The Specials: "Ghost Town EP, 40th Anniversary Edition

Thursday, July 1, 2021

Forty years and not much change. The Specials Ghost Town, written by Jerry Dammers, is still a work that speaks to me at 66, as it did when I was 27. The entire EP of three songs has a morbid and even sad presence in its compositions and mood. Sadness is very much the coat we put on when we leave the house. Even we go back in, the coat is off, but the sense of lack of purpose or disappointment is weighty on one's consciousness. I like The Specials, but I never consider myself a fan. At the time of its original release in 1981, I worked in the record store, and British Ska music was a passionate listening experience all around me. For a while, the record store had the queen of the Mods working at our West Los Angeles location. All the mod bands at the time used to come to visit her. A young Black American girl who had (and probably still does) that 'it' quality. In actuality, her beauty was quite breathless, and when she entered the store, I imagined the temperature changed. For many, ska music is very up, happy, and sexy.  Ghost Town is the opposite of that feeling. 

Perhaps I can call Ghost Town 'ska-noir.' In 1981, things were bad in England, but thinking about it now, when are things ever good? You can specifically tie that song to an inevitable misery in English life, but then again, it is the perfect soundtrack to Covid-19 life as well. Or even a romance that was going South after spending such a warm time in the West. As well as being confronted by wildfires and empty streets, it is obvious the song deals with a mental state as well as factual reporting of the surroundings.  

Ghost Town is a beautifully arranged piece of recording. The horn section with the organ and the chunka-chunka guitar, the sensual bass playing, and the brilliant vocal arrangements make this a multi-textural listening experience. The 12" version has wonderful dub-like touches and plays with the melody like children playing together in a playground. The sound effects mixed in with the orchestration also reminds me of Cab Calloway's music. Imagine a darker version of "Minnie the Moocher." 

The B-side is a gem consisting of two songs. The first song, Why?, is written by the guitarist Lynval Golding. Dealing with racial violence straightforwardly, it's a profound look at the horrific circumstances in such a world that is terrible.   Friday Night, Saturday Morning is brilliant. This Terry Hall composition is a combination of Ray Davies's observations meets British Kitchen Sink narrative. Like Ghost Town and Why? - this is another dive into the ocean of depression. Hall sings of a typical Friday night out and coming to terms with life being spent by Saturday morning. He's alone, hungover, and the work week ahead promises no cure for the blues. A bleak three-song set that is as beautiful as conveying a tour of the lower depths of urban life.