''Today's Specials'' is a

cover album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...

, released in 1996 (see

1996 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996. Specific locations *1996 in British music * 1996 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1996 in classical music * 1996 in country music * 1996 in heavy metal music * ...

). It is the first studio album by the group since 1984, albeit not involving the full original line-up. Original members

Neville Staple Neville Eugenton Staple (born 11 April 1955), sometimes credited as Neville Staples, is a Jamaican-born English singer, known for his work with the 2 Tone ska band the Specials, as well as with his own group, the Neville Staple Band. He also per ...

Roddy Byers Roddy Radiation (born Roderick James Byers, 5 May 1955 in Keresley, Coventry, England) is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers. He wrote the S ...

Lynval Golding Lynval Golding (born 24 July 1951) is a Jamaican-born British musician. His family moved from Jamaica to Gloucester, before moving to Coventry when he was eighteen. He is currently living in Gig Harbor, Washington. He is best known as a rhythm g ...

, and

Horace Panter Horace Panter (born Stephen Graham Panter, 30 August 1953) also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the British 2 Tone ska band The Specials. Early life Panter was born in Croydon, Surrey and spent most of his formative years in ...

are joined by new members Mark Adams and Adam Birch, along with a number of sessions musicians. Lead vocals are mostly handled by Staple and Golding, with Neville's daughter Sheena Staples contributing backing vocals to the album. The album was released exclusively on CD in the US, UK and Canada, and on CD and

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

in the Netherlands. It did not receive favourable reviews from media or fans, with many reviewers decrying in particular the over-use of synthesizers and pre-programmed drums beats. Neville Staple claims that several of the recordings were actually produced demos, and regrets including them on the album.Original Rude Boy: From Borstal to The Specials by Neville Staple with Tony McMahon; Chapter 10: The Third Wave - America Revive's Ska The tracks "

Pressure Drop Pressure drop is defined as the difference in total pressure between two points of a fluid carrying network. A pressure drop occurs when frictional forces, caused by the resistance to flow, act on a fluid as it flows through the tube. The main det ...

" and "Hypocrite" were released as singles in the UK.

Track listing

Personnel

- vocals, producer *

- vocals, guitar *

- guitar, vocals, harmonica, mixing *

- bass guitar *Mark Adams - organ, keyboards, backing vocals, programming, mixing *Adam Birch - trombone, trumpet, horn, flugelhorn *Aitch Hyatt - drums, backing vocals *Kendell Smith - DJ Vocals *Sheena Staple - backing vocals *Stoker - producer, mixing *Tom Lowry - producer, programming, engineer *Jim Lansberry - programming, mixing, engineer *Mike Exeter - Engineer (Hypocrite)

References

{{Authority control 1996 albums The Specials albums Virgin Records albums Covers albums