the album works best with the arrangement of the instrumental numbers and the songs which Jools sings but some of the guest vocalists are given sympathetic arrangements particularly Ruby Turners ambitious take on Dylan's `Blowin' in the Wind'.
Not a total return to form but still a worthwhile entry in the Holland cannon which was beginning to appear tired with the Friends albums coming out with seemingly the only reason to pay to keep an eighteen piece big band on the road.


Great......just great, 21 Jan 2008
I have been a great fan of Jools Holland for a long time, and brought this album without any need to look at reviews, and I wasn't disappointed, great piano led Blues and Jazz, along side fantastic vocals.

Magnificent, 24 Feb 2007
I have had this disc for 6 months or so. I have never written a review before but this disc demands it. I have a huge music collection and this energetic album is a real outstanding jewel. Every track is bursting with energy & tempo, huge big-band sounds and well mastered. For any fan of piano led blues and jazz this album is an absolute peach.

Cracking disc, 30 Aug 2006
Another winner from Jools and the gang. A great combination of foot-tapping tracks.

Great, 17 May 2006
This is an amazing album, one of Holland's best so far; every song is a gem; not to be missed by any fan of jazz or blues.

Pretty Special, 24 Aug 2006
This is my favourite of the 2 Specials albums. 'More Specials' is quirkier, but this is equally fun and more up-tempo. I love to leap around to this record at every oportunity, (much to the annoyance of my neighbours). I could wiffle on about all of the profound lyrics and such and Terry Hall's deadpan style, but once you buy this record then you will find out for yourself. Suffice to say that this record is well worth getting for your collection. If you like that 2 tone sound, then it really doesn't get any better than this. And at this price it is a steal!!!!

A masterpiece yes, 01 Jun 2006
Whilst it is indeed masterpiece of pop creation and you really must own it. It is still only a pop creation, really very pop and i wouldn't really say it sounded "fresh" on every listen. Its good for a few plays, by which time it will all be in your head already - such is the quality of the songwriting. Buy, listen, love then place on a shelf and hum.

A Classic., 13 Feb 2006
This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If your are into Punk or Ska this really is a must buy.

A Classic of Musical Re-Invention. Brilliant !, 25 Sep 2004
The Specials album is and was without doubt, a fantastic album. Anyone with any appreciation for music whatsoever, should buy this. The beats are great, the lyrics are great, the tunes are great. A great shame so much of our modern music is so dull and spiritless compared to music like this. As much a breath of fresh air as it was all those years ago. Superb !!!!!

Am i missing something of the first hand Ska experience?, 15 Aug 2004
Having recently decided to correct one or two oversights in my music collection I bought this C.D. Ska was one of the few genres that passed me by originally.( The other being jazz funk which I've never considered a great loss.) Of course I heard all the singles and I even bought some of them but really I was far too pale and interesting and well dull to really explore music that despite it's often serious subject matter often seemed to me an excuse to indulge in lots of silly knees up dancing.

This 2002 re-mastered version of the 1979 debut album by The Specials seemed to me the perfect place to start. "Ghost Town" is after all one of the greatest number 1,s of all time while "Gangsters" is a superbly idiosyncratic song. Plus it's produced by a sprightly youth called Elvis Costello which is something I never knew till I read it on these very pages. ...And it's great, with some truly wonderful songs and an irresistible energy and laconic humour. However I don't think it's quite the all-out masterpiece that many of my fellow reviewers think it is, and I think I know why. The live cuts ,"Monkey Man" off this album and the single version of "Too Much Too Young" exude a tremendous blast of the hedonistic verve and sense of communal spirit that existed around the Ska scene and i, never experienced that first hand so in a sense I'm coming into this album cold and lacking the empirical knowledge of the Ska experience..
It's taut wired energy seems to be lifted straight from the aftermath of punk and the genesis of the new-wave movement but thrown in with rhythms of reggae, which of course bands like The Clash had already incorporated into their sound, and elements of dub and R & B it's an intoxicating mix and when it all gels together it's fantastic., but I found some of the material here a little repetitive (Which is one of the problems I have with reggae.) and one or two of the songs a touch mundane. "Too Hot" and "Blank Expression" are prime examples of this.

Mainly though this is terrific stuff." Concrete Jungle", "Little Bitch", "Nite Klub" and "You're Wondering Know" which sounds like a track off Enos,s "Here Comes the Warm Jets" particularly. Even the six minute version of "Too Much Too Young" though lacking the vivacious outrage of the live single version is great. "A Message to You Rudy" still sounds fresh as well.
I really missed out when I pompously ignored this stuff first time round and now I'm way too old to do the silly knees up dance............I think.

Singularily Special, 01 May 2008
The Specials Singles is just that containing at least the a-sides of the 45's of one the greatest bands of all time. Opening with one of the strongest debut single of all time `Gangsters' it moves through double `a' side `Rudi, a Message to You' and `Nite Klub' to the first side of there live EP `Too Much Too Young' and the Skatalite inspired `Guns of Navarone'.

Stand alone single `Rat Race' is next before we move into less comfortable territory with double `a' `Stereotype' b/w `International Jet Set' and then `Do Nothing'. The magnificent `Ghost Town' is next together with both of its equally good b-sides `Why?' and `Friday Night, Saturday Morning'.

The quality drops as Terry Hall, Neville Staples and Lynval Golding leave to form Fun Boy Three and The Special AKA give us a poor `War Crimes' and `Racist Friend' . The temperature rises again with the fantastic `Nelson Mandela' but it's too late to save the band and `Girlfriend' leaves the album, and indeed the band, with a disappointing ending. Hopefully now the full band is reforming The Specials will be given the coda they deserve.


the best, 08 Aug 2001
I was in my late teens when ska hit the world (my world), saw specials, madness etc at various concerts, have all the albums and 45's. love them still, nothing will come close the the beat. this is a great album. buy it and you won't keep still.

Coventry's sublime answer to New Wave, 13 Mar 2001
The bulk of the Specials' career between 1979 and 1981 is solidly collated in this truly excellent compilation album.

Jerry Dammers was the musical genius who provided the main driving force behind the diverse talent he had collated, all of which were excellent live rock musicians. Furthermore, many have frontman viewed Terry Hall as the direct precursor of Morrissey, with his deadpan, sardonic vocals and tragi-comedic lyrics about life's more mundane subject-matter, eg, 'I'd rather have lipstick on my collar than piss-stains on my shoes'.... truly inspired ! For 18 months or so, The Special's were deservedly Britain's biggest band, even making a sizeable impact in the USA, where they achieved cult status.

There are several standout tracks here, particularly the three #1 hits, Too Much Too Young (about teenage pregnancy), Rat Race (about the Coventry band's resentment of having to move south to London to succeed) and the haunting Ghost Town, from 1981. Ghost Town is an excellent snapshot of a country at the end of its tether, highlighting Coventry's rapid social, economic and psychological desolation during Thatcher's first two years in power, and it proved extremely prophetic when just months later, several major cities experienced rioting on an unprecedented scale (this theme was also inherent in their famous Concrete Jungle track). However, with choice tracks such as the classic Gangsters, A Message To You Rudi, Do Nothing and Friday Night, Saturday Morning plus the Special AKA's Nelson Mandela, there is quality here in adbundance.

