… all the rage (1984) – general public: irs records, sp-70046

One of the more interesting genres of music to have come from the post-stadium rock Big Bang was the new wave-ska hybrid known as 2 Tone. The music owed its roots to artists from the 50’s and 60’s like Desmond Dekker, Delroy Wilson, and the Skatellites and which found a new audience during the 70’s among a sub-culture of white and black kids who grew up within the influence of the Caribbean diaspora of Great Britain.

2 Tone took ska and added a new wave element of an increased tempo and broader musical influences, while retaining the signature downbeat and skank rhythm of ska/rocksteady. The result was a catchy, playful, danceable, fun type of music brought to the world by bands like The Specials, The Selecter, Bad Manners, and Madness.

Another major 2 Tone band was The Beat, who had massive success with songs like Mirror In The Bathroom, Bigshot, Twist and Crawl, I Confess, Jeanette, and Save It For Later. Unfortunately, The Beat burned themselves out as a band and ended after only three albums. Fortunately, the founding members, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger still had some music in them, and they gathered with some of their friends (including Mick Jones of The Clash), and in 1984 they formed the band General Public, and released … All The Rage.

Side 1: Hot You’re Cool Tenderness Anxious Never You Done That Burning Bright
Side 2: As A Matter Of Fact Are You Leading Me On Day-To-Day Where’s The Line? General Public

Now, I haven’t listened to this album in decades – probably not since the early 90’s to be honest. In fact, when I started sorting through my vinyl to alphabetize the listening list I was actually surprised to see it sitting there. So, when I put this on the platter I was pretty stoked to sit back and go back to being in my 20’s again, because I do have some fond memories of this album. As I listened I definitely felt the nostalgia, but I also started to notice that the songs are less fun than I remembered them.

And the “fun” aspect was an important part of what made 2 Tone so great. Ska, even when dealing with incredibly morbid themes (like poverty or injustice) was always danceable and happy. Want proof? Sure. Listen to Israelites and try to tell me that even though the song is about a destitute guy who lost his wife & family, has no money or food, and has to resort to petty thievery to avoid starving to death it still isn’t among the most happy sounding songs you’ve ever heard.

You can’t do it, can you?

Well 2 Tone had that same quality. Even though some of the songs were about racism, oppressive society, drugs, or poverty and injustice, they were always fun because of the “ska stroke”, the 4/4 timing with the emphasis on the downbeat. Well, that isn’t the case with the songs on … All The Rage. It’s not that they are depressing, but they simply don’t have the same pop. And as I got through Tenderness I realized why. Where bands like The Beat took ska and added the frenetic energy of punk to create a fast, happy sound, when they founded General Public, Dave & Roger took 2 Tone and watered it down with a Motown R&B groove – dropping the tempo and washing out the downbeat emphasis that gave ska & 2 Tone that skankability.

So, even though this album has many really good songs (Hot You’re Cool, Never You Done That, As A Matter Of Fact, and General Public), for me it hasn’t really aged well.

I guess I was a lot easier to please when I was in my 20’s.

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