[Review] The Selecter: Too Much Pressure (1980)
A clean and punkish vision of ska that stands as a classic for ska fans.
Kronomyth 1: Forty-minute heroes.
Mention the early ska movement in England and three names inevitably come up: Madness, The Specials and The Selecter. Like The Specials, The (original) Selecter stuck around just long enough to release two albums, though no one talks about Celebrate The Bullet anymore. The story on The Selecter begins and ends with Too Much Pressure and its singles: On My Radio, Three-Minute Hero, Missing Words. Leaner in sound and punkier in intent, The Selecter lacked the music hall charm of Madness and the musicality of The Specials. In their world, everything really was written in black and white. But what set them apart the most was Pauline Black, who usually sang in a terse, husky tone that suggested a punkier version of Bette Bright or Deborah Harry. Arthur Hendrickson, the second vocalist, was a good foil for Black but favored a laidback style that produced fewer memorable moments. Though they didn’t lack for instruments (none of the original ska bands did), The Selecter’s arrangements were drier than their contemporaries, almost workmanlike to a proletarian degree. Some playful moments emerge (Street Feeling for example), but serious numbers like Too Much Pressure are more the norm. I’ve always felt The Selecter stayed truer to the original ska ideals than labelmates The Specials and Madness, a foolish conceit since I don’t know the first thing about ska’s origins. They were all working off the same manifesto, I told myself, with The Selecter adopting a more militant stance because they believed deeply in the message. Maybe that’s the case, or maybe their militance was the minimalist approach of a band that didn’t have as much to add to the discussion. Too Much Pressure still carries an important musical message, perhaps a purer one than The Specials or Madness. Ska never really caught on, neither did The Selecter, and both are interesting footnotes in a musical detour that ran out of road before it could be finished. You can live without Too Much Pressure I suppose, but you can’t call yourself a ska fan if you haven’t heard it.
Original elpee version
A1. On My Radio (Neol Davies) (3:10)
A2. Time Hard (George Agard/Sidney Crooks/Jackie Robinson, arr. by The Selecter) (3:10)
A3. Missing Words (Neol Davies) (3:22)
A4. Danger (Selecter) (2:38)
A5. Street Feeling (Neol Davies) (3:11)
A6. My Collie (Not a Dog) (Robert Spencer/Johnnie Roberts, arr. by The Selecter) (2:45)
A7. Three Minute Hero (Neol Davies) (3:00)
B1. Too Much Pressure (Neol Davies) (3:48)
B2. Murder (Leon and Owen, arr. by The Selecter) (2:39)
B3. They Make Me Mad (Paulin Black/Lawton Brown) (2:47)
B4. Out on the Streets (Neol Davies) (4:26)
B5. Carry Go Bring Come (Justin Hinds, arr. by The Selecter) (2:52)
B6. Black and Blue (Paulin Black) (3:17)
B7. James Bond (Monty Norman, arr. by The Selecter) (2:16)
The Players
Compton Amanor (rhythm/lead guitar), Charley Anderson (bass), Charley “H” Bembridge (drums), Pauline Black (vocals), Desmond Brown (Hammond keyboard), Neol Davies (rhythm/lead guitar), Arthur “Gaps” Hendrickson (vocals) with Dick Cuthell (trumpet on B5), Hallfield Boys Choir (vocals on A6), Joe Reynolds (saxophone on A7), Rico Rodriguez (trombone on B5/B6). Produced by Errol Ross/The Selecter; engineered by Kim Templman-Holmes.
The Pictures
Sleeve design by “Teflon” Sims, David Storey. All photography by Rick Mann.
The Plastic
Released on elpee in February 1980 in the UK (2-Tone, TT 5002), the US and Canada (Chrysalis, CHR 1274), Germany and Portugal (Chrysalis, 6307 693) and New Zealand (Chrysalis, L37170). Reached #5 on the UK charts and #175 on the US charts. (First appeared in 2/16/80 issue of Sounds.)
- Re-issued on elpee and cassette in the US (Chrysalis, PV/PVT 41274).
- Re-issued on expanded compact disc on August 23, 2004 in the UK (Captain Oi!, 201728) w. bonus tracks.
