ska

English Beat | She’s Going

“The English Beat is a band with an energetic mix of musical styles and a sound like no other,” (NPR Music). “The band’s unique sound has allowed it to endure for decades and appeal to fans, young and old, all over the world. When The English Beat (known simply as The Beat in their native England) rushed on to the music scene in 1979, it was a time of massive social and political unrest and economic and musical upheaval. This set the stage for a period of unbridled musical creativity, and thanks in large part to the Punk movement and its DIY approach to making music, artists like The Beat were able to speak out and speak their mind on the news of the day, as in ‘Stand Down Margaret’, things that mattered to them and the youth culture, as in ‘Get A Job’, and universal matters of the heart and soul, as in their classic hits ‘I Confess’ and ‘Save It For Later’.”

Massachusetts-based ArtsFuse reviewed a 2019 performance in Lowell, MA: “(The band has) always embraced both love and social justice in its music, from joy to anger. Now in its 40^th year, the Birmingham, England-bred band was born in the punk movement but based its messages and beats in ska … to form what was called the two-tone movement in England. The result was highly danceable and lyrically edgy.”

1982’s “She’s Going” packs all of that edginess into a track which clocks in at just barely over two minutes, yet seems anything but incomplete. After a start in B major, 1:00 brings an instrumental break which goes airborne at 1:17, quickly shifting through several keys and landing us in E major for a frenetic closing verse and chorus.

The Specials | Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think)

“The Specials were the fulcrum of the ska revival of the late ’70s, kick-starting the 2-Tone movement that spurred a ska-punk revolution lasting for decades,” AllMusic reports. “As influential as they were within the realm of ska, the group and its impact can’t be reduced to that genre alone. The Specials were one of the defining British bands of new wave, expanding the musical and political parameters of rock & roll … (the) 2-Tone label (was) named for its multiracial agenda and after the two-tone tonic suits favored by the like-minded mods of the ’60s.” Originally performed by Guy Lombardo, the big band leader made famous by his multi-year televised New Year’s Eve gig, the tune was later covered by Jamaican singer Prince Buster before it reached The Specials’ repertoire in 1980.

This party tune isn’t entirely representative of the band’s full repertoire, which also includes a marked focus on social justice. The Guardian describes the 21st century version of The Specials at a reunion tour show in 2019: “Their ranks diminished by death and fallings out, the trio are part nostalgia act, part wrathful fighters for fairness, who walk on to a stage decorated with signs reading ‘Vote’, ‘Resist’, ‘Think’ and, incongruously, ‘Listen to Sly and the Family Stone’ … this highly influential group have found their feet again in an era that encourages activism and increasingly reviles apathy … The Specials’ 40-year campaign against injustice resounds down the generations.”

A whole-step modulation appears at 2:22. Many thanks to regular contributor Rob Penttinen for this tune!

English Beat | Sugar and Stress

1982 saw the release of the album Special Beat Service by The English Beat (known back then in their native UK as The Beat). The band was one of the most dynamic Ska Music groups of the late 70s and early 80s. “Sugar and Stress,” a track from the album, is an up-tempo dance rave-up that modulates up a whole step at 1:57.