Customer Reviews

Beat This: The Best of the English Beat

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In the second coming of ska (c. 1979-1983) the English Beat ruled supreme. The Beat used ska as a foundation on which they used R&B, punk, rock, dub and Afro-beat as material to build three superb albums and a handfull of singles. This collection does a marvelous job of distilling their all too short career highlghts into one disk. Dancable to the extreme, thought-provoking at several levels, and thoroughly enjoyable, this is an excellent addition to any CD collection.

I was an American who was living in London when the whole Two-Tone ska revival phenomenon broke and I returned to America in late 1979 to find all of these great Brit bands to be under the radar, or not even distributed in America.

In 1979, American based major music labels were only interested in signing generic arena rock bands or disco singers. There was almost no R&D scouting of UK bands until the Police broke through to the mainstream. The English Beat had to start their own record label Go Feet, to finally get "I Just Can't Stop It" released in the USA in October, 1980. The underwhelming response of American record labels to punk and the burgeoning post-punk scene in the UK was "thanks, but no thanks".

Due to a trademark snafu with another band called the Beat in America, the Beat had to use the English Beat name. Everywhere else they were known simply as the Beat, their chosen name.

55 year old Saxa was the heart and soul of The Beat. As a foundational first wave ska musician, he provided the Beat's musical link to its roots in Jamaica and the rock of the past. Saxa's style was squarely in the tradition of early American R&B sax players like King Curtis, Junior Walker and long time James Brown saxophonist, Maceo Parker. Saxa's distinctive touch was processing his saxophone sound with reverb to give a mysterious other-worldly quality.

Ranking Roger was a one of the band's two lead vocalists, but he possessed a rare gift as a toaster in the dancehall style of Big Youth, U-Roy and Dillinger. Roger's raps were the equal of any of those three Jamaican dancehall pioneers. "Ranking Full Stop" Roger's signature toast only gives you a taste of his humor, creativity and verbal wordplay skills. In a live performance Roger was capable of raising the roof with his nimble tongued toasting.

Largely unacknowledged was the muscular groove laid down by David Steele on bass and Rupert Morton on drums. Steele's bass sound was from Jah Wobble dub juggernaut school of bass, but Steele was a more versatile player who had a command of reggae, punk, pop and soul bass styles. Morton could play off-rhythm, one drop drums in the style of Sly Dunbar or lay down a rock solid beat like rock drummer Charlie Watts.

It really doesn't do justice to the Beat to call them a "ska band" because the band was far too musically ambitious. Dave Wakeling and Andy Cox's guitar cross-fire was classic punk. The band was able to pull off a Celtic influenced version of "I Fought the Law" in live shows, a pumped up ska version of Smokey Robinson's "Tears of Clown", and rhythmically complex version of an Andy Williams ballad, "Can't Get Used To Losing You." The biggest live performance surprise (that never got recorded) was a gorgeous reggae influenced version of Burt Bacharach's "Walk On By".

Dave Wakeling's vocals were often in the crooning style of reggae singers in the lover's rock style, but everyone in the band was a talented singer and the vocals that work the best are the shared ones, or the one's where Roger's jubilant toasting is interwoven into the vocal arrangement. The band used the dub style techniques developed by reggae producers like Lee Scratch Perry and the Mad Professor which created an eerie sense of disorientation. The waves of crashing echo worked especially well on their darker songs like "Click, Click", "Mirror In the Bathroom", and "Twist and Crawl". Producer Bob Sargent was also a multi-insturmental wizard and it's Sargent that plays sun-drenched marimba solo on "Hands Off She's Mine."

"Beat This!" is a fantastic collection that spans the three albums of the Beat's all too short 2 year recording career. When I purchased this collection I was actually looking for a remastered edition of the Beat's first album, "I Just Can't Stop It" and "Beat This" was the only remastered Beat music available. It's a shame, because most of the Beat's 1979 music sounds fresher and far more vital than most of the tepid fare that passes for pop music in 2005.

Prior reviews of this collection have missed an important detail. The Stand Down Margaret (track 15) included here IS NOT the Whine & Grine / Stand Down Margaret from the Beat's first album "I Just Can't Stop". It is the rare dub version that I believe was only previously availble in the U.S. as a 12" 45rpm import.

I remeber hearing this on the radio (small community access station) in the early eighties and have searched for it ever since. It KICKS ! Oh and BTW, with their blending of many musical styles and Saxa, the Beat always ruled. Although a very good ska band, Madness wasn't even in the same league !

The English Beat were such an influential band in the early 80's. Their combination of ska and pop couldn't be beat. This compilation includes some of their most well known tracks including "Mirror In The Bathroom," the mellow "I Confess," and and "Save It For Later." Along with Haircut 100's "Pelican West," this is one of my favorite 80's related CD's. If you liked General Public, Madness or early music by The Police you should check out The English Beat.

