More Specials is definately not for every ska fan. In fact, this album is a mix match of so many different genres that I would not even call it a ska album. Whereas The Specials first album gets you up off your rear end and dancing this is a more contemplative album to really listen to. The album moves around from darker themes to the silly with an overriding feel of 60's kitsch. Another 2Tone classic.

The Specials second album was a stylistic deviation from the same old ska stomp. It has a distinctively slick, sometimes campy, sometimes schmaltzy feel. The songs emphasize studio qualities and social messages over danceability, and they achieve a uniquely hip retro sound. It is a peculiar album, and I was hooked the first time I heard it. I like it better than their first album because it is so different. The people who thought this was a let down just don't get it - this album went somewhere no band ever went before and probably never will again. You have to be pretty cool to "get it".

The Specials second album, and final before imploding, is called "More Specials" and gives the listener more, alright... maybe a little too much to digest. Jerry Dammers seems to have gone a bit crazy in the studio, as he produced the album and added multiple layers of keyboard, organ, vibes, synthesiser, melodica and whatever else he had lying around. I also assume the 'muzak' feel of "International Jet Set" and the mechanical drums on "I Can't Stand It" and "Stereotypes Part 2" are his doing as well. The stylistic menu is varied, including reggae ("Do Nothing"), retro fifties rock ("Hey, Little Rich Girl", "Pearl's Cafe"), new-wave pop ("I Can't Stand It") and even mariachi ("Holiday Fortnight"). Terry Hall's vocals sound great, especially on the anti-war "Man At C&A" and "International Jet Set", where his monotone delevery almost acts as another instrument. The group vibe is diminished, as most people have their own 'feature' song, like Roddy's "Rat Race", Lynval's "Do Nothing" and Neville's vocal overkill on "Stereotypes Part 2" and drummer John Bradbury's James Bond tribute "Sock it to 'Em J.B.". The Go Go's are even brought in for backing vocals on the "Enjoy Yourself" reprise (Terry co-wrote their hit "Our Lips are Sealed" and later covered it with his band Fun Boy Three, which included him, Lynval and Neville). Overall, it is a genre-shifting soup, with rockers like "Rat Race" alongside the moody bossa-nova of "Stereotypes". This is not altogether a bad thing, but proved the band had little time left. After the Dammers penned "Ghost Town" single, with offerings from Terry and Neville, the band went their separate ways. Roddy formed his retro-rock styled the Tearjerkers, Bradbury formed his own goofy and thankfully short-lived band, bassist Horace Panter joined with members of the English Beat to form General Public, Fun Boy Three formed with the Specials vocalists, and Dammers went on with the Special AKA. This, therefore was the Specials album swan song. For that, it was a success, but would not fare as well if they recorded others.

I've had this record since 1982 and I still listen to it. While their untitled debut was a great ska defining record of its time More Specials is a classic with an incredible variation and vision of all times. Terribly unique and haunting (did someone say that?) this record embodies something which is truly hard to describe. I dig that! This is a true milliniem album and more.

Why do these record companies put out remasters and then remove a song or two from them? One has to wonder where Rat Race disappeared to? It isn't on this cd anymore. Oh, nevermind. I found it on the Hits disc. How Lame. They did the same thing with the remaster of English Beat. Don't buy this crappy version of this cd unless you either can't find the original issue or you absolutely have to have the video of Ghost Town (a pretty good vid) and Rat Race (a pretty crappy vid).