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Rating: Average |
UB40's third album, not counting The Singles Album, which summed up their short career to that point, or the Present Arms in Dub remixed dub version of their second album, was a step away from the brooding soulful reggae they had come to expect from the veteran Signing Off and Present Arms.
Despite the fact that by 1982 the 2 Tone sound of the Specials had faded and other successful ska bands, notably Madness, had moved on, UB40 released a mix of horn-driven pop/ska and reggae songs that, generally speaking, suffered from two major flaws: a lack of melody, which never helps any musical style, and a loss of the sense of political injustice that had dominated the first two albums. It couldn't have been easy; all their vitriol was directed at Margaret Thatcher's government and how, in their view, the fabric of the country was being systematically destroyed. But by late 1982, the government was riding a wave of popularity after winning the war in the Falklands, and it was suddenly out of place to disagree with them.
Although UB44 reached number four, the singles released were at a low point, with all three of them—"So Here I Am," "I Won't Close My Eyes," and "Love Is Here Is Alright"—failing to chart higher in the singles chart. Without melody, UB40 songs tended to lack substance. As "The Key" segued into "Don't Do the Crime" and "Folitician," it was difficult to recognize that one song had ended and a new one had begun. A change of direction was needed, and after a live album, UB40 Live, released in early 1983, the band found their feet again with their next project, Labour of Love.
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