| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[2] |
| The Guardian | [3] |
| Q | [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [5] |
| The Village Voice | B+[6] |
In the Studio is the third studio album by British ska revival band the Specials. It was released under the name the Special AKA in June 1984. The album took over two years to produce before finally seeing release, by which time the original Specials had long since disbanded.
In the Studio was ranked No. 3 among the "Albums of the Year" for 1984 by NME.[7] It charted in the UK Top 35. It was not as commercially successful as their previous two albums, although "(Free) Nelson Mandela" became an international hit single.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Jerry Dammers except where noted.
- "Bright Lights" (John Bradbury, Stan Campbell, Dick Cuthell, Dammers) – 4:11
- "The Lonely Crowd" (Campbell, Dammers, John Shipley) – 3:52
- "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend" – 4:50
- "Housebound" – 4:13
- "Night on the Tiles" (Dammers, Shipley) – 3:04
- "(Free) Nelson Mandela" – 4:07
- "War Crimes" – 6:13
- "Racist Friend" (Bradbury, Cuthell, Dammers) – 3:49
- "Alcohol" – 5:01
- "Break Down the Door" (Bradbury, Cuthell, Dammers) – 3:36
Personnel
- The Special AKA
- Stan Campbell – vocals
- Rhoda Dakar – vocals
- Jerry Dammers – organ, piano, vocals on "What I like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend"
- Gary McManus – bass guitar
- John Shipley – lead guitar
- John Bradbury – drums
- Additional personnel
- Rico Rodriguez – trombone
- Dick Cuthell – flugelhorn
- Claudia Fontaine – backing vocals
- Edgio Newton – vocals, percussion
- Horace Panter – bass guitar on "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend", "War Crimes", and "Alcohol"[8]
- Roddy Radiation – lead guitar on "Racist Friend"[9]
- Lynval Golding - backing vocals on "Night On The Tiles"[10]
- Nigel Reeve – saxophone
- Caron Wheeler – backing vocals
- Technical
- Jerry Dammers - production
- Dick Cuthell - production on "The Lonely Crowd" and "War Crimes"[11]
- Elvis Costello - production on "Nelson Mandela"[12]
- Nigel Reeve – remastering coordination
- Noel Summerville – remastering
- Adrian Thrills – sleeve notes
- David Storey – album cover design
- Mark Freegard - recording engineer at Wessex Studios
References
- ^ Greene, Jo-Ann. "In the Studio – The Specials / The Special A.K.A." AllMusic. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ "The Specials: In the Studio". Entertainment Weekly: 95. 24 May 2002.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (26 March 2015). "The Special Aka: In the Studio review – weird, vivid nightmares on Jerry Dammers' utterly compelling final album". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ Lowe, Steve (April 2002). "The Specials: In the Studio". Q (189): 133.
- ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (2004). "The Specials". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 766. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (25 September 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- ^ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ https://www.discogs.com/The-Special-AKA-In-The-Studio/release/874880
- ^ https://www.discogs.com/The-Special-AKA-In-The-Studio/release/874880
- ^ https://www.discogs.com/The-Special-AKA-In-The-Studio/release/874880
- ^ https://www.discogs.com/The-Special-AKA-In-The-Studio/release/874880
- ^ https://www.discogs.com/The-Special-AKA-In-The-Studio/release/874880