I've been a Beat fan since their first LP, and have been collecting their albums, singles and best-ofs since then. Sure, the music here is terrific, but why are we getting the same re-packages again and again - especially when so much more of the disc could have been used? 47 minutes - that's just shoddy. There are many more obscure cuts and singles and not one of them is a throwaway; some are just great. (Just imagine what the 2-CD or box set could have been like...). Missing here, e.g.:

- Doors of your heart (dub mix)
- Stand Down Margret (dub mix)- both on the old UK "What is Beat?" collection
- Whose Side of the Bed (ext. dub - Roger's best ever - and Everett Morton's drumming could teach Stewart Copeland a thing or two)

And so on. With such a wealth of tremendous material, shame on Sire and London (and surprise! Rhino) for such a skimpy offering (again, tsk). Bottom line: if you're not a fan yet, their first disc, *I Just Can't Stop It* will make you one; the second album, *Whappin'*, is better but not as instantly accessible. Saxa was gone by the release of *Special Beat Service* which, though fine, doesn't measure up to the other two.

Come on, record bizzers! There is a ton of great stuff by this amazing band that their fans are eager to hear.

This wonderful English band (known there as The Beat--the 'English' was added because a forgettable new wave band had already registered the name in the U.S.) was a supple blend of ska, reggae and pop.

Unfortunately short-lived (they released just three albums), they are a band whose influence and reputation far outweigh their output. And despite the short career, so chock-full were those albums of ripe, honking ska that compiling a best of must have been work.

This collection's fifteen tracks are just about perfect. Only the hardest-core fan would find a serious omission here. If there are any complaints, it's that the expanded capacity of a CD wasn't used to present the cassette-edition of 'What Is Beat?', the band's original U.S. best of collection (released in 1983) which featured remixes, singles and a couple of live tracks.

But to hear "Doors Of Your Heart", "Save It For Later" (a genuine 80's greatest hit you won't see on any late-night TV compilation), "Twist And Crawl", "Ranking Full Stop", "Stand Down Margaret" and "Mirror In The Bathroom" fill a room and move feet again is joy.

The English Beat's propulsive, nimble ska is uplifting, invigorating and sorely missed.

No doubt that The English Beat were a great band that influenced many of today's artists. An amazing feat when you consider they only released three albums before disbanding. I can't criticize this compilation too much as it's digitally remastered and includes a generous portion of songs from all three albums. However, what would have made this compilation better than it already is would have been to include key tracks from the splinter bands General Public and Fine Young Cannibals. As it stands, this cd is only 47 minutes in length, and I think if you are making a compilation you ought to use all 80 minutes! 47 mintues means there's 33 minutes that the record lable could have used to put more English Beat tracks, General Public tracks and Fine Young Cannibal tracks to flesh out this already great compilation. I just believe fans ought to get the most for their money.

As mentioned by some of the other reviewers, if you have the original 3 Beat CDs, you already have the tracks on this compilation. However, what you probably don't have are the original Beat videos, which come with the domestic release, including "Save it For Later" and "Mirror in the Bathroom". Also included is Malu Halasa's biography of the Beat, "Twist and Crawl". These additions, combined with the simply incredible music, make this a true 'must have' for any fan of the Beat. I understand that the tracks were selected by the general public (sorry...couldn't resist) via the offical Beat web site. The band members then chose the track order.

Previous reviews were right..."What is Beat?" may be a better collection due to the singles and live cuts. If you can find it on the used market, grab it (along with a little gem call "The Beat Goes On", but I'll save that for later). However, "Beat This" is a truly great compilation, and with the included videos and biography it will be a notable addition to your collection.

Kinda funny what happened to the Beat (known as the "English Beat" here in America, though I find that name clunky): their debut, I Just Can't Stop It, was an excellent album with their biggest hit (Mirror in the Bathroom), and assorted other goodies, most of them found here (Best Friend; Hands Off She's Mine; Twist and Crawl; Click Click; Whine and Grind/Stand Down Margaret; Can't Get Used to Losing You; Tears of a Clown, though Two Swords is missed). Then they crashed: Record #2, Wha'ppen? had a few gems (Too Nice to Talk to; Doors of Your Heart; Drowning, featured here: Get a Job and Dreamhouse in NZ are both sadly MIA), but it was uneven and felt like a holding pattern. By album #3 (Special Beat Service), they had all but lost it, going from a premeire punk-ska act to an Adult Contemporary act with a slight Jamaican feel. They managed to wring three good songs out of that mess: I Confess; Sole Salvation and Save it for Later. Wisely, they put those songs here.
Find yourself a copy of this album. It's a great party CD, and I used to listen to it near-religiously. Great music. The Beat were a more authentic Police when it came to mixing reggae and punk, thanks to their brilliant saxman Saxa: that's saying something, since the Police were also an authentic reggae band. Every song on this one's a gem, unlike on some of their studio albums: if you're a casual fan, this is all the Beat you need.

This is more of a true greatest hits compilation than the original 1983 album "What is Beat?" For fans that already had all of the band's releases, "What is Beat?" was actually more interesting in its own way, since it contained unreleased and live tracks.

This 15-track set does a pretty good job of showing the Beat's talents. The big radio hits are here. If a good overview is what you want, this is your album.

If you want an album that beats this one, though, buy the Beat's debut, "I Just Can't Stop It." That one is a greatest hits compilation all by itself, and even some of its minor tracks slaughter songs like "Doors of your Heart." It's a crowning achievement, and they hit it on their first time out. Get that one first. Then you'll find yourself buying all three of the Beat's albums and you won't really NEED this one. Still pick up "What is Beat?," though, for its rarities.