The sound of ska has never sounded so good and you will find few who do not hold this band with the utmost respect. The Special's proved to be one of the world's first socially-aware bands that did'nt ram their messages down our throats but just concentrated on sounded great (some irritatingly called them The Clash of Ska). They certainly led the way, if not musically, but thematically, for the likes of The Smiths and Billy Bragg and were a welcome diversion from the materialistic, New Romantic tosh that was rapidly swamping Britain at the time. Eventually it all came to an abrupt end after Ghost Town, but the offshoot was the brilliant, Terry Hall-led Fun Boy Three followed by his excellent Colourfield project, proving that Dammers was not the only musical genius onboard the ska phenomenon that brought the 'Dance Craze' to Britain.

The Best of The Specials, 07 Feb 2001
This is a truly brilliant album for anyone who loves the whole ska scene.Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!

SKA-TASTIC, 24 Nov 2003
This is a top ska collection, it contains plenty of classics including a few from the godfathers of SKA music, The Specials. Defenite stand out tracks are Rat Race, Rudy, a message to you and Ghosttown.
Its cheap and you get over 50 tracks to chose from, there has to be some you like in that lot!

Best of Ska, 21 Nov 2003
Just received this mixture of 60s (original) and 70s Ska. It's fantastic to hear artists like Lord Tanamo, the Maytals and Desmond Dekker for the first time since the early '70s. There's a good mixture on all three CDs. Five stars fo the Ska nostalgist, probably not so high for the purist

The young Frederick "Toots" Hibberts honed his vocal skills in the church. No surprise then that the music he recorded with The Maytals is largely gospel-tinged and very effectively backed up by the fervent, energetic rhythms of ska, the sound of the era in which much of it was recorded. Concentrating on their most productive period (between 1966 when Toots was released from jail on a cannabis charge and 1974), this collection features most of the group's biggest hits, many of which were successful in the UK as well as back home. It's a pure joy to listen to classics such as "54-46 That's My Number" (famously sampled by the Rebel MC in later years), "Pressure Drop" (covered by The Clash), "Bam Bam" (which won them the Jamaican Festival Song Competition), "Monkey Man" (a much covered hit that went down a storm in the UK) and "Do The Reggay", allegedly the record that coined the name, albeit with a different spelling. There is more than a dash of reggae and roots vibes sprinkled throughout these tracks and Toots's voice shines through the often heavy riddims with a beautiful, soulful clarity that cannot be denied. --Paul Sullivan

With Friends Less can be More., 31 Jul 2008
After the trilogy of Friends albums Jools returned with an album where the style and tone of the music was more suited to the big band sound of his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. I was hoping he reverted to being the main singer but he shares the vocal duties with his regular female vocalists Sam Brown and Ruby Turner with a star turn by Beverly Turner and two with Solomon Burke including his greatest creation `Everybody Needs Somebody to Love'.

I think the album works best with the arrangement of the instrumental numbers and the songs which Jools sings but some of the guest vocalists are given sympathetic arrangements particularly Ruby Turners ambitious take on Dylan's `Blowin' in the Wind'.
Not a total return to form but still a worthwhile entry in the Holland cannon which was beginning to appear tired with the Friends albums coming out with seemingly the only reason to pay to keep an eighteen piece big band on the road.


Great......just great, 21 Jan 2008
I have been a great fan of Jools Holland for a long time, and brought this album without any need to look at reviews, and I wasn't disappointed, great piano led Blues and Jazz, along side fantastic vocals.

Magnificent, 24 Feb 2007
I have had this disc for 6 months or so. I have never written a review before but this disc demands it. I have a huge music collection and this energetic album is a real outstanding jewel. Every track is bursting with energy & tempo, huge big-band sounds and well mastered. For any fan of piano led blues and jazz this album is an absolute peach.

Cracking disc, 30 Aug 2006
Another winner from Jools and the gang. A great combination of foot-tapping tracks.

Great, 17 May 2006
This is an amazing album, one of Holland's best so far; every song is a gem; not to be missed by any fan of jazz or blues.

Pretty Special, 24 Aug 2006
This is my favourite of the 2 Specials albums. 'More Specials' is quirkier, but this is equally fun and more up-tempo. I love to leap around to this record at every oportunity, (much to the annoyance of my neighbours). I could wiffle on about all of the profound lyrics and such and Terry Hall's deadpan style, but once you buy this record then you will find out for yourself. Suffice to say that this record is well worth getting for your collection. If you like that 2 tone sound, then it really doesn't get any better than this. And at this price it is a steal!!!!

A masterpiece yes, 01 Jun 2006
Whilst it is indeed masterpiece of pop creation and you really must own it. It is still only a pop creation, really very pop and i wouldn't really say it sounded "fresh" on every listen. Its good for a few plays, by which time it will all be in your head already - such is the quality of the songwriting. Buy, listen, love then place on a shelf and hum.

A Classic., 13 Feb 2006
This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If your are into Punk or Ska this really is a must buy.

A Classic of Musical Re-Invention. Brilliant !, 25 Sep 2004
The Specials album is and was without doubt, a fantastic album. Anyone with any appreciation for music whatsoever, should buy this. The beats are great, the lyrics are great, the tunes are great. A great shame so much of our modern music is so dull and spiritless compared to music like this. As much a breath of fresh air as it was all those years ago. Superb !!!!!

Am i missing something of the first hand Ska experience?, 15 Aug 2004
Having recently decided to correct one or two oversights in my music collection I bought this C.D. Ska was one of the few genres that passed me by originally.( The other being jazz funk which I've never considered a great loss.) Of course I heard all the singles and I even bought some of them but really I was far too pale and interesting and well dull to really explore music that despite it's often serious subject matter often seemed to me an excuse to indulge in lots of silly knees up dancing.

This 2002 re-mastered version of the 1979 debut album by The Specials seemed to me the perfect place to start. "Ghost Town" is after all one of the greatest number 1,s of all time while "Gangsters" is a superbly idiosyncratic song. Plus it's produced by a sprightly youth called Elvis Costello which is something I never knew till I read it on these very pages. ...And it's great, with some truly wonderful songs and an irresistible energy and laconic humour. However I don't think it's quite the all-out masterpiece that many of my fellow reviewers think it is, and I think I know why. The live cuts ,"Monkey Man" off this album and the single version of "Too Much Too Young" exude a tremendous blast of the hedonistic verve and sense of communal spirit that existed around the Ska scene and i, never experienced that first hand so in a sense I'm coming into this album cold and lacking the empirical knowledge of the Ska experience..
It's taut wired energy seems to be lifted straight from the aftermath of punk and the genesis of the new-wave movement but thrown in with rhythms of reggae, which of course bands like The Clash had already incorporated into their sound, and elements of dub and R & B it's an intoxicating mix and when it all gels together it's fantastic., but I found some of the material here a little repetitive (Which is one of the problems I have with reggae.) and one or two of the songs a touch mundane. "Too Hot" and "Blank Expression" are prime examples of this.

Mainly though this is terrific stuff." Concrete Jungle", "Little Bitch", "Nite Klub" and "You're Wondering Know" which sounds like a track off Enos,s "Here Comes the Warm Jets" particularly. Even the six minute version of "Too Much Too Young" though lacking the vivacious outrage of the live single version is great. "A Message to You Rudy" still sounds fresh as well.
I really missed out when I pompously ignored this stuff first time round and now I'm way too old to do the silly knees up dance............I think.

Singularily Special, 01 May 2008
The Specials Singles is just that containing at least the a-sides of the 45's of one the greatest bands of all time. Opening with one of the strongest debut single of all time `Gangsters' it moves through double `a' side `Rudi, a Message to You' and `Nite Klub' to the first side of there live EP `Too Much Too Young' and the Skatalite inspired `Guns of Navarone'.

Stand alone single `Rat Race' is next before we move into less comfortable territory with double `a' `Stereotype' b/w `International Jet Set' and then `Do Nothing'. The magnificent `Ghost Town' is next together with both of its equally good b-sides `Why?' and `Friday Night, Saturday Morning'.

The quality drops as Terry Hall, Neville Staples and Lynval Golding leave to form Fun Boy Three and The Special AKA give us a poor `War Crimes' and `Racist Friend' . The temperature rises again with the fantastic `Nelson Mandela' but it's too late to save the band and `Girlfriend' leaves the album, and indeed the band, with a disappointing ending. Hopefully now the full band is reforming The Specials will be given the coda they deserve.


the best, 08 Aug 2001
I was in my late teens when ska hit the world (my world), saw specials, madness etc at various concerts, have all the albums and 45's. love them still, nothing will come close the the beat. this is a great album. buy it and you won't keep still.

Coventry's sublime answer to New Wave, 13 Mar 2001
The bulk of the Specials' career between 1979 and 1981 is solidly collated in this truly excellent compilation album.

Jerry Dammers was the musical genius who provided the main driving force behind the diverse talent he had collated, all of which were excellent live rock musicians. Furthermore, many have frontman viewed Terry Hall as the direct precursor of Morrissey, with his deadpan, sardonic vocals and tragi-comedic lyrics about life's more mundane subject-matter, eg, 'I'd rather have lipstick on my collar than piss-stains on my shoes'.... truly inspired ! For 18 months or so, The Special's were deservedly Britain's biggest band, even making a sizeable impact in the USA, where they achieved cult status.

There are several standout tracks here, particularly the three #1 hits, Too Much Too Young (about teenage pregnancy), Rat Race (about the Coventry band's resentment of having to move south to London to succeed) and the haunting Ghost Town, from 1981. Ghost Town is an excellent snapshot of a country at the end of its tether, highlighting Coventry's rapid social, economic and psychological desolation during Thatcher's first two years in power, and it proved extremely prophetic when just months later, several major cities experienced rioting on an unprecedented scale (this theme was also inherent in their famous Concrete Jungle track). However, with choice tracks such as the classic Gangsters, A Message To You Rudi, Do Nothing and Friday Night, Saturday Morning plus the Special AKA's Nelson Mandela, there is quality here in adbundance.

The sound of ska has never sounded so good and you will find few who do not hold this band with the utmost respect. The Special's proved to be one of the world's first socially-aware bands that did'nt ram their messages down our throats but just concentrated on sounded great (some irritatingly called them The Clash of Ska). They certainly led the way, if not musically, but thematically, for the likes of The Smiths and Billy Bragg and were a welcome diversion from the materialistic, New Romantic tosh that was rapidly swamping Britain at the time. Eventually it all came to an abrupt end after Ghost Town, but the offshoot was the brilliant, Terry Hall-led Fun Boy Three followed by his excellent Colourfield project, proving that Dammers was not the only musical genius onboard the ska phenomenon that brought the 'Dance Craze' to Britain.

The Best of The Specials, 07 Feb 2001
This is a truly brilliant album for anyone who loves the whole ska scene.Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!

SKA-TASTIC, 24 Nov 2003
This is a top ska collection, it contains plenty of classics including a few from the godfathers of SKA music, The Specials. Defenite stand out tracks are Rat Race, Rudy, a message to you and Ghosttown.
Its cheap and you get over 50 tracks to chose from, there has to be some you like in that lot!

Best of Ska, 21 Nov 2003
Just received this mixture of 60s (original) and 70s Ska. It's fantastic to hear artists like Lord Tanamo, the Maytals and Desmond Dekker for the first time since the early '70s. There's a good mixture on all three CDs. Five stars fo the Ska nostalgist, probably not so high for the purist

Simply brilliant, not a bad song on it!, 30 Aug 2008
I'm not one for writing reviews but seeing as no-one has bothered to write a review for this Toots & The Maytals CD, I thought I may as well be the first.

If your knowledge of reggae goes as far as Bob Marley, and that's it, then you seriously need to broaden your tastes, and as a starter I highly recommend Toots. This CD covers The Maytals career from 1966 to 1974 and all the hits are here - Monkey Man (later covered by The Specials), their brilliant debut single Bam Bam, 54-46 That's My Number and probably their most famous song Pressure Drop (later covered by The Clash).

There's 20 songs on this album and I can honestly say there simply isn't a bad song on here, this album played through from start to finish sounds fantastic.

Do yourself a favour and buy this album, if you like your reggae/ska then I promise you this album will not disappoint you.

With Friends Less can be More., 31 Jul 2008
After the trilogy of Friends albums Jools returned with an album where the style and tone of the music was more suited to the big band sound of his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. I was hoping he reverted to being the main singer but he shares the vocal duties with his regular female vocalists Sam Brown and Ruby Turner with a star turn by Beverly Turner and two with Solomon Burke including his greatest creation `Everybody Needs Somebody to Love'.

I think the album works best with the arrangement of the instrumental numbers and the songs which Jools sings but some of the guest vocalists are given sympathetic arrangements particularly Ruby Turners ambitious take on Dylan's `Blowin' in the Wind'.
Not a total return to form but still a worthwhile entry in the Holland cannon which was beginning to appear tired with the Friends albums coming out with seemingly the only reason to pay to keep an eighteen piece big band on the road.


Great......just great, 21 Jan 2008
I have been a great fan of Jools Holland for a long time, and brought this album without any need to look at reviews, and I wasn't disappointed, great piano led Blues and Jazz, along side fantastic vocals.

Magnificent, 24 Feb 2007
I have had this disc for 6 months or so. I have never written a review before but this disc demands it. I have a huge music collection and this energetic album is a real outstanding jewel. Every track is bursting with energy & tempo, huge big-band sounds and well mastered. For any fan of piano led blues and jazz this album is an absolute peach.

Cracking disc, 30 Aug 2006
Another winner from Jools and the gang. A great combination of foot-tapping tracks.

Great, 17 May 2006
This is an amazing album, one of Holland's best so far; every song is a gem; not to be missed by any fan of jazz or blues.

Pretty Special, 24 Aug 2006
This is my favourite of the 2 Specials albums. 'More Specials' is quirkier, but this is equally fun and more up-tempo. I love to leap around to this record at every oportunity, (much to the annoyance of my neighbours). I could wiffle on about all of the profound lyrics and such and Terry Hall's deadpan style, but once you buy this record then you will find out for yourself. Suffice to say that this record is well worth getting for your collection. If you like that 2 tone sound, then it really doesn't get any better than this. And at this price it is a steal!!!!

A masterpiece yes, 01 Jun 2006
Whilst it is indeed masterpiece of pop creation and you really must own it. It is still only a pop creation, really very pop and i wouldn't really say it sounded "fresh" on every listen. Its good for a few plays, by which time it will all be in your head already - such is the quality of the songwriting. Buy, listen, love then place on a shelf and hum.

A Classic., 13 Feb 2006
This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If your are into Punk or Ska this really is a must buy.

