Customer Reviews

Stereo-Typical: A's B's & Rarities

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Whether you're new to Ska or a seasoned fan of the Specials, this 3 CD set will be a welcome addition to your CD collection. Unlike so many "out of the vaults" boxed sets we're seeing nowadays, these CDs are not full of stuff that would have been better left forgotten. This is the best and the rarest music from the most important Ska band since the birth of British Ska in 1977.

Although there is music here that some fans may have never heard, there is plenty of very famous Specials music for everyone to enjoy. In the past, you would have had to collect all the Specials regular releases and quite a few songs only available on vinyl or hard to find compliation discs to get all this music. This collection brings all of it together on 3 discs that won't leave your CD player for months.

Do yourself a favor and get Stereo-Typical now!

So if you are a fan of The Specials, you will most likely already have the bulk of the tracks included here - many of the songs appear multiple times with little difference between the versions, and the bonus tracks do little to capture the "sound" of the Specials.

In addition, only the first disc really addresses the "Specials" - discs 2 and 3 are mostly devoted to the "Special AKA" - a BIG difference for some folks.

Don't get me wrong, it really is a good set, especially if you don't already own their original releases, but based on the way the record company is trying to steal your money on this set ($50.00 for 3 discs of old material???), it's probably better - and possibly cheaper - just to find the original releases.

A superb compilation of the A & B sides from every single released by the Specials, STEREO-TYPICAL is a a great collection for anyone who loved the band, Ska, or the semi-underground club scene in which both flourished during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Beyond making black & white both a fashion statement and a social comment, Ska, much more than Punk, was able to crack radio playlists on both sides of the Atlantic, allowing in a breath of fresh air after years of increasingly stale corporate Rock and Pop. It seemed fresh and new, yet had its roots in R&B and traditional reggae. On the dance floor Ska was hip with roots, if you follow me.

The Specials were witty, fun, fashionable, bright, had a great horn section, brains and a social conscience. Within the genre they couldn't be touched, and they sound as great now as they did in their glory days.