Encore is the eighth studio album by the English ska revival band the Specials. It is their first studio album of original songs since 1998's Guilty 'til Proved Innocent!, and their first new material with vocalist Terry Hall since 1981's "Ghost Town" single.
The album features three covers of older songs; "Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys" (originally by The Equals), "Blam Blam Fever" (originally by The Valentines) and "The Lunatics" (originally by Hall and Lynval Golding's group Fun Boy Three, released in 1981 as "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)"). The Specials, in a different incarnation, previously released a cover of "Blam Blam Fever" on 2000's studio album Skinhead Girl.
The track "10 Commandments" is a rebuttal to Prince Buster's "Ten Commandments", criticising the original's outdated representation of women. The track features a lead vocal from Saffiyah Khan, who came to prominence after being photographed challenging an English Defence League demonstration whilst wearing a Specials t-shirt.
Encore entered at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart after its first week of release, falling to 5 the week after and spending 9 weeks on the charts.
Contents
Track listing
All tracks written by Terry Hall, Horace Panter, Lynval Golding, and Nikolaj Torp Larsen; except where indicated.
"Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys" (Eddy Grant) – 3:17
"B.L.M." – 5:05
"Vote for Me" – 5:01
"The Lunatics" (Neville Staple, Hall, Golding) – 3:35
"Breaking Point" – 3:56
"Blam Blam Fever" (Earl Grant, V. E. Grant) – 2:46
"10 Commandments" (Hall, Panter, Golding, Torp Larsen, Saffiyah Khan) – 3:53
"Embarrassed by You" (Hall, Panter, Golding, Torp Larsen, Mark Adams) – 3:05
"The Life and Times (Of a Man Called Depression)" – 5:27
"We Sell Hope" – 4:34
Deluxe version
A deluxe version was released including a CD of live recordings.
"Gangsters" (Horace Panter, Jerry Dammers, John Bradbury, Lynval Golding, Neville Staple, Rod Byers, Terry Hall) – 3:13
"A Message to You, Rudy" (Robert Thompson) – 2:51
"Nite Klub" (Horace Panter, Jerry Dammers, John Bradbury, Lynval Golding, Neville Staple, Rod Byers, Terry Hall) – 4:49
"Friday Night, Saturday Morning" (Terry Hall) – 3:16
Personnel
The Specials
Terry Hall – vocals
Lynval Golding – vocals, guitar
Horace Panter – bass guitar
With
Nikolaj Torp Larsen – keyboards, vocals
Steve Cradock – guitar
Kenrick Rowe – drums
Tim Smart – trombone, tuba
Pablo Mendelssohn – trumpet
Saffiyah Khan – guest vocals (10 Commandments)
String quartet
Ian Burdge – cello
Bruce White – viola
Oli Langford – violin
Tom Pigott-Smith – violin
Technical
George Murphy – engineering
Sophie Ellis – engineering assistance
Cenzo Townshend – mixing
Robert Sellens – mixing assistance
Frank Arkwright – master engineering
