Search & Destroy - The Specials...

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What's great?

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 10:17 (twenty-three years ago)

Search: "Blank Expression"

Destroy: "(Dawning Of A) New Era"

― gazuga (gazuga), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 10:21 (twenty-three years ago)

Search: the first 2 albums. Without a doubt. The Peel Sessions album is worth hearing too. 'Dance Craze'.

Haven't heard 'In the studio', but the singles are good.

― James Ball (James Ball), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 10:24 (twenty-three years ago)

er, all of it?

seriously; a few misogynist songs aside, all of Specials and 'especially' (haha) More Specials are essential.

Plus "Ghost Town" and "The Boiler" singles obv.

― Jeff W, Wednesday, 15 January 2003 10:27 (twenty-three years ago)

search: All
destroy: Madness

(and the first few Fun boy three singles are great esp faith and hope and charity)

― james (james), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 10:41 (twenty-three years ago)

Search: the music
Destroy: the sieg-heiling, NF-supporting, fuckwit element of the their fanbase which used to attack people and reduce so many of their gigs to chaos

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 10:52 (twenty-three years ago)

Search : Gangsters, Do Nothing, Rat Race, Ghost Town, International Jet Set, Message To You Rudy,

― phil jones (interstar), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 10:54 (twenty-three years ago)

"destroy: Madness"

WTF! I hope you're joking.

― James Ball (James Ball), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 10:58 (twenty-three years ago)

no not really - the early two tone is at a push OK but jesus the rest is just rub.

― james (james), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 11:05 (twenty-three years ago)

'Grey Day', 'Mrs Hutchinson', 'Waiting for the ghost train', 'Yesterday's Men', 'One better day', 'Drip fed Fred', 'When dawn arrives', 'Razor blade alley', 'Cardiac Arrest' and pretty much all of 'The Rise and Fall' would suggest otherwise.

― James Ball (James Ball), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 11:13 (twenty-three years ago)

'Suggs' would suggest otherwise

― james (james), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 11:21 (twenty-three years ago)

What, he thinks they're all shite? Or does his solo album invalidate all the Madness records? Or do you just not like his vocal style? What exactly do you mean there?

― James Ball (James Ball), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 11:32 (twenty-three years ago)

The Specials and the inventively titled More Specials are all i'm familiar with, both those two albums must certainly equal a classic-and-a-half. See "Monkey Man".

― christoff (christoff), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 14:18 (twenty-three years ago)

Search out: every freakin' thing the Specials ever did.
Destroy: Gwen Stefani and her lil' midget ass.

― maria b (maria b), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 15:16 (twenty-three years ago)

SEARCH: I know that just cos I'm writing this from Coventry don't entitle me to any kind of final word BUT 'Friday Night Saturday Morning' (B-side of Ghost Town) is still (along with everything else they did) THEE definitive take on why this town is such a psychedelic, strangely inspirational and post-war-emblematic
place to live.
DESTROY: yeah, Madness: I don't give two fucks if they wrote the odd choon, they've done nothing to discourage the bonehead element of their audience since the off AND OH if only Jerry Dammers (way more of a doom-pop genius than anyone ever gave him credit for- y'can keep y'fkn Morriseys) had been given a series on Channel 5 ('A History Of The Wurlitzer' would've been nice).

― Neil Kulkarni, Wednesday, 15 January 2003 17:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Search: "Ghost Town," "Too Much Too Young," "Blank Expression"
Destroy: many of their covers, such as "Monkey Man," "Maggie's Farm," etc; "The Boiler"; In the Studio

Verdict: overrated

― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 19:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Post more often, will ya Neil? Yer a good sort.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 16 January 2003 02:41 (twenty-three years ago)

In defence of their covers, which were inconsistent, they do a wicked version of "Longshot Kick De Bucket" (originally by the Pioneers)

― J-rock (Julien Sandiford), Thursday, 16 January 2003 07:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Are the three tracks from Ghost Town available anywhere together on CD? I was only about 2 at the time of initial release and I don't fancy my chances of finding an original vinyl copy.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Thursday, 16 January 2003 09:32 (twenty-three years ago)

yes, e.g.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=4:40:59|AM&sql=A8h9sa9wgb23u

there's a UK equivalent with a different cover (and title, possibly) if Europe's where you live.

― Jeff W, Thursday, 16 January 2003 09:42 (twenty-three years ago)

"DESTROY: yeah, Madness: I don't give two fucks if they wrote the odd choon, they've done nothing to discourage the bonehead element of their audience since the off"

I think the other James was just referring to the choons, Neil, but to address your point I don't think they've ever done anything to encourage the element you're talking about either. I think the worst they can be accused of is being politically naive early on, certainly compared to Dammers who was obviously a lot more switched on right from the off. Their reaction to being accused of NF connections has always been one of horror (such as when The Sun ran a dodgy front page story on Suggs in the 80s). Do you honestly think that Dammers would have continued working with Madness if he thought they were racist (or if he thought that they were tainted by connection)?

― James Ball (James Ball), Thursday, 16 January 2003 10:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Cheers Jeff, Europe is indeed where I live.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Thursday, 16 January 2003 10:41 (twenty-three years ago)

"Camden Town" by Suggs is clearly the worst single ever made as of this morning.

― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 16 January 2003 10:44 (twenty-three years ago)

You'll be happy to know that I'm not going to defend Suggs's solo career.

― James Ball (James Ball), Thursday, 16 January 2003 10:47 (twenty-three years ago)

twelve years pass...

Rico RIP

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a667005/the-specials-trombonist-rico-rodriguez-dies-aged-80.html

― Mark G, Friday, 4 September 2015 22:13 (ten years ago)

three months pass...

John Bradbury RIP

― Mark G, Tuesday, 29 December 2015 15:53 (ten years ago)

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