A Classic of Musical Re-Invention. Brilliant !, 25 Sep 2004
The Specials album is and was without doubt, a fantastic album. Anyone with any appreciation for music whatsoever, should buy this. The beats are great, the lyrics are great, the tunes are great. A great shame so much of our modern music is so dull and spiritless compared to music like this. As much a breath of fresh air as it was all those years ago. Superb !!!!!

Am i missing something of the first hand Ska experience?, 15 Aug 2004
Having recently decided to correct one or two oversights in my music collection I bought this C.D. Ska was one of the few genres that passed me by originally.( The other being jazz funk which I've never considered a great loss.) Of course I heard all the singles and I even bought some of them but really I was far too pale and interesting and well dull to really explore music that despite it's often serious subject matter often seemed to me an excuse to indulge in lots of silly knees up dancing.

This 2002 re-mastered version of the 1979 debut album by The Specials seemed to me the perfect place to start. "Ghost Town" is after all one of the greatest number 1,s of all time while "Gangsters" is a superbly idiosyncratic song. Plus it's produced by a sprightly youth called Elvis Costello which is something I never knew till I read it on these very pages. ...And it's great, with some truly wonderful songs and an irresistible energy and laconic humour. However I don't think it's quite the all-out masterpiece that many of my fellow reviewers think it is, and I think I know why. The live cuts ,"Monkey Man" off this album and the single version of "Too Much Too Young" exude a tremendous blast of the hedonistic verve and sense of communal spirit that existed around the Ska scene and i, never experienced that first hand so in a sense I'm coming into this album cold and lacking the empirical knowledge of the Ska experience..
It's taut wired energy seems to be lifted straight from the aftermath of punk and the genesis of the new-wave movement but thrown in with rhythms of reggae, which of course bands like The Clash had already incorporated into their sound, and elements of dub and R & B it's an intoxicating mix and when it all gels together it's fantastic., but I found some of the material here a little repetitive (Which is one of the problems I have with reggae.) and one or two of the songs a touch mundane. "Too Hot" and "Blank Expression" are prime examples of this.

Mainly though this is terrific stuff." Concrete Jungle", "Little Bitch", "Nite Klub" and "You're Wondering Know" which sounds like a track off Enos,s "Here Comes the Warm Jets" particularly. Even the six minute version of "Too Much Too Young" though lacking the vivacious outrage of the live single version is great. "A Message to You Rudy" still sounds fresh as well.
I really missed out when I pompously ignored this stuff first time round and now I'm way too old to do the silly knees up dance............I think.

Singularily Special, 01 May 2008
The Specials Singles is just that containing at least the a-sides of the 45's of one the greatest bands of all time. Opening with one of the strongest debut single of all time `Gangsters' it moves through double `a' side `Rudi, a Message to You' and `Nite Klub' to the first side of there live EP `Too Much Too Young' and the Skatalite inspired `Guns of Navarone'.

Stand alone single `Rat Race' is next before we move into less comfortable territory with double `a' `Stereotype' b/w `International Jet Set' and then `Do Nothing'. The magnificent `Ghost Town' is next together with both of its equally good b-sides `Why?' and `Friday Night, Saturday Morning'.

The quality drops as Terry Hall, Neville Staples and Lynval Golding leave to form Fun Boy Three and The Special AKA give us a poor `War Crimes' and `Racist Friend' . The temperature rises again with the fantastic `Nelson Mandela' but it's too late to save the band and `Girlfriend' leaves the album, and indeed the band, with a disappointing ending. Hopefully now the full band is reforming The Specials will be given the coda they deserve.


the best, 08 Aug 2001
I was in my late teens when ska hit the world (my world), saw specials, madness etc at various concerts, have all the albums and 45's. love them still, nothing will come close the the beat. this is a great album. buy it and you won't keep still.

Coventry's sublime answer to New Wave, 13 Mar 2001
The bulk of the Specials' career between 1979 and 1981 is solidly collated in this truly excellent compilation album.

Jerry Dammers was the musical genius who provided the main driving force behind the diverse talent he had collated, all of which were excellent live rock musicians. Furthermore, many have frontman viewed Terry Hall as the direct precursor of Morrissey, with his deadpan, sardonic vocals and tragi-comedic lyrics about life's more mundane subject-matter, eg, 'I'd rather have lipstick on my collar than piss-stains on my shoes'.... truly inspired ! For 18 months or so, The Special's were deservedly Britain's biggest band, even making a sizeable impact in the USA, where they achieved cult status.

There are several standout tracks here, particularly the three #1 hits, Too Much Too Young (about teenage pregnancy), Rat Race (about the Coventry band's resentment of having to move south to London to succeed) and the haunting Ghost Town, from 1981. Ghost Town is an excellent snapshot of a country at the end of its tether, highlighting Coventry's rapid social, economic and psychological desolation during Thatcher's first two years in power, and it proved extremely prophetic when just months later, several major cities experienced rioting on an unprecedented scale (this theme was also inherent in their famous Concrete Jungle track). However, with choice tracks such as the classic Gangsters, A Message To You Rudi, Do Nothing and Friday Night, Saturday Morning plus the Special AKA's Nelson Mandela, there is quality here in adbundance.

The sound of ska has never sounded so good and you will find few who do not hold this band with the utmost respect. The Special's proved to be one of the world's first socially-aware bands that did'nt ram their messages down our throats but just concentrated on sounded great (some irritatingly called them The Clash of Ska). They certainly led the way, if not musically, but thematically, for the likes of The Smiths and Billy Bragg and were a welcome diversion from the materialistic, New Romantic tosh that was rapidly swamping Britain at the time. Eventually it all came to an abrupt end after Ghost Town, but the offshoot was the brilliant, Terry Hall-led Fun Boy Three followed by his excellent Colourfield project, proving that Dammers was not the only musical genius onboard the ska phenomenon that brought the 'Dance Craze' to Britain.

The Best of The Specials, 07 Feb 2001
This is a truly brilliant album for anyone who loves the whole ska scene.Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!

SKA-TASTIC, 24 Nov 2003
This is a top ska collection, it contains plenty of classics including a few from the godfathers of SKA music, The Specials. Defenite stand out tracks are Rat Race, Rudy, a message to you and Ghosttown.
Its cheap and you get over 50 tracks to chose from, there has to be some you like in that lot!

Best of Ska, 21 Nov 2003
Just received this mixture of 60s (original) and 70s Ska. It's fantastic to hear artists like Lord Tanamo, the Maytals and Desmond Dekker for the first time since the early '70s. There's a good mixture on all three CDs. Five stars fo the Ska nostalgist, probably not so high for the purist

Simply brilliant, not a bad song on it!, 30 Aug 2008
I'm not one for writing reviews but seeing as no-one has bothered to write a review for this Toots & The Maytals CD, I thought I may as well be the first.

If your knowledge of reggae goes as far as Bob Marley, and that's it, then you seriously need to broaden your tastes, and as a starter I highly recommend Toots. This CD covers The Maytals career from 1966 to 1974 and all the hits are here - Monkey Man (later covered by The Specials), their brilliant debut single Bam Bam, 54-46 That's My Number and probably their most famous song Pressure Drop (later covered by The Clash).

There's 20 songs on this album and I can honestly say there simply isn't a bad song on here, this album played through from start to finish sounds fantastic.

Do yourself a favour and buy this album, if you like your reggae/ska then I promise you this album will not disappoint you.

