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Album Review: The Specials - The Specials (Special Edition)

Pete Laurie
StarStarStarStar

"The real reason to pick up this Special Edition is the bonus live disc."

More The Specials The Specials

The Specials (the album) is a master class in execution.

The Specials (the band) take the tightly defined and narrowly constraining rules of ska and uses them to perfection to create an album that’s as vital as ever, 35 years later. However, the real reason to pick up this Special Edition is the bonus live disc. Taken mostly from a BBC In Concert show; it’s The Specials, or any great ska band, the way they’re meant to be heard – live, loose and feeding off/playing to the energy of a sweating, skanking crowd.