Album dossier / 1980

More Specials

The Specials · Ska/2 Tone

By early 1980 The Specials were physically exhausted from constant touring, yet leader Jerry Dammers pushed the band away from ska toward the 'weird, even creepy' background sounds of Muzak and easy listening, saying 'I didn't want us to end up like Bad Manners.' Recorded at Coventry's Horizon Studios and mixed at London's Wessex Studios, and self-produced by Dammers with engineer Dave Jordan (a stark contrast to the raw, live-band approach Elvis Costello brought to the band's debut), More Specials was built one instrument at a time in the studio -- a process bassist Horace Panter said sacrificed the band's live ensemble feel. The clashing visions caused real fractures: guitarist Roddy Byers wanted rockabilly-flavored punk, drummer John Bradbury pushed for northern soul, and most of the band would leave within a year of the record's release. Despite the friction, the record's dub, exotica, and lounge-inflected second side (featuring Go-Go's members Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin on its closing 'Enjoy Yourself' reprise) reached number 5 on the UK Albums Chart and has since been cited as an influence on 1990s trip hop.