The Specials move away from pure ska into other musical styles, notably dub reggae and an infatuation that Jerry Dammers developed with muzak while touring. Thus it’s a much more eclectic album, and because it doesn't simply do more of the same ska-pop fusion it becomes a lot more interesting.
That said, it starts with a cover of Prince Buster’s Enjoy Yourself (with the introduction by Terry Hall that “Hi, I’m Terry, and I’m going to enjoy myself first”). This is a great infectious tune, but the segue into the track Man At C&A, all about the threat of nuclear war, underlies that perhaps the line “Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think” is something of an existential crisis. The album closes with a slower, downbeat version of the track (featuring the Go-Gos) that emphasises this meaning.
Pearl’s Cafe features the lyric “It’s all a load of bollocks, and bollocks to all of it”, emphasising the growing dissatisfaction with Thatcher’s Britain, but then the album goes off into the Sixties pastiche Sock It To ‘Em JB. “JB” in this case probably being James Bond since the band reel off the titles of (Roger Moore) Bond films in the middle.
Side Two of the album sees tracks that somehow manage to mix together programmed bossa nova beats and dub reggae, such as the excellent Stereotypes, while Holiday Fortnight manages to mix mariachi and calypso. And yet, they work. Really well. Vocalist Rhoda Dakar joins Hall on some tracks, especially I Can’t Stand It, where she brings to mind Lily Allen, and some of the more bossa-nova tracks bring to mind Brit-Pop era tunes, especially some Blur.
While the two-tone ska from the debut album was great, and while the huge divergence in directions ultimately caused the band to break apart after this album, it’s a really good example of how sometimes, eclectic can work. I’m surprising myself how much I’m loving dub reggae as well.
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