The Sound

I've been listening to collections of Two-Tone music--the late 70s/early 80s revival of ska mixed with punk and new wave, and touches of reggae and rocksteady. (It being a revival, I remember some older people back then complaining that the music was a pale imitation of the originals.) The movement was bigger in England, but made its mark here.  And it's easy enough to find on YouTube.

There were a lot of bands in the movement, but the big four were The Specials, Madness, The Selecter and The Beat (known in America as The English Beat).  If you want to get a feeling for the music, you should check out their debut albums.

The Specials may have been the most popular in this style.  Their eponymous first album mixes covers with originals, and there are quite a few that make the playlist of Two-Tone classics: "A Message To You, Rudy," "Do The Dog," "Nite Klub," "Doesn't Make It Alright," "Concrete Jungle," and "Monkey Man," for example.

Yet for all that, they're probably my least favorite of the big four.  Which is more a tribute to how good the others are.

The Beat has a more soulful sound, but still rocks.  Their first album, I Just Can't Stop It, includes numbers such as "Mirror In The Bathroom," "Twist & Crawl" "Tears Of A Clown," "Ranking Full Stop" and "Can't Get Used To Losing You." ("Tears" and "Ranking" were actually from a separate single that was included on American editions.) Still sounds good, but then, all these bands do.

Madness became the most famous of these bands, moving beyond a ska sound to something more pop, but their first album, One Step Beyond..., sticks closest to the Two-Tone feel.  It includes such classic as the title tune, "My Girl," "Night Boat To Cairo" and "The Prince." (And coming out at a time of vinyl, I'd say the first side was definitely better than the second.)

The Selecter may have been the least popular of the big four (it's hard to say from an American perspective, since none of these bands were really charting out here), but their first album, Too Much Pressure, is my favorite.  It's got the strongest beats and at least every other song is a classic.  Among my favorites are "Three Minute Hero," "Missing Words," "Too Much Pressure" and especially "Out On The Streets."

So there's a very quick, very personal overview.  If you know the music, I hope it brought back memories.  And if you don't know it, maybe you should give it a listen.