Too Much Too Young: The Gold Collection by Specials (The) (CD, May-1996, EMI Music Distribution)

Album Features
UPC:	724383833320
Artist:	Specials (The)
Format:	CD
Release Year:	1996
Record Label:	EMI Music Distribution
Genre:	2 Tone Ska, General, Reggae

Track Listing
1. Too Much Too Young
2. Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)
3. Man at C & A
4. Rude Boys Outta Jail
5. I Can't Stand It
6. Do the Dog
7. Blank Expression
8. (Dawning of A) New Era
9. Monkey Man
10. Hey, Little Rich Girl
11. Pearl's Cafe
12. Little Bitch
13. Rat Race
14. Message to You Rudy, A
15. Do Nothing
16. You're Wondering Now

Details
Playing Time:	53 min.
Distributor:	n/a
Recording Type:	Live
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	n/a

Album Notes
Recorded live at the Moonlight Club, London, England on May 2, 1979.Although they share the same title and were recorded during the same autumn 1979 tour, this Too Much Too Young album should not be confused with the five-song EP of the same title. The EP, as fans well know, was released in early 1980 and sped to the top of the charts. The album, regardless of its early recording date, is a much later cash-in -- cash-in because the mediocre quality of the recording gives a very distorted picture of the Specials' live sound. Anyone old enough and lucky enough to have seen them perform knows how phenomenal a presence they were on-stage: insistent beats; Horace Gentleman's heaving bass; riffs ringing out; guitar leads slashing the air; Jerry Dammers' keyboards a revelation of riffs and melody, bubbling, seething, and soaring; and the tag-team vocals as Terry Hall is chased around and down by Neville Staple and Lynval Golding. They had the fullest sound around, but you'd never know it from this. The mix is appalling: the guitars barely audible, the drums and keyboards much too far up in the mix. Those who remember their shows will cringe; those who didn't will at least get a good taste of the Specials' tag-team vocals, which were just as integral to their sound and arguably even more groundbreaking. The set leaves in the between-song patter, which is also a welcome treat. And even with its deep flaws (including misspelling "You're Wondering Now"'s title), the listener can begin to grasp the group's impact live...just. The EP is most representative of their glory, but this fills in a bit more of the picture. ~ Jo-Ann Greene

Editorial Reviews
...LIVE catches the Specials in evolution, more true to their Blue Beat roots...
Alternative Press (19931101)

3 Stars - Good - ...Their first two albums...were instant classics...drenched in sour wit and irony...
Q (19960701)