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Rating: Great |
UB40's grip on the pop-reggae market was so pervasive that younger fans might have found it difficult to grasp how their arrival shook the British music scene to its core. They arrived just as 2 Tone had reached its peak and was beginning to drift into obscurity. Not that it mattered, as few would have tried to pigeonhole the band. However, the group felt ill-at-ease within the British reggae axis of Steel Pulse, Aswad, and Matumbi. While their rhythms may have been reggae-based and their music Jamaican-inspired, UB40 had such an original take on the genre that any comparisons were moot.
Even their assault on the singles chart was unusual, as they launched three double-A-side singles into the Top Ten in quick succession. The second 45 was supposed to serve as a teaser for their album (it didn't, arriving a few months early), while the third was supposed to be a spin-off (it wasn't, featuring two new tracks). Regardless, both sides of their debut single—the roots-rocking indictment of politicians' refusal to provide famine relief on "Food for Thought" and the dreamy tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.—were included, as was their phenomenal cover of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" from their second single.
The new material was equally strong. The moody “Tyler,” which kicks off the set, is a powerful condemnation of the American justice system, while the brilliant dub, “25%,” appears later in the set. The smoky, Far Eastern-flavored “Burden” explores the dual tensions of national pride and shame over Britain’s oppressive past (and present). While that was a thoughtful song, “Little by Little” was a shameless call for class warfare. Of course, Ali Campbell never raised his voice—nor did he need to. His words were his sword, and the creamier and sweeter his delivery, the deeper they cut. Their music was equally revolutionary, their sound unlike anything else on either island, from deep dubs laced with jazzy sax to the bright and airy instrumental “12 Bar,” with its beautifully loose groove that later in the set transformed into the jazzier and smokier “Adella.” Meanwhile, "Food" is pounding the dance clubs, and "King" is soaring to the heavens. It's hard to believe this is the same UB40 who later topped the British charts with songs like "Red Red Wine" and "I've Got You Babe." Their fire was quickly tempered, but on "Signing Off" they flared up, still accessible to the pop market, but so sharp that even those certain there's nothing to admire about the group will immediately change their tune.
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