Special Beat Service
1982 studio album by the Beat
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Special Beat Service is the third studio album by the English ska band the Beat, released on 1 October 1982 by Go-Feet Records. Like the rest of their material, it was released in the US under the name "the English Beat". It peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1983 on the strength of two singles, "I Confess" and "Save It for Later," the music videos for which received modest airplay on the fledgling MTV video network.
| Special Beat Service | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 October 1982[1] | |||
| Studio | Roundhouse Studios (London) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:52 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Bob Sargeant Ranking Roger and Mike Hedges (only "Pato and Roger a Go Talk") | |||
| The Beat chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Special Beat Service | ||||
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Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A−[3] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [4] |
| Record Mirror | [5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
| Smash Hits | 9/10[8] |
| Sounds | [9] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[10] |
The Spin Alternative Record Guide wrote that "'Save It for Later' and 'End of the Party' are romantic, piano-driven pop gems."[10] Rolling Stone said that "'Special Beat Service' sparkles with surprising touches"
Track listing
All tracks are written by the Beat (as per ASCAP: Roger Charlery, Andy Cox, Everett Morton, David Steele and Dave Wakeling), except where noted.[11]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Confess" | 4:34 |
| 2. | "Jeanette" | 2:46 |
| 3. | "Sorry" | 2:33 |
| 4. | "Sole Salvation" | 3:05 |
| 5. | "Spar Wid Me" | 4:32 |
| 6. | "Rotating Head" | 3:24 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Save It for Later" | 3:34 | |
| 8. | "She's Going" | 2:10 | |
| 9. | "Pato and Roger Ago Talk" |
| 3:19 |
| 10. | "Sugar and Stress" |
| 2:57 |
| 11. | "End of the Party" | 3:32 | |
| 12. | "Ackee 1-2-3" | 3:12 | |
| Total length: | 39:52 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "What's Your Best Thing" | 3:47 | |
| 14. | "March of the Swivel Heads" | 3:31 | |
| 15. | "Cool Entertainer" | 3:32 | |
| 16. | "Ago Talk" (Tappy-Luppy Dub) |
| 8:38 |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the Special Beat Service liner notes.[12]
The Beat
- Ranking Roger – toasting; vocals; percussion
- Dave Wakeling – vocals; guitar
- David Steele – bass; banjo
- Andy Cox – guitar; mandolin
- Everett Morton – drums
- Saxa – saxophone
- Wesley Magoogan – clarinet; lyricon; saxophone; sax FX unit
- Dave "Blockhead" Wright – keyboards; piano
Additional musicians
- Bob Sargeant – telephone; marimba
- Marc Fox – percussion
- Jack Emblow – accordion
- Markandey Mishra – tabla
- Vince Sullivan – trombone
- Dave Lord – trumpet
- Steve Sidwell – trumpet
- Pato Banton – toasting
Production and artwork
- Bob Sargeant – producer
- Trevor Hallesy – engineer
- Mark Dearnley – engineer
- Brian Gaylor – engineer
- Ian Cooper – cutting engineer
- Mike Hedges – producer ("Pato and Roger a Go Talk")
- Ranking Roger – producer ("Pato and Roger a Go Talk")
- Martyn Atkins – art direction
- Nick Rogers – supervisor