Essential Compilation, 13 Jun 2008
Comprising an excellent greatest hits collection with a dvd of live performances and promo videos, this compilation is essential. Unless you're a big fan or completist this package contains everything you could want from The Specials' enduring legacy. Much of their music still sounds vital and contemporary. Along with The Beat's recent 2 cd compilation, You Just Can't Beat It (and maybe The Selecter's greatest hits), you have a capsule history of the late 70s/early 80s ska revival. Recommended.

Essential Listening, 15 Apr 2008
The Specials (or The Special AKA as they were known occasionally) were arguably the most influential band of the late 70s/early 80s. Formed in 1977, two years prior to Thatcher's government, it was the bands ability to mix diverse musical styles (ska, punk, reggae, rockabilly) and turn them into something immesely enjoyable which endeared them to their legions of fans, couple this together with a message of racial harmony and anti-establishment sentiments and you are just scraping the surface of the power this band had.
The Specials were the brainchild of Jerry Dammers, who formed his own record label and managed to recruit other, like minded bands (such as Madness, The Beat, The Bodysnatchers, The Selecter) with a view to forming a 'collective' of musicians, all with something to say to the youth of Thatcher's Britain. Hence, 'Two Tone' was born.
This album puts together the obligatory singles and tracks from the first three Specials albums (Specials, More Specials and In The Studio) together with a DVD of videos for singles and footage of live performances. If, like me, you are an avid fan then this is only worth buying for the (as far as I am aware) otherwise unavailable DVD as I have all the other tracks on the digitally remastered albums, but for this price the DVD on it's own is a bargain.
If you are interested in The Specials and want to grab a cross section of their work then this is a great starting point and it does contain a number of album tracks which deserve to be heard (e.g. Nite Klub, Blank Expression, Stereotypes etc.)
All in all a fantastic cross section of The Specials' work and a great way to brush up before the hugely anticipated tour in the autumn of 2008 with all the original band members(fingers crossed that it goes ahead).
Buy It!

With Friends Less can be More., 31 Jul 2008
After the trilogy of Friends albums Jools returned with an album where the style and tone of the music was more suited to the big band sound of his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. I was hoping he reverted to being the main singer but he shares the vocal duties with his regular female vocalists Sam Brown and Ruby Turner with a star turn by Beverly Turner and two with Solomon Burke including his greatest creation `Everybody Needs Somebody to Love'.

I think the album works best with the arrangement of the instrumental numbers and the songs which Jools sings but some of the guest vocalists are given sympathetic arrangements particularly Ruby Turners ambitious take on Dylan's `Blowin' in the Wind'.
Not a total return to form but still a worthwhile entry in the Holland cannon which was beginning to appear tired with the Friends albums coming out with seemingly the only reason to pay to keep an eighteen piece big band on the road.


Great......just great, 21 Jan 2008
I have been a great fan of Jools Holland for a long time, and brought this album without any need to look at reviews, and I wasn't disappointed, great piano led Blues and Jazz, along side fantastic vocals.

Magnificent, 24 Feb 2007
I have had this disc for 6 months or so. I have never written a review before but this disc demands it. I have a huge music collection and this energetic album is a real outstanding jewel. Every track is bursting with energy & tempo, huge big-band sounds and well mastered. For any fan of piano led blues and jazz this album is an absolute peach.

Cracking disc, 30 Aug 2006
Another winner from Jools and the gang. A great combination of foot-tapping tracks.

Great, 17 May 2006
This is an amazing album, one of Holland's best so far; every song is a gem; not to be missed by any fan of jazz or blues.

Pretty Special, 24 Aug 2006
This is my favourite of the 2 Specials albums. 'More Specials' is quirkier, but this is equally fun and more up-tempo. I love to leap around to this record at every oportunity, (much to the annoyance of my neighbours). I could wiffle on about all of the profound lyrics and such and Terry Hall's deadpan style, but once you buy this record then you will find out for yourself. Suffice to say that this record is well worth getting for your collection. If you like that 2 tone sound, then it really doesn't get any better than this. And at this price it is a steal!!!!

A masterpiece yes, 01 Jun 2006
Whilst it is indeed masterpiece of pop creation and you really must own it. It is still only a pop creation, really very pop and i wouldn't really say it sounded "fresh" on every listen. Its good for a few plays, by which time it will all be in your head already - such is the quality of the songwriting. Buy, listen, love then place on a shelf and hum.

A Classic., 13 Feb 2006
This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If your are into Punk or Ska this really is a must buy.

A Classic of Musical Re-Invention. Brilliant !, 25 Sep 2004
The Specials album is and was without doubt, a fantastic album. Anyone with any appreciation for music whatsoever, should buy this. The beats are great, the lyrics are great, the tunes are great. A great shame so much of our modern music is so dull and spiritless compared to music like this. As much a breath of fresh air as it was all those years ago. Superb !!!!!

Am i missing something of the first hand Ska experience?, 15 Aug 2004
Having recently decided to correct one or two oversights in my music collection I bought this C.D. Ska was one of the few genres that passed me by originally.( The other being jazz funk which I've never considered a great loss.) Of course I heard all the singles and I even bought some of them but really I was far too pale and interesting and well dull to really explore music that despite it's often serious subject matter often seemed to me an excuse to indulge in lots of silly knees up dancing.

This 2002 re-mastered version of the 1979 debut album by The Specials seemed to me the perfect place to start. "Ghost Town" is after all one of the greatest number 1,s of all time while "Gangsters" is a superbly idiosyncratic song. Plus it's produced by a sprightly youth called Elvis Costello which is something I never knew till I read it on these very pages. ...And it's great, with some truly wonderful songs and an irresistible energy and laconic humour. However I don't think it's quite the all-out masterpiece that many of my fellow reviewers think it is, and I think I know why. The live cuts ,"Monkey Man" off this album and the single version of "Too Much Too Young" exude a tremendous blast of the hedonistic verve and sense of communal spirit that existed around the Ska scene and i, never experienced that first hand so in a sense I'm coming into this album cold and lacking the empirical knowledge of the Ska experience..
It's taut wired energy seems to be lifted straight from the aftermath of punk and the genesis of the new-wave movement but thrown in with rhythms of reggae, which of course bands like The Clash had already incorporated into their sound, and elements of dub and R & B it's an intoxicating mix and when it all gels together it's fantastic., but I found some of the material here a little repetitive (Which is one of the problems I have with reggae.) and one or two of the songs a touch mundane. "Too Hot" and "Blank Expression" are prime examples of this.

Mainly though this is terrific stuff." Concrete Jungle", "Little Bitch", "Nite Klub" and "You're Wondering Know" which sounds like a track off Enos,s "Here Comes the Warm Jets" particularly. Even the six minute version of "Too Much Too Young" though lacking the vivacious outrage of the live single version is great. "A Message to You Rudy" still sounds fresh as well.
I really missed out when I pompously ignored this stuff first time round and now I'm way too old to do the silly knees up dance............I think.

Singularily Special, 01 May 2008
The Specials Singles is just that containing at least the a-sides of the 45's of one the greatest bands of all time. Opening with one of the strongest debut single of all time `Gangsters' it moves through double `a' side `Rudi, a Message to You' and `Nite Klub' to the first side of there live EP `Too Much Too Young' and the Skatalite inspired `Guns of Navarone'.

Stand alone single `Rat Race' is next before we move into less comfortable territory with double `a' `Stereotype' b/w `International Jet Set' and then `Do Nothing'. The magnificent `Ghost Town' is next together with both of its equally good b-sides `Why?' and `Friday Night, Saturday Morning'.

