The Two-Tone choice

Press, 8 March 1984, Page 18

The Two-Tone choice

Various “This Are TwoTone” Chrysalis L 38048. As the impact of the Punk explosion of 1976/77 wore off, and the original bands either split up or “sold out” Britain’s youth again began looking for music that would be both relevant and exciting. Brief flirtations with Mod and Psychedelia followed, but the gap was only really filled when unknowns the Specials released a single, ’’Gangsters,” on Two-Tone Records.

Combining classic pop with rampant danceabinty, this and further releases on the Two-Tone label dominated the U.K. charts in the. months following “Gangsters” reaching the top ten in mid-1979. As the bands added their own variations to their common interst in ska music, and diverse yet instantly recognisable Two-Tone

sound emerged. This was partly because the label’s founder and Specials’ organist, Jerry Dammers, wanted Two-Tone to acquire its own musical identity as Motown had done in the 60’s. However, as with many youth crazes, the innovators were soon joined by hordes of imitators and although Two-Tones quality control remained excellent the label lasted only one year as a chart success story. This LP is a selection of the hits from that period. It is appropriate that the Specials have the first and last tracks on “This Are Two-Tone,” because they were not only the best and most successful band on the label but also the most important and articulate band in Britain at the time. When 1981 saw the band split into the Funboy Three and, belatedly, the Special

AKA, it seemed a tragically early demise. But the two bands have since produced some sparkling music, the FB3 with their 1983 album album “Waiting, and Jerry Dammers masterminding the eerie Rhoda Dakar song, “The Boiler” and the Special AKA single, “War Crimes,” (which we should be hearing hourly on Radio U instead of “Ghost Town”). The Specials have six of the sixteen tracks here, and they rightly dominate the LP. The Selecter have three, all dance floor treats, but oddly their best song, “Missing Words,” is not featured. Madness and the Beat released early singles on Two-Tone, and subsequently signed to major labels to avoid being stereotyped as ska bands. Madness have their theme song “Madness” on the LP, and the Beat’s version of Smokey Robin-

son’s “Tears of a Clown” is boppy enough, without ever surpassing the original. Other less well-known artists are the Swinging Cats, with their nifty swing thing “Mantovani,” Rico the Specials trombonist, lazy reggae on “Jungle Music,” the afforementioned Rhoda Daker song, “The Boiler,” (on a par with “Ghost Town” as the LP’s high spot) and The Bodysnatchers with the rather nondescript “Too Experienced.”

With the imminent release of the first Special AKA (apparently after two years and a cost of £ 500,000), Jerry Dammers has another chance to push his label into the charts. Until then “This are Twotone” is an expertly compiled record of the label’s distincitve style of skabased pop music. — TONY GREEN.