from the LP Signing Off, Graduate Records, 1980I know, I know, most of the pop-friendly tunes this band has pumped out over the years are the pure definition of selling-out, but you are just going to have to trust me on this one: if you are a lover of roots reggae music, this entire debut album by UB40 is essential listening, just know it! The band members, all born and raised in Birmingham, England, named themselves after the “dole” papers which some of the guys were busy filling out themselves at the time they came together: Unemployment Benefit, Form 40. Being that this is their first album, the level of musicianship and singing found on every single track here is simply mindblowing; this song was their first single, and what a dubwise masterpiece to lead with! Once you listen to this album in full, their sound’s undoubted influence on later-day superstars like Sublime becomes staggeringly clear.