The quality drops as Terry Hall, Neville Staples and Lynval Golding leave to form Fun Boy Three and The Special AKA give us a poor `War Crimes' and `Racist Friend' . The temperature rises again with the fantastic `Nelson Mandela' but it's too late to save the band and `Girlfriend' leaves the album, and indeed the band, with a disappointing ending. Hopefully now the full band is reforming The Specials will be given the coda they deserve.


the best, 08 Aug 2001
I was in my late teens when ska hit the world (my world), saw specials, madness etc at various concerts, have all the albums and 45's. love them still, nothing will come close the the beat. this is a great album. buy it and you won't keep still.

Coventry's sublime answer to New Wave, 13 Mar 2001
The bulk of the Specials' career between 1979 and 1981 is solidly collated in this truly excellent compilation album.

Jerry Dammers was the musical genius who provided the main driving force behind the diverse talent he had collated, all of which were excellent live rock musicians. Furthermore, many have frontman viewed Terry Hall as the direct precursor of Morrissey, with his deadpan, sardonic vocals and tragi-comedic lyrics about life's more mundane subject-matter, eg, 'I'd rather have lipstick on my collar than piss-stains on my shoes'.... truly inspired ! For 18 months or so, The Special's were deservedly Britain's biggest band, even making a sizeable impact in the USA, where they achieved cult status.

There are several standout tracks here, particularly the three #1 hits, Too Much Too Young (about teenage pregnancy), Rat Race (about the Coventry band's resentment of having to move south to London to succeed) and the haunting Ghost Town, from 1981. Ghost Town is an excellent snapshot of a country at the end of its tether, highlighting Coventry's rapid social, economic and psychological desolation during Thatcher's first two years in power, and it proved extremely prophetic when just months later, several major cities experienced rioting on an unprecedented scale (this theme was also inherent in their famous Concrete Jungle track). However, with choice tracks such as the classic Gangsters, A Message To You Rudi, Do Nothing and Friday Night, Saturday Morning plus the Special AKA's Nelson Mandela, there is quality here in adbundance.

The sound of ska has never sounded so good and you will find few who do not hold this band with the utmost respect. The Special's proved to be one of the world's first socially-aware bands that did'nt ram their messages down our throats but just concentrated on sounded great (some irritatingly called them The Clash of Ska). They certainly led the way, if not musically, but thematically, for the likes of The Smiths and Billy Bragg and were a welcome diversion from the materialistic, New Romantic tosh that was rapidly swamping Britain at the time. Eventually it all came to an abrupt end after Ghost Town, but the offshoot was the brilliant, Terry Hall-led Fun Boy Three followed by his excellent Colourfield project, proving that Dammers was not the only musical genius onboard the ska phenomenon that brought the 'Dance Craze' to Britain.

The Best of The Specials, 07 Feb 2001
This is a truly brilliant album for anyone who loves the whole ska scene.Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!

SKA-TASTIC, 24 Nov 2003
This is a top ska collection, it contains plenty of classics including a few from the godfathers of SKA music, The Specials. Defenite stand out tracks are Rat Race, Rudy, a message to you and Ghosttown.
Its cheap and you get over 50 tracks to chose from, there has to be some you like in that lot!

Best of Ska, 21 Nov 2003
Just received this mixture of 60s (original) and 70s Ska. It's fantastic to hear artists like Lord Tanamo, the Maytals and Desmond Dekker for the first time since the early '70s. There's a good mixture on all three CDs. Five stars fo the Ska nostalgist, probably not so high for the purist

Simply brilliant, not a bad song on it!, 30 Aug 2008
I'm not one for writing reviews but seeing as no-one has bothered to write a review for this Toots & The Maytals CD, I thought I may as well be the first.

If your knowledge of reggae goes as far as Bob Marley, and that's it, then you seriously need to broaden your tastes, and as a starter I highly recommend Toots. This CD covers The Maytals career from 1966 to 1974 and all the hits are here - Monkey Man (later covered by The Specials), their brilliant debut single Bam Bam, 54-46 That's My Number and probably their most famous song Pressure Drop (later covered by The Clash).

There's 20 songs on this album and I can honestly say there simply isn't a bad song on here, this album played through from start to finish sounds fantastic.

Do yourself a favour and buy this album, if you like your reggae/ska then I promise you this album will not disappoint you.

Essential Compilation, 13 Jun 2008
Comprising an excellent greatest hits collection with a dvd of live performances and promo videos, this compilation is essential. Unless you're a big fan or completist this package contains everything you could want from The Specials' enduring legacy. Much of their music still sounds vital and contemporary. Along with The Beat's recent 2 cd compilation, You Just Can't Beat It (and maybe The Selecter's greatest hits), you have a capsule history of the late 70s/early 80s ska revival. Recommended.

Essential Listening, 15 Apr 2008
The Specials (or The Special AKA as they were known occasionally) were arguably the most influential band of the late 70s/early 80s. Formed in 1977, two years prior to Thatcher's government, it was the bands ability to mix diverse musical styles (ska, punk, reggae, rockabilly) and turn them into something immesely enjoyable which endeared them to their legions of fans, couple this together with a message of racial harmony and anti-establishment sentiments and you are just scraping the surface of the power this band had.
The Specials were the brainchild of Jerry Dammers, who formed his own record label and managed to recruit other, like minded bands (such as Madness, The Beat, The Bodysnatchers, The Selecter) with a view to forming a 'collective' of musicians, all with something to say to the youth of Thatcher's Britain. Hence, 'Two Tone' was born.
This album puts together the obligatory singles and tracks from the first three Specials albums (Specials, More Specials and In The Studio) together with a DVD of videos for singles and footage of live performances. If, like me, you are an avid fan then this is only worth buying for the (as far as I am aware) otherwise unavailable DVD as I have all the other tracks on the digitally remastered albums, but for this price the DVD on it's own is a bargain.
If you are interested in The Specials and want to grab a cross section of their work then this is a great starting point and it does contain a number of album tracks which deserve to be heard (e.g. Nite Klub, Blank Expression, Stereotypes etc.)
All in all a fantastic cross section of The Specials' work and a great way to brush up before the hugely anticipated tour in the autumn of 2008 with all the original band members(fingers crossed that it goes ahead).
Buy It!

Punks' Reggae man, 30 Aug 2006
DJ Scratchy was a regular figure at Punk gigs in the late 70's. He was the DJ who introduced Reggae, Ska and Dub to the bondage trousered crowds at Clash gigs, tirelessly promoting the Jamaican sound. Here with this double CD he relaunchedhis career, and what a wonderful collection it is, with a mixture of old favourites and obscure gems. If you listen carefully, you can still feel the Punk vibe here and relive the whiff of stale beer and marijuana in the air of those grungy London clubs.

Memories!!, 18 Jan 2006
Basically, this is a fantastic album if you ever went to see The Clash and heard the DJ playing amazing reggae and feeling the bass thump into your chest as you walked in.

Brilliant stuff, superb selections - a real treat!!

With Friends Less can be More., 31 Jul 2008
After the trilogy of Friends albums Jools returned with an album where the style and tone of the music was more suited to the big band sound of his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. I was hoping he reverted to being the main singer but he shares the vocal duties with his regular female vocalists Sam Brown and Ruby Turner with a star turn by Beverly Turner and two with Solomon Burke including his greatest creation `Everybody Needs Somebody to Love'.

