Encore

I have to be honest, I wondered what a Specials album could possibly sound like in 2019 and wondered just how relevant an album with only three original members would be. Encore has proved my doubts well and truly wrong, as this album is absolutely brilliant; incisive, cutting social commentary coupled with excellent music - this is already one of the top albums of the year. I imagine that many of the negative reviews will come from people who don't like what The Specials have to say, but the band are just as spot on today as they were in 1979, especially when they add voices such as Saffiyah Khan's. B.L.M. and 10 Commandments pull no punches and Vote For Me resumes where Ghost Town left us back in 1981... it's quite sad to see how far we haven't come since then in Britain, with our politically and economically divided society and The Specials are just as relevant today as they were back then. The music is pretty great too and there are a few good covers of songs by The Equals, The Valentines and Fun Boy Three (covering The Lunatics is perhaps a little too self-referencing, but in these Brexit times you can understand why they included it) and the new members of the band (especially Nikolaj Torp Larsen and Steve Cradock) gel extremely well. The "greatest hits live" second disc is very enjoyable and may be a small compensation for those buying this album for simply nostalgic reasons. For those with more open minds and definitely those who are more in tune with where Terry, Lynval and Horace are coming from, it'll be the new album that won't leave the stereo.

Ive given this 5 stars not just because of the music but because the songs on here have meaning , i loved the old school specials and this is not that same up beat punky ska this sounds completely different though there is one track that has definitely got the ghost town influence and that will be immediately apparent when you hear it,the reference to no dogs no blacks no Irish will haunt our nations history forever as it really was racism for racism sake,there were hardly any people of colour then coming to england and when they did it was at our invitation and those folks integrated and became as british as any white person. The live tracks are old school or at least i think most of them. Anyway its refreshing to know that at festivals (if u can call em that ) up n down the country the specials will be giving some real music with real lyrics and without the usual sexed up prancy fakes we get forced on us every way we turn.

Encore indeed. A modern day return to form from the much missed founders of 2 Tone.

I purchased two of these one for a gift and one for myself. I was so excited when I got this. Bit disappointed with this. I am a big specials fan but didn't like this as much as their other stuff. The 2nd disc which has their old stuff on is good. Some of the tracks are ok.

Excellent price well packaged great cd

This album is fantastic. I am glad they made new music in years and I bought this album. It comes with a live album from 2 gigs. One from before and one from after their original drummer passed away. Highly recommend for any ska fans. I can clearly see why Terry and John are missed.

The new Half of the Specials CD..... I got it today. 2nd time playing over now. For me, First track absolute can of Shhhi. That will be a skipped track every time. Thankfully it's the first track so I can just roll with the rest. 2nd track, Lindville Golding absolutely ace, the baselines remind me of the Blockheads. Possibly my favourite on the album. Track 5, sounding like a Tom Waites tune. He must have been an influence.... Everything about it. Definatly all very listenable. Loads of ace funk elements and dub sounds. Loads of anti racism lyrics, stuff about social media and modern day society. I know some people are absolutely hating it. I however think it was a good purchase.

Oh dear this is disappointing. Somewhere in the last 3 decades the Specials have mislaid their speciality. Ok, we still have the agit prop themes, just listen to the lyrics of "B.L.M.", but this ain't no punky skankin' mostly it's just funky r'n'b with a reggae beat, and that's why it doesn’t really work for me. "Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys" by the Equals is a good opener, and well reworked, as is "Gun Fever" by the Valentines reworked as "Blam Blam Fever", however re-working "The Lunatics …" was neither needed or necessary and it fails to touch, let alone improve on the original deducting from, not adding to, the album. The self-composed tracks are OK but I'm afraid forgettable and Saffiyah Khan's "10 Commandments" is one to take or leave depending on your point of perspective. So while nice enough, I am not moved to dance or hum along, and the second disc just adds insult to injury reminding us of how good the Specials' songs once were (although I can leave their cover of "Enjoy Yourself").

I’ve been listening to the Specials since 1980, this issue is probably the last one featuring late Terry Hall

37年ぶりのアンコール！ オリジナルの新曲も堂々たるクオリティー。 長年こじらせていたポップ風邪（失礼＾＾）から戻ったテリーホールが輝いてます。おかえり！ ブラックlivesマター、うつ、女性の人権、2020年を生きるわれわれの頭にも身体にも有効なレベルミュージック。

Buena version deluxe

Mit "Encore" hat ein paar Jahre nach der Wiedervereinigung von "The Specials" die Ska-Band 2019 zum 40-jährigen Gründungsjubiläum ein neues, variantenreiches Album herausgebracht. Ska, wie "The Specials" ihn machen, hat seine Wurzeln im Reggae und Punk mit einer großen Brise Spaß. Von den früheren Bandmitgliedern sind noch Terry Hall (Gesang), Lynval Golding (Gesang & E-Gitarre) und Horace Panter (E-Bass) erhalten geblieben. Unterstützt werden sie durch fünf weitere Musiker, wie man dem kleinen Booklet in der CD-Hülle entnehmen kann. Es enthält Fotos (u. a. von den drei Urmitgliedern) und erfreulicherweise Liedtexte. "Encore" liegt in der Deluxe Edition als Doppel-CD vor: das neue Studioalbum und zusätzlich ein Live-Album. Auf dem Studioalbum "Encore" werden variantenreiche Lieder wie "Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys", "B. L. M.", "Blam Blam Fever" und "10 Commandments" gespielt. "Breaking Point" hat leichte Anklänge an "Die Dreigroschenoper", sonst herrschen Ska mit zum Teil Reggae Einflüssen vor. Die Lieder sind oft satirisch-ironisch bzw. sozialkritisch, was mir sehr gut gefallen hat. Die Gesamtspieldauer der zehn Lieder beträgt knapp 45 Minuten. Auf dem Live-Album werden alt bewährte Lieder wie "Gangsters". der Superkracher "A Message To You, Rudy", "Stereotype" und "Monkey Man" von den alten Alben gespielt. Der Reggae-Titel "Redemption Song" weiß allerdings nicht voll zu überzeugen, die anderen Lieder kennt man wahrscheinlich schon und schätzt sie bereits. Die Lieder der LIve-CD wurden entweder im "Le Bataclan" in Paris am 30.11.2014 oder im "The Troxy" in London am 16.11.2016 aufgezeichnet. Spieldauer der elf Lieder: Rund 40 Minuten. Fazit: Die Vielfältigkeit von "Encore" überzeugte mich! Das Album ist nicht eines der besten von "The Specials", aber eines der abwechslungsreichsten, glaubwürdigsten (was die Sozialkritik betrifft) und reifesten! Die mit den Jahren gestiegene musikalische und persönliche Erfahrung der Musiker hat sich hier positiv ausgewirkt. Für alle "The Specials"- und Ska-Fans ist das Doppelalbum eine klare Empfehlung wert! Ausblick: Wer mehr von "The Specials" hören will, dem seien vor allem auch die beiden ältesten Alben empfohlen: "Specials" (1979) und "More Specials" (1980). "Live at the Moonlight Club" ist ein Live-Mitschnitt von einem Konzert von 1979. Das Album " In the Studio" von 1984, das die Band in teilweise geänderter Besetzung als "The Special AKA" veröffentlicht hat, ist nicht ganz so gut. Die Sammlung "Singles" von 1991 versammelt eine Reihe von Single-Veröffentlichungen. Das Album "Today's Specials" von 1996 beinhaltet Coverlieder. "Guilty 'Til Proved Innocent!" von 1998 scheint auch vielversprechend. Die aus drei CDs bestehende Sammlung "Stereo-Typical" von 2000 besteht aus z. T. weniger bekannten Singles (A- und B-Seiten), Remixes, Live-Mitschnitten und anderen Aufnahmen. Diese Sammlung ist etwas für Fans, die alles von der Band haben wollen. Die Alben "Skinhead Girl" und "The Conquering Ruler" von 2000 bzw. 2001 respektive, bieten Covertitel. "More ... Or Less" ist eine Live-Doppel-CD von 2011. "The Best of the Specials" von 2014 muss man nicht haben, insbesondere dann nicht, wenn man die beiden älteren Alben erwirbt oder bereits besitzt. Dann gibt es noch eine Konzert-DVD: "Specials - 30th Anniversary Tour" von 2013 (Konzert von 2009), auch eine Empfehlung wert!

..tornano dopo 40 anni gli Specials in questa edizione Deluxe contente un live, dopo aver debuttato nel lontano 1979 con l'esplosivo album omonimo, band di Coventry sempre impegnata in musica di protesta che miscela ska, reggae, allegria e ballo, ma di certo non meno arrabbiata, in particolar modo negli anni 70/80 in un Regno Unito devastato dalle politiche di austerità dalla cosidetta "Lady di Ferro" M. Thatcher. Ritroviamo la band quasi al completo, ma purtroppo senza il mai scordato batterista J. Bradbury, morto nel 2015. Il cliché è sempre lo stesso, arricchito come sopra citato da un prezioso live i pezzi più significativi e due cover meravigliose quali "Redemption Song" di Bob Marley e una struggente "All the Time in the World" di L. Amstrong, con la voce indimenticabile di Terry Hall scomparso nel 2022.. una grossa perdita per la band, e per tutto il mondo della musica anglosassone e non solo..❤️🇬🇧..