{"product_id":"the-special-aka-in-the-studio-180gms-half-speed-master-2lp","title":"THE SPECIAL AKA - IN THE STUDIO (180GMS HALF SPEED MASTER) 2LP","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOn November 8th, 2Tone Records\/Chrysalis Catalogue will release a 40th Anniversary Half-Speed Mastered Edition of The Special AKA 'In The Studio' album.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis release has been liaised and approved by the band's founder and main songwriter Jerry Dammers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFormed in Coventry in the mid-1970s, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Specials\u003c\/strong\u003e was the idea of musician\u003cstrong\u003e Jerry Dammers,\u003c\/strong\u003e who brought together an eclectic array of individuals to fulfill his vision of a multi-racial band, fusing the energy of punk with the legendary but, at the time, often overlooked, sound of Jamaican ska. The band rose to prominence along with the \u003cstrong\u003e2Tone\u003c\/strong\u003e movement, which included two No. 1 singles,\u003cstrong\u003e Too Much too Young \u003c\/strong\u003eand 1981's \u003cstrong\u003eGhost Town, \u003c\/strong\u003ewhich theme still resonates today before \u003cstrong\u003eTerry Hall, Lynval Golding and Neville Staple l\u003c\/strong\u003eeft to form the \u003cstrong\u003eFun Boy Three.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe remaining members, \u003cstrong\u003eDammers, Bradbury and Panter, \u003c\/strong\u003erecruited guitarist \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Shipley from The Swinging Cats, ex-Bodysnatcher Rhoda Dakar and lead vocalist Stan Campbell\u003c\/strong\u003e, reverting the original band name of \u003cstrong\u003eThe Special AKA \u003c\/strong\u003eand set to work on a new album.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReleased in 1984, \u003cstrong\u003e'In the Studio'\u003c\/strong\u003e was a brave mix of bold and challenging music, with a strong political, social and moral conscience. The album made it into the Top 40, and while it might not have been a huge commercial success, it was, and still is, an astonishingly unique work: a haunting, claustrophobic mix of lounge, soul, reggae, jazz and Arabic rhythms, with uncompromising subject matter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt featured two classic singles: the joyous, yet serious rallying anthem for the then imprisoned South African ANC leader, \u003cstrong\u003e'Free Nelson Mandela', and 'What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend'.\u003c\/strong\u003e As time has gone by, the status of '\u003cstrong\u003eIn The Studio' \u003c\/strong\u003ehas grown, and today it is rightly viewed as a genuine lost classic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike the previous two \u003cstrong\u003eSpecials \u003c\/strong\u003e40th Anniversary vinyl editions, this has been newly remastered and cut at half-speed by \u003cstrong\u003eMiles Showell \u003c\/strong\u003eat Abbey Road Studios, London.\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTracklist:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Bright Lights (2024 Remaster)\u003cbr\u003e    The Lonely Crowd (2024 Remaster)\u003cbr\u003e    What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend (2024 Remaster)\u003cbr\u003e    Housebound (2024 Remaster)\u003cbr\u003e    Night On The Tiles (2024 Remaster)\u003cbr\u003e    Nelson Mandela (2024 Remaster)\u003cbr\u003e    War Crimes (The Crime Is The Same) (2024 Remaster)\u003cbr\u003e    Racist Friend (2024 Remaster)\u003cbr\u003e    Alcohol (2024 Remaster)\u003cbr\u003e    Break Down The Door (2024 Remaster)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Volcanic Vinyl","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67595272454444,"sku":null,"price":73.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0759\/3947\/9852\/files\/The_Special_AKA_-_In_The_Studio_Vinyl.webp?v=1791677945","url":"https:\/\/volcanicvinyl.co.nz\/products\/the-special-aka-in-the-studio-180gms-half-speed-master-2lp","provider":"Volcanic Vinyl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}