I think the album works best with the arrangement of the instrumental numbers and the songs which Jools sings but some of the guest vocalists are given sympathetic arrangements particularly Ruby Turners ambitious take on Dylan's `Blowin' in the Wind'.
Not a total return to form but still a worthwhile entry in the Holland cannon which was beginning to appear tired with the Friends albums coming out with seemingly the only reason to pay to keep an eighteen piece big band on the road.


Great......just great, 21 Jan 2008
I have been a great fan of Jools Holland for a long time, and brought this album without any need to look at reviews, and I wasn't disappointed, great piano led Blues and Jazz, along side fantastic vocals.

Magnificent, 24 Feb 2007
I have had this disc for 6 months or so. I have never written a review before but this disc demands it. I have a huge music collection and this energetic album is a real outstanding jewel. Every track is bursting with energy & tempo, huge big-band sounds and well mastered. For any fan of piano led blues and jazz this album is an absolute peach.

Cracking disc, 30 Aug 2006
Another winner from Jools and the gang. A great combination of foot-tapping tracks.

Great, 17 May 2006
This is an amazing album, one of Holland's best so far; every song is a gem; not to be missed by any fan of jazz or blues.

Pretty Special, 24 Aug 2006
This is my favourite of the 2 Specials albums. 'More Specials' is quirkier, but this is equally fun and more up-tempo. I love to leap around to this record at every oportunity, (much to the annoyance of my neighbours). I could wiffle on about all of the profound lyrics and such and Terry Hall's deadpan style, but once you buy this record then you will find out for yourself. Suffice to say that this record is well worth getting for your collection. If you like that 2 tone sound, then it really doesn't get any better than this. And at this price it is a steal!!!!

A masterpiece yes, 01 Jun 2006
Whilst it is indeed masterpiece of pop creation and you really must own it. It is still only a pop creation, really very pop and i wouldn't really say it sounded "fresh" on every listen. Its good for a few plays, by which time it will all be in your head already - such is the quality of the songwriting. Buy, listen, love then place on a shelf and hum.

A Classic., 13 Feb 2006
This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If your are into Punk or Ska this really is a must buy.

A Classic of Musical Re-Invention. Brilliant !, 25 Sep 2004
The Specials album is and was without doubt, a fantastic album. Anyone with any appreciation for music whatsoever, should buy this. The beats are great, the lyrics are great, the tunes are great. A great shame so much of our modern music is so dull and spiritless compared to music like this. As much a breath of fresh air as it was all those years ago. Superb !!!!!

Am i missing something of the first hand Ska experience?, 15 Aug 2004
Having recently decided to correct one or two oversights in my music collection I bought this C.D. Ska was one of the few genres that passed me by originally.( The other being jazz funk which I've never considered a great loss.) Of course I heard all the singles and I even bought some of them but really I was far too pale and interesting and well dull to really explore music that despite it's often serious subject matter often seemed to me an excuse to indulge in lots of silly knees up dancing.

This 2002 re-mastered version of the 1979 debut album by The Specials seemed to me the perfect place to start. "Ghost Town" is after all one of the greatest number 1,s of all time while "Gangsters" is a superbly idiosyncratic song. Plus it's produced by a sprightly youth called Elvis Costello which is something I never knew till I read it on these very pages. ...And it's great, with some truly wonderful songs and an irresistible energy and laconic humour. However I don't think it's quite the all-out masterpiece that many of my fellow reviewers think it is, and I think I know why. The live cuts ,"Monkey Man" off this album and the single version of "Too Much Too Young" exude a tremendous blast of the hedonistic verve and sense of communal spirit that existed around the Ska scene and i, never experienced that first hand so in a sense I'm coming into this album cold and lacking the empirical knowledge of the Ska experience..
It's taut wired energy seems to be lifted straight from the aftermath of punk and the genesis of the new-wave movement but thrown in with rhythms of reggae, which of course bands like The Clash had already incorporated into their sound, and elements of dub and R & B it's an intoxicating mix and when it all gels together it's fantastic., but I found some of the material here a little repetitive (Which is one of the problems I have with reggae.) and one or two of the songs a touch mundane. "Too Hot" and "Blank Expression" are prime examples of this.

Mainly though this is terrific stuff." Concrete Jungle", "Little Bitch", "Nite Klub" and "You're Wondering Know" which sounds like a track off Enos,s "Here Comes the Warm Jets" particularly. Even the six minute version of "Too Much Too Young" though lacking the vivacious outrage of the live single version is great. "A Message to You Rudy" still sounds fresh as well.
I really missed out when I pompously ignored this stuff first time round and now I'm way too old to do the silly knees up dance............I think.

Singularily Special, 01 May 2008
The Specials Singles is just that containing at least the a-sides of the 45's of one the greatest bands of all time. Opening with one of the strongest debut single of all time `Gangsters' it moves through double `a' side `Rudi, a Message to You' and `Nite Klub' to the first side of there live EP `Too Much Too Young' and the Skatalite inspired `Guns of Navarone'.

Stand alone single `Rat Race' is next before we move into less comfortable territory with double `a' `Stereotype' b/w `International Jet Set' and then `Do Nothing'. The magnificent `Ghost Town' is next together with both of its equally good b-sides `Why?' and `Friday Night, Saturday Morning'.

The quality drops as Terry Hall, Neville Staples and Lynval Golding leave to form Fun Boy Three and The Special AKA give us a poor `War Crimes' and `Racist Friend' . The temperature rises again with the fantastic `Nelson Mandela' but it's too late to save the band and `Girlfriend' leaves the album, and indeed the band, with a disappointing ending. Hopefully now the full band is reforming The Specials will be given the coda they deserve.


the best, 08 Aug 2001
I was in my late teens when ska hit the world (my world), saw specials, madness etc at various concerts, have all the albums and 45's. love them still, nothing will come close the the beat. this is a great album. buy it and you won't keep still.

Coventry's sublime answer to New Wave, 13 Mar 2001
The bulk of the Specials' career between 1979 and 1981 is solidly collated in this truly excellent compilation album.

Jerry Dammers was the musical genius who provided the main driving force behind the diverse talent he had collated, all of which were excellent live rock musicians. Furthermore, many have frontman viewed Terry Hall as the direct precursor of Morrissey, with his deadpan, sardonic vocals and tragi-comedic lyrics about life's more mundane subject-matter, eg, 'I'd rather have lipstick on my collar than piss-stains on my shoes'.... truly inspired ! For 18 months or so, The Special's were deservedly Britain's biggest band, even making a sizeable impact in the USA, where they achieved cult status.

There are several standout tracks here, particularly the three #1 hits, Too Much Too Young (about teenage pregnancy), Rat Race (about the Coventry band's resentment of having to move south to London to succeed) and the haunting Ghost Town, from 1981. Ghost Town is an excellent snapshot of a country at the end of its tether, highlighting Coventry's rapid social, economic and psychological desolation during Thatcher's first two years in power, and it proved extremely prophetic when just months later, several major cities experienced rioting on an unprecedented scale (this theme was also inherent in their famous Concrete Jungle track). However, with choice tracks such as the classic Gangsters, A Message To You Rudi, Do Nothing and Friday Night, Saturday Morning plus the Special AKA's Nelson Mandela, there is quality here in adbundance.

