Customer Reviews

Wha'ppen

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I heard the first Beat LP ("I Just Can't Stop It") in a small town record shop in 1980 and instantly fell in love with this band's brand of ska/soul/rock. For some strange reason, I never bought "Wha'ppen" and never got familiar with it. I confess to reading some less than enthusiastic reviews and shying away. Of course, I did buy "Special Beat Service" and found it to be par excellent. So I ordered "Wha'ppen" a couple of months ago and it arrived a few weeks back and I've been wearing it out. Damn! How did I miss this? This is a great collection of snaky sweet, politically smart songs. "Doors of Your Heart"... I've loved that song for years... and "Too Nice to Talk To" has always been a favorite. But every other single song on this CD, including the bonus tracks, is outstanding. These songs are textural wonders. Great stinging guitar work and the incredible Saxa on his horn make this a stunning recording. I regret not discovering it sooner, but it sure is a nice find after-the-fact. Oh yeah... one more thing... I had the pleasure of meeting Dave Wakeling in Nashville this past summer and he's a very nice fellow who cares about the people that support him. If he comes to a venue near you, don't miss the show. You'll get your money's worth and more. Wear your dancin' shoes. He is truly one of the great talents of the 80's and continues to make significant music. He may be the most underrated recording artist of the past two decades. Buy this CD. You won't regret it. It sounds best in the early evening. I'm the Big Oh and I gotta go.

For whatever reason I bought this album much later on than the other two English Beat albums - something about it "not being as good". That's complete nonsense. This album is excellent and it was a welcome revelation to hear it years later, after the fact as it were. There's not a weak track on this CD. Plenty of soulful saxophone solos abound. "Dreamhome in NZ", "Walk Away", and "Monkey Murders" are lost 80's classics to go along with the better-known "Doors of Your Heart" and "Too Nice to Talk To". Love the alternate version of "Get-A-Job" found here. I rank this second Beat album in the all-too-short trilogy of albums from these guys right up there next to "I Just Can't Stop It"; it's certainly a stronger album from start to finish than "Special Beat Service" - their final album - where the strain of not having widespread commercial acceptance sounded like it had taken its toll. Looking back, I wish the English Beat had stayed together long enough to record a few more gems like "Wha'ppen?". They probably do too.

With Wha'ppen, the Beat get socially conscious with almost all the songs -- see "Dream Home in NZ," "Get a Job" and "I am Your Flag" for proof. Along with this lyrical change, they go to reggae's roots and further away from the Two Tone ska scene they never really fit in with in the first place.

All three Beat albums are different, but this is the oddest of the three. A lot of great stuff to be found, for sure ("Drowning" is a favorite of Michael Stipe's), but the least satisfying of the catalog, though definitely worth owning. "Walk Away" is a great beakup song.

Let's hope London re-issues the UK-only b.p.m. comp that featured a bonus-discs worth of 12" versions, including "March of the Swivelheads," which was featured in Ferris Beuller's Day Off.

If you are looking at this review, I imagine that you have already heard the English Beat--If you haven't, then don't waste your time reading any further and go and get "I Just Can't Stop It". If you have a Beat CD, odds are that this isn't the one. Of the three major releases, this was my least favorite as a teenager...too slow.

But now when I revisit this one...twenty years later (Has it been that long?)...I find it superior to the 1st release (just barely) or Special Beat (by a mile). So if you missed Wha'ppen the first time around, give it a second shot, there is a chance that you will find that this album aged more gracefully than its siblings.

This is a completely original talented band. They are a high energy unit that can be quite uplifting. Their style is unique some try to pigeon hole them in a particular style, which may cause some not to experience some really enjoyable songs with such a flair for the feelings many have felt such as "Hands Off She's Mine". Each song is able to stand on its own merits, yet they have the ability to build on top of each other. What a great solid core of musicians. You should buy it.

