Encore

by The Specials

Overview

The Specials didn't end their golden age cleanly and they didn't reunite smoothly, either. Lynval Golding, Horace Panter and Neville Staple brought the group back in 1996 and that incarnation lasted for five years before being put on ice, but their revival was overshadowed by the 2008 reunion that featured vocalist Terry Hall as well as Roddy Radiation and John Bradbury from the group's golden days. This reunion stuck around for a decade, gradually losing members until only Hall, Golding and Panter were left, augmented by Ocean Colour Scene/Paul Weller guitarist Steve Cradock. This is the lineup who recorded Encore, a new studio album that arrives roughly ten years after the initial reunion, 18 years after Conquering Ruler, which was the last album released by the Specials, and a whopping 39 years after More Specials, which was the last time Hall made an album with the band. Hall's return to the fold is to be celebrated, but it's hard not to notice the absence of Jerry Dammers, the band's chief songwriter and keyboardist who left behind music for activism upon the dissolution of Special AKA in 1984. Although the Specials push social commentary to the forefront on Encore -- there is an ode to Black Lives Matter, a swipe against the second amendment, and the old Fun Boy Three tune "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)" has been recast as an anthem for the era of Brexit and Trump -- they're not spending much time on constructing songs, or even hooks. Everything on Encore is amiable but not especially defined: they play with the ease of a group who has made their living on the road, but they lack urgency, even when they're singing about hot-button issues. Despite this lack of fire, Encore is a definite step up from the covers albums the Specials made surrounding Y2K: they feel like a band with a purpose, even if they're not making an especially big deal about it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	07/12/2024
Label:	Universal Import
UPC:	0602465267181
Rank:	144817

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Specials   Primary Artist
Bruce White   Viola
Terry Hall   Vocals
Steve Cradock   Guitar
Kenrick Rowe   Drums
Ian Burdge   Cello
Tim Smart   Tuba,Trombone
Nikolaj Torplarsen   Vocals,Keyboards
Pablo Mendelssohn   Trumpet
Horace Panter   Bass
Saffiyah Khan   Vocals
Lynval Golding   Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Rhythm)
John Bradbury   Drums
Tom Pigott-Smith   Violin
Oliver Langford   Violin

Technical Credits

Robert Sellens   Assistant Engineer
John Barry   Composer
Neville Staple aka Judge Roughneck   Composer
Neville Staple   Composer
Carl Sigman   Composer
Terry Hall   Composer,Producer,Group Member
Hal David   Composer
Earl Grant   Composer
Eddy Grant   Composer
Nikolaj Torp   Composer
Herbert Magidson   Composer
Frank Arkwright   Mastering
Nikolaj Torplarsen   Composer,Producer
Rod Byers   Composer
Saffiyah Khan   Composer
Marcos Ferrari   Spiritual Advisor
De Facto   Design
Cenzo Townshend   Mixing
Lynval Golding   Composer,Producer,Group Member
John Bradbury   Composer
Jerry Dammers   Composer
Horace Panter   Composer,Producer,Group Member
John "Brad" Bradbury   Composer
George Murphy   Engineer
Josh Cheuse   Photography
Mark Adams   Composer
Robert Thompson   Composer
Edmond Montague Grant   Composer
Stephen Panter   Composer
Sophie Ellis   Assistant Engineer
Bob Marley   Composer
Frederick Hibbert   Composer