The sound of ska has never sounded so good and you will find few who do not hold this band with the utmost respect. The Special's proved to be one of the world's first socially-aware bands that did'nt ram their messages down our throats but just concentrated on sounded great (some irritatingly called them The Clash of Ska). They certainly led the way, if not musically, but thematically, for the likes of The Smiths and Billy Bragg and were a welcome diversion from the materialistic, New Romantic tosh that was rapidly swamping Britain at the time. Eventually it all came to an abrupt end after Ghost Town, but the offshoot was the brilliant, Terry Hall-led Fun Boy Three followed by his excellent Colourfield project, proving that Dammers was not the only musical genius onboard the ska phenomenon that brought the 'Dance Craze' to Britain.

The Best of The Specials, 07 Feb 2001
This is a truly brilliant album for anyone who loves the whole ska scene.Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!

SKA-TASTIC, 24 Nov 2003
This is a top ska collection, it contains plenty of classics including a few from the godfathers of SKA music, The Specials. Defenite stand out tracks are Rat Race, Rudy, a message to you and Ghosttown.
Its cheap and you get over 50 tracks to chose from, there has to be some you like in that lot!

Best of Ska, 21 Nov 2003
Just received this mixture of 60s (original) and 70s Ska. It's fantastic to hear artists like Lord Tanamo, the Maytals and Desmond Dekker for the first time since the early '70s. There's a good mixture on all three CDs. Five stars fo the Ska nostalgist, probably not so high for the purist

Simply brilliant, not a bad song on it!, 30 Aug 2008
I'm not one for writing reviews but seeing as no-one has bothered to write a review for this Toots & The Maytals CD, I thought I may as well be the first.

If your knowledge of reggae goes as far as Bob Marley, and that's it, then you seriously need to broaden your tastes, and as a starter I highly recommend Toots. This CD covers The Maytals career from 1966 to 1974 and all the hits are here - Monkey Man (later covered by The Specials), their brilliant debut single Bam Bam, 54-46 That's My Number and probably their most famous song Pressure Drop (later covered by The Clash).

There's 20 songs on this album and I can honestly say there simply isn't a bad song on here, this album played through from start to finish sounds fantastic.

Do yourself a favour and buy this album, if you like your reggae/ska then I promise you this album will not disappoint you.

Essential Compilation, 13 Jun 2008
Comprising an excellent greatest hits collection with a dvd of live performances and promo videos, this compilation is essential. Unless you're a big fan or completist this package contains everything you could want from The Specials' enduring legacy. Much of their music still sounds vital and contemporary. Along with The Beat's recent 2 cd compilation, You Just Can't Beat It (and maybe The Selecter's greatest hits), you have a capsule history of the late 70s/early 80s ska revival. Recommended.

Essential Listening, 15 Apr 2008
The Specials (or The Special AKA as they were known occasionally) were arguably the most influential band of the late 70s/early 80s. Formed in 1977, two years prior to Thatcher's government, it was the bands ability to mix diverse musical styles (ska, punk, reggae, rockabilly) and turn them into something immesely enjoyable which endeared them to their legions of fans, couple this together with a message of racial harmony and anti-establishment sentiments and you are just scraping the surface of the power this band had.
The Specials were the brainchild of Jerry Dammers, who formed his own record label and managed to recruit other, like minded bands (such as Madness, The Beat, The Bodysnatchers, The Selecter) with a view to forming a 'collective' of musicians, all with something to say to the youth of Thatcher's Britain. Hence, 'Two Tone' was born.
This album puts together the obligatory singles and tracks from the first three Specials albums (Specials, More Specials and In The Studio) together with a DVD of videos for singles and footage of live performances. If, like me, you are an avid fan then this is only worth buying for the (as far as I am aware) otherwise unavailable DVD as I have all the other tracks on the digitally remastered albums, but for this price the DVD on it's own is a bargain.
If you are interested in The Specials and want to grab a cross section of their work then this is a great starting point and it does contain a number of album tracks which deserve to be heard (e.g. Nite Klub, Blank Expression, Stereotypes etc.)
All in all a fantastic cross section of The Specials' work and a great way to brush up before the hugely anticipated tour in the autumn of 2008 with all the original band members(fingers crossed that it goes ahead).
Buy It!

Punks' Reggae man, 30 Aug 2006
DJ Scratchy was a regular figure at Punk gigs in the late 70's. He was the DJ who introduced Reggae, Ska and Dub to the bondage trousered crowds at Clash gigs, tirelessly promoting the Jamaican sound. Here with this double CD he relaunchedhis career, and what a wonderful collection it is, with a mixture of old favourites and obscure gems. If you listen carefully, you can still feel the Punk vibe here and relive the whiff of stale beer and marijuana in the air of those grungy London clubs.

Memories!!, 18 Jan 2006
Basically, this is a fantastic album if you ever went to see The Clash and heard the DJ playing amazing reggae and feeling the bass thump into your chest as you walked in.

Brilliant stuff, superb selections - a real treat!!

Amazing, 15 May 2008
I swear you will not find a better summery album anywhere. Put this mix of punk and ska on and you can feel the sun shining even in the middle of winter.
Please don't be put off by the fact that the band are called Rancid, even if you are not into 'punk' this album is amazing musically (especially the bass playing).
This album has to be one of the best i've ever heard, so do yourself a favour and buy it.

Buy this bit of Rancid !, 24 Mar 2007
An excellent record, some cracking ska / punk tunes on an all round marvellous album. None of Rancid's albums disappoint & this is (arguably) their best effort. The Clash influences in their music are plain to hear but they still manage to sound fresh & original, which is a credit to the band.If you were to buy a Rancid record then this would be the one but if you get this, then how could you not get the the others ?
Worth every penny, a punk essential.



Buy this album now!!!, 11 Feb 2007
This, in my opinion, is undoubtedly the finest album ever recorded. This is not said lightly as there are some pretty damn fine records out there. And yes, I know, placing this above The Clash is a bold move but one I can happily make!!! I bought this when it was released. I never tire of hearing it. There is not one song on it that's inferior. I can listen to it over and over and over again without even thinking about changing it. No other album I have ever heard ( Give 'Em Enough Rope comes close! ) can claim this. If you don't have this in your collection then shame on you. Buy it now!!!

Ska-punk fest, 19 Jun 2006
Rancid have done more mainstream punk in their self-titled album - which is brilliant. I was expecting more of the same with this, but didn't get it.

There's more of a ska/reggae influence here and it makes for a very different feel to the album. Having said that, I've given it 3 stars only because it wasn't what I was looking for. For what it is, it is done well.

The tracks are fairly original and these guys can all play well. There's some good tracks like 'Ruby Soho', 'She Don't Care Nothin'' and 'Roots Radicals'. There's a real feelgood sound going on and it's an easy going album.

I feel a bit harsh giving it 3 stars because there's nothing wrong with it at all, I was just hoping for something a bit less tame (like the self-titled album), but these guys have proved they can play, write, and adapt to different styles, so perhaps I should give them credit where it's due.

Most punk, 23 Mar 2006
Let's make one thing clear - some previous reviews have talked about bands which should not even be mentioned in the same breath as Rancid - and I include the Sex Pistols in that. Outside the Clash, I struggle to think of a punk band that has produced an album to compare with this. Rancid may be from California, but this is British music through and through. There's no point dissecting it track by track because it has been done above and every one is a classic. Joe Strummer will always be with us as long as there are bands that sound like this.