The Specials - Too Much, Too Young

The Specials - Too Much, Too Young'This place is coming like a ghost town; bands won't play no more: too much fighting on the dance floor.'- The Specials, Ghost TownRelease Date: February 12, 2008

Обзор DVD

One of my favorite albums of all time is the classic ska sampler This Are Two Tone, which showcased such bands as Madness, The Selecter, and the band that founded the Two Tone label, The Specials. That English band's infectious brand of ska that melded punk with reggae was an instant hit. Their songs offered both danceable fun and important messages without being obnoxious or smarmy.
This documentary covers the short three-year career of The Specials, using music videos and live performances as the centerpiece of a rather skimpy narration by director Brian Zabawski, who also shot much of the 1979-1982 performances on 8mm film. The lack of participation by the band is palpable and is a significant weakness. While it's certainly nice to have all these classic tunes and their accompanying videos in a handy package (and the songs in the documentary are happily presented complete, without voiceover), the documentary offers little factual background about the band's members so that they're virtual ciphers. That's too bad because The Specials were an interesting group that not only offered a lyrical message of racial harmony, but practiced it with the interracial composition of the band. The documentary does touch briefly on their significant troubles with the National Front and other neo-Nazi skinhead groups endemic in Thatcherite Britain, so at least there is recognition of the important social influence of the band and their label.
The unique sound of The Specials, particularly their orchestrations, are given disappointingly short shrift as well, other than an observation about the ambitious and atmospheric sound of Ghost Town, which remains a haunting production. The television performance of Do Nothing features the band awkwardly lip-synching. More entertaining are the music videos proper and especially their live performances, which convey the frenzied pace of their concerts well. They must have been great to see live. That's in stark contrast to the subdued, if not dull narration by the director, which makes this feel like a rather home-made production.
The 70 minute running time offered on the case is a bit deceptive; the documentary proper covering the career of The Specials, including the incarnation of the band by keyboardist Jerry Dammers and drummer John Bradbury, Special AKA, is covered in a mere 37m:54s. The balance of the running time is made up of Special AKA music videos, which while interesting both visually and musically don't offer any documentary content. The running time also counts fragments of songs shot on Super 8 in 1980 that tacked on are at the end, and considered under Special Features.

Tracklist:
The Specials Videos:
1. A Message to You Rudy
2. Gangsters
3. Concrete Jungle
4. Too Much, Too Young
5. Rat Race
6. Do Nothing
7. Ghost Town
8. Enjoy Yourself.
Special AKA Videos:
1. Free Nelson Mandela
2. War Crimes
3. Alcohol
4. Housebound
5. Girlfriend
Качество: DVD5
Формат: DVD Video
Видео кодек: mpgv
Аудио кодек: AC3
Видео: Битрейт видео: 7864 кбит/сек
Размер кадра: 720х480
Аудио: Битрейт аудио:
Audio #1: AC3, 2/0 ch, 192Kbps, Delay 0 mSec
Audio #2: AC3, 3/2+LFE ch, 384Kbps, Delay 0 mSec

DVD Info

Title:
Size: 3.80 Gb ( 3 982 030 KBytes ) - DVD-5
Enabled regions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
VTS_01 :
Play Length: 01:09:28+00:37:54+00:04:41+00:04:55+00:04:16+00:04:30+00:13:09
Video: NTSC 4:3 (720x480) VBR
Audio:
Not specified (Dolby AC3, 2 ch)
Not specified (Dolby AC3, 6 ch)
Menu Video:
NTSC 4:3 (720x480) VBR

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