More Specials (1980)

More Specials is the second album by English ska band the Specials, released by 2 Tone Records in September 1980. After the success of the band's debut album, band member Jerry Dammers assumed the role as the band's leader and stirred them into expanding their 2 Tone sound into other genres of music, most prominently a lounge music and easy listening style inspired by Muzak. Several band members disagreed with Dammers' vision and brought their own influences to the album, including from northern soul and rockabilly, contributing to an eclectic sound palette. The relations between band members continued to sour into the album's accompanying tour and most of the band departed in 1981.

The album features collaborations with the Go-Go's members Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, and Jane Wiedlin; Rhoda Dakar from the Bodysnatchers; and Lee Thompson from Madness. The lyrics on the album, as with the band's debut album, are often intensely political. Upon its release, the album alienated some fans, but reached number 5 on the UK Albums Chart, while its singles reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart. The album also reached number 98 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Critics greeted the album with praise, where journalists felt the album marked a bold step for the band. It has been since cited as an influence on the trip hop genre in the 1990s, and has been re-released several times.

Background

Formed in Coventry in 1977, the Specials were the originators of 2 Tone music, a style that mixed the Jamaican genres of ska and reggae with the attitude and energy of punk rock and a focus on politically and socially conscious lyrics. They began 2 Tone Records, partly named for the band's multiracial line-up, on which they released their debut single "Gangsters" in 1979, which reached the UK Singles Chart top 10. The subsequent debut album The Specials (1979) was a critical and commercial success, while the Too Much Too Young EP released in early 1980 reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.

By early-mid-1980, after six months of touring, the band were physically exhausted and felt they could not sustain the large amount of energy required to be in the band, but they had a schedule to adhere to; Chrysalis Records, the owner of 2 Tone Records, were hurrying the band into recording their second album, while managers wanted the band to tour in Europe, Japan and the United States. Various deals, including large concerts, TV programmes and a feature film, also needed to be discussed. Bassist Horace Panter recalled: "Decisions needed to be made, and all we wanted to do was sleep. We didn't have any choice. We had to learn to enjoy the ride or get off, and nobody wanted to get off!"

A new single was required, so the band released "Rat Race", written by guitarist Roddy Byers as a critique on how privileged students "would spend three years pissing it up in college, knowing full well that Daddy would get them a good job when they left no matter what." With Linton Kwesi Johnson's "Me Wan' Fi Go Rave" as a musical starting point, band founder and keyboardist Jerry Dammers added a plucked piano intro inspired by John Barry, foreshadowing his primary direction on More Specials. The single was a success, reaching number 5 on the UK charts. Meanwhile, drummer John Bradbury wanted to record a solo single, a cover version of the northern soul track "Sock It to 'em J.B.", imagining the titular initials changing from James Bond to John Bradbury. The band recorded it with him at Tulse Hill, and though it was not released as a single, it did make it onto More Specials.

For the band's second album, Dammers wanted to move the band's sound forward, away from ska and towards new territory. He declared: "It's time for 2-Tone bands to begin getting experimental. Some of the home-grown ska has started to become a cliche. We've got to start all over again." He reflected years later: "Ska was just a launching point. I didn't want us to end up like Bad Manners." For Dammers, this change meant he could pursue his fascination with easy listening and mood music, both "background sounds not designed for active listening, but which, if you paid attention, turned out to be weird, even creepy," according to writer Simon Reynolds. In particular, he was interested in Muzak. Band member Neville Staple said this was a reflection of the band's constant touring abroad: "We were in aeroplanes too much, man, and hotels! We were hearing that kind of elevator music, those drum-machine beats, everywhere we went. You soak up what surrounds you." In Dammers' own recollection, he had been inspired by listening to the styles while on tour in America in particular; in 2009, he reflected: