Customer Reviews

Signing Off

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before UB40 became the reggae equivelant of a lounge/karaoke act that only had hits with novelty covers and duets ( the list is endless and began with Neil Diamond's Red Red Wine ) they released several fine albums of original songs. This is the first and best of their albums. Many standout tracks here, including "Tyler" and the Margaret Thatcher bashing "Madame Medusa." They aren't taken too seriously by many folks simply because they have so many cover hits, but this album is a real keeper. The lyrics are mostly heavily political and the band themselves are in fact named after the form that unemployed people in the UK fill out in order to get welfare, which was rampant in the late 70's and early eighties. The name of this album is a term used by Brits who say they are "signing off on the dole." The sometimes dark lyrics are in stark contrast to the laid back reggae grooves in the songs, but it works quite well. If all you know of UB40 are songs like Red Red Wine and I Got You Babe ( a duet with Chrissy Hynde of the Pretenders, and again, another cover ) and you are a fan of reggae, you owe it to yourself to get this album. It's a real classic, and often overlooked.

This is one fantastic album from start to finish. The best UB40 music is definitely on this album. The original vinyl version included a mini single which is also included here. Check out"Madam Medusa","Strange Fruit","I Think It's Going To Rain Today","King","Tyler","Food For Thought" and "Little By Little" like their supposed to be heard, crystal clear. This is also jam packed with some great instrumental cuts which are fantastic. It would be great if they could make another great album like this. It gets better everytime I hear it. If you like anything UB40 did in the late 80's and 90's you have to get this. It's what they're all about. Full fledged reggae boys.

24 years old and still an underrated album that stands the test of time. I dig this out and play it at parties or on road trips and am amazed how people of all ages love it. I purposely don't mention that it's UB40 and friends are stunned to learn that UB40 are highly talented and are more than capable of just re-hashing other well-known reggae/pop songs.

I'm surprised that other bands have never covered, (or maybe someone has?), some of the songs on this pioneering album like 'Tyler' 'Burden of Shame' 'King' or 'Madam Medusa.'

If you like solid and original reggae that's not 'Marleyesque' you won't be disappointed with this CD.

UB's debut offering was the proverbial 'music to my ears' all those years ago. This was & still is a classic LP recorded by a bunch of Brummies obsessed with a love of Reggae music, and it inspired me to check out Reggae on a wider scale. Worth the money just for "Madame Medusa" alone. If you got into UB40 at a later date and never got around to buying "Signing Off", do yourself a big favour and get it now!! You won't be disappointed.

It's getting difficult to remember that when UB40 first started out, they crafted fine songs that placed them respectably within the protest tradition of reggae - combining memorable hooks with incisive lyrics that exposed the bitter realities of British inner-city life. Then came 'Red Red Wine'...

Hard to believe that this disc is made by the same guys who made all those banal covers...I was blown away when I heard this cd! Buy Signing Off and Present Arms if you want to hear the essence of UB40.

This 1980 album, UB40's first, was originally a double LP housed in a bright yellow sleeve, a replica of an old British Unemployment Benefit Attendance Card. At the time, being on the dole was a huge problem for a surging underclass in the UK, feeding crime and urban riots in places like Brixton, London. But high unemployment was (and is) only one of the many issues facing Britain and the US; an underlying racism was (and is) another. "Signing Off" is a dub masterpiece, containing gentle, loping vocal and extended instrumental workouts that emphasize this two-tone group's social, political, and historical consciousness.

The record is convincing evidence of the important role the band played in the reggae, ska, and dub scenes in early-80s Britain. Injustice is a central theme, addressed in such overtly political songs as "Tyler," about a man wrongly convicted of murder; "King," about Martin Luther King, Jr., and his legacy in a nation that seemed to have forgotten his central message; and "Burden of Shame," a paean to liberal guilt, with the refrain "I'm a British subject not proud of it / While I carry the burden of shame."

Also memorable are "Food for Thought," which contrasts the famine death of an African woman with the thoughtless feasting of a Christmas celebration, and "Madam Medusa," which portrays Margaret Thatcher as an evil scourge and actually calls for her assassination (though it never explicitly names her). "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" is a terrific Randy Newman cover, and "Little by Little" is, for my money, one of the catchiest tunes on the CD. There's also a haunting version of the Billie Holiday classic, "Strange Fruit."

"Signing Off" was produced three years before UB40 achieved enormous popularity with the first of three "Labour of Love" discs. While LoL was superb -- and the reason many people think of UB40 as a reggae and Motown cover band -- fans owe it to themselves to check out the group's debut. A powerful yet low-key album, it really is one for the ages.

The first release from ub40, Signing Off, in my opinion is their best. Present Arms comes a close second; they may have a few better tracks on later albums, but for the sheer impact of the lyrics for what they meant at the time, this album has to be number one.

For those fans who may only know the group for Red Red Wine and Can't Help Falling in Love, this album will seem alien, but this really is what the group WAS about - speaking out against social wrongs and the struggles of those who don't have the power. This isn't the cover based, pop-reggae they have come to produce. This is a darker and rootier vibe.

Watch any live performance of a track from Signing Off and you'll see that ub40 had energy and their timing is absolutely impeccable.

all I can tell you is this:I been listening reggae for the last 40 years(yes,I said 40)and this its the best ub40 ,...bob marley its really happy in the heaven!!!

Actually don't run, stay awhile. Yes stay and do yourself a massive solid and grab this gem up! I have heard my share of reggae owning 300+ albums, and after 5 full listens I would have to say this is one of my top 10 favorites of all-time. Signing Off is delightfully decked to the brim with heavy bass lines, soothing vocals, lovely guitar skanks, tight drums, maucho horns and every other pleasant sound you could ever wish for in a reggae album!! Absolute 5 stars!!