This successor to the flawless "I Just Can't Stop It" weaves more exotic musical textures and the band's dedication to World Music and reggae rhythms is infinitely pleasurable. Every song offers seductive hooks while the lyrics are more deeply immersed in situations of social unrest. They accurately chronicle paranoia with "All Out To Get You", broken relationships on "Walk Away", jealousy in "Monkey Murders" and the torment of economic burn insinuates a suicide in "Drowning". This is a chilling piece. Their politics are hard-hitting on the wartime "I Am Your Flag", finding sanctuary from a nuclear holocaust with "Dream Home In New Zealand", a government and mass media overtaking lives in "Cheated" and co-vocalist Ranking Roger toasting a crackdown of solidarity instead of further racial barriers in the penetrating "Doors Of Your Heart". The reliable Saxa interjects gorgeous and spatial accents throughout, guitarists Andy Cox and Dave Wakeling keep the rhythms dancing at the mid-tempo pace and Everett Morton and David Steele drive the beats home to the public. Incidentally, Everett and David are amongst the greatest rhythm section in any idiom. Just listen to "French Toast (Soleil Trop Chaud)"! These songs of gutsy realism are music for the ears and for the mind. Another A+ for this band.

The Beat's third and final album, "Special Beat Service", is one of the greatest rock / ska albums ever recorded. This second album is nearly as good. It just never gets old. It sounds as fresh today as it did over twenty years ago.

A wonderful followup to their first album, this one covers much wider range of styles. It can seem a disappointment when compared to their classic first album, but if you take it out of that context, it stands as a terrific album on its own. Each song has a totally different style to it. But why did they change the album art? The original lp art from 1981 was so much more charming. The US pressing also includes "Too Nice to Talk To", a terrific single which was not on the original vinyl lp.

I never got around to purchasing this in the 80's and now I wonder why! I saw them in the 80's (also General Public), but it was only until after seeing The Engish Beat recently at the Key Club, did I remember many of THESE songs... And I finally got the CD!

The good thing about the long wait is really enjoying my "new" album!

"Too Nice To Talk To" and "Doors Of Your Heart" got significant airplay, but there are a number of very catchy , mid-tempo Ska tunes here that will have you moving around, for sure! "Monkey Murders" has some very nice saxaphone work by Saxa (of course!) and "I Am Your Flag" (also a popular tune from this collection) had many people dancing. The next group of five songs are really well suited to follow each other in tempo, style, and melody. "Cheated" is one of my favorites and "Get A Job" will make you get up, or at least tap your feet! It is not the same song as the 50'/60's hit. The last song, "The Limits We Set" is a great example of Saxa's unique style, which is like taking a walk up and down the instrument, without blatant flash, but a melodic meandering style. This is prevalent throughout the album, but really noticeable on this final track as it fades out the set. His playing style is unique and he has a real knack for filling in spaces and using them to make brief, well placed musical additions.

If you are a fan of other Beat albums, you will also enjoy this one!

After the wild hyperactive ska of their debut I Just Can't Stop It, The English Beat slowed down the tempo big time on the Wha'Ppen? album. Not that the band did a complete u-turn here musically, but it's a definitely a more subdued affair. While there aren't any tracks here as strong as "Mirror In The Bathroom", "Hands Off...She's Mine", or "Save It For Later", Wha'Ppen? is a more diverse affair and most of the songs here are very good.

The first single "Doors Of Your Heart" is pure reggae and several tracks here are in the same vein with the best being "Dream Home In New Zealand", "Cheated", and "The Limits We Set." While other strong tracks such as "All Out To Get You", "Get A Job", and "Over And Over" recall the ska of their debut, the tracks here are slightly more laid back but still danceable. "Monkey Murders" and "I Am Your Flag" are catchy pop songs that point to the direction they'd pursue on their next album Special Beat Service. While these tracks are all very good, the best track here is the opening "Too Nice To Talk To" which combines their sound with a funk beat. Other decent tracks include the very laid back "Drowning" and "French Toast (Soliel Trop Chaud)." While this may be their weakest album, it's still very good and has stood the test of time better than the work of the more successful bands they'd later form, General Public and Fine Young Cannibals. Definitely worth checking out.