''UB44'' is the third studio album of original material by

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

, released on the

DEP International Dep International was a British record label founded in 1980 in music, 1980 by members of British group UB40. It specialised in reggae and dub music. The label went into administration (law), administration in October 2006 and into liquidation ...

label in 1982. It was advertised as their 'fourth album' (hence the title) although '' Present Arms in Dub'' had been a

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (''Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 2007 ...

. The album reached No. 4 in the UK album chart and the early release of the packaging had a

hologram Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other Holography#Applications, applic ...

cover. UB44 was the Department of Employment form letter sent to British

unemployment benefit Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a compu ...

claimants when they missed their 'signing on' appointment.

Releases

The album was initially released on LP and cassette. A CD reissue followed in 1993. Some releases incorrectly state that the album was recorded in 1981.

Content

This album was effectively the last one in their early musical style, again mixing heavy, doom-laden reggae soundscapes with politically and socially conscious lyrics. In particular, "I Won't Close My Eyes" and "Love is All is Alright" use reverb, echoes, and stereo positioning for a shimmering, three dimensional feel indicated by the 3D cover. Droning rhythms- the 4th dimension of time- induce a trance, evoking reggae's substance behind the muse. "Love is All is Alright" is a slow number with close sounding, harmonised vocals. Sax and trumpet echo in a huge hall, sounding like some Caribbean band of long ago. A funky, effected, simple guitar twang adds to the old and new feel. The lyrics challenge the listener that "a little more hate" may be needed in polarised racial and class conflicts.

Track listing

All tracks composed by UB40 #"So Here I Am" – 3:54 #"I Won't Close My Eyes" emix– 3:46 #"Forget the Cost" – 4:22 #"Love Is All Is Alright" emix– 4:57 #"The Piper Calls the Tune" – 3:50 #"The Key" – 5:05 #"Don't Do the Crime" – 4:12 #"Folitician emix – 4:10 #"The Prisoner" – 5:57

Personnel

;UB40 * Ali Campbell -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Astro -

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, toasting * Brian Travers -

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

* Robin Campbell -

* Michael Virtue -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Earl Falconer -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* James "Jim" Brown -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, synthesized percussion * Norman Hassan -

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

;Technical *Rafe McKenna - assistant producer, mixing engineer *Paul Thomas - recording engineer *Optec Design - artwork, hologram

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ub44 1982 albums UB40 albums