UB40 The Best Of Volumes 1&2
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Reviews Misc
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Sunday, 13 November 2005 |
  UB40’s are one of those bands that got really famous on the back of a tune that almost became a novelty, ‘Red Red Wine’. From here on in for the ’40, a slew of pretty boring reggae infused singles ensued. A shame, because as this compilation shows, they produced some extremely good, commercial sounding singles at the start of their career.
Less upbeat than the two-tone sound that emanated from down the road in Coventry, Birmingham’s UB40 presented a more dub influenced sound when they first launched themselves onto the youth of the early 1980’s. ‘Food for Thought’ and ‘One In Ten’ are not only perfectly crafted pop songs, they were produced with a rhythm section that sly and Robbie would have been proud of. Topped with Ali Campbell’s vocals, they create a distinctive sound in comparison to the two toners and the Jamaican dub of the time. Other early tracks such as ‘The Earth Dies Screaming’ and ‘King’ are tinged with an eerie presence of a dissatisfied youth of Maggie Thatcher’s Britain – politically charged, they also brim with a sense of optimism rarely captured on record. It seemed to be the cover versions that UB40 will be best remembered for however. ‘Red Red Wine’, ‘I Got You Babe’ ‘Cant Help Falling In Love’; drag your auntie out, they’re all here. However much I may dislike tracks such as these, what this compilation does show is that, on top of their own composition skills, UB40 are extremely good at picking the songs to cover and putting their own distinctive sound on proceedings. Rating: 3/5
Release Date: 14th November 2005
Words by Remy FV
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