In the Studio

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, their only album under that name. The album took over two years to produce before finally seeing release, by which time the original Specials had long since disbanded.

This article is about the album. For the radio show, see In the Studio with Redbeard.

In the Studio
Studio album by
The Special AKA
Released15 June 1984[1]
Recorded1982–1984
StudioWoodbine Studios, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire; Air Studios, London; Vineland Studios, Southwark, London; Phoenix Studios, Wembley
Length42:56
Label2 Tone
ProducerJerry Dammers
Dick Cuthell
Elvis Costello
The Specials chronology
More Specials
(1980)		 In the Studio
(1984)		 The Singles Collection
(1991)
Singles from In the Studio
  1. "War Crimes (The Crime Remains the Same)"
    Released: December 1982
  2. ""Racist Friend"/"Bright Lights""
    Released: 26 August 1983[2]
  3. ""Nelson Mandela"/"Break Down the Door""
    Released: 5 March 1984
  4. "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend"
    Released: August 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB[4]
The Guardian[5]
Q[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
The Village VoiceB+[8]

In the Studio was ranked No. 3 among the "Albums of the Year" for 1984 by NME.[9] 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.

  1. "Bright Lights" (John Bradbury, Stan Campbell, Dick Cuthell, Dammers) – 4:11
  2. "The Lonely Crowd" (Campbell, Dammers, John Shipley) – 3:52
  3. "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend" – 4:50
  4. "Housebound" – 4:13
  5. "Night on the Tiles" (Dammers, Shipley) – 3:04
  6. "(Free) Nelson Mandela" – 4:07
  7. "War Crimes" – 6:13
  8. "Racist Friend" (Bradbury, Cuthell, Dammers) – 3:49
  9. "Alcohol" – 5:01
  10. "Break Down the Door" (Bradbury, Cuthell, Dammers) – 3:36

Personnel
The Special AKA
Additional personnel
  • Rico Rodriguez – trombone
  • Dick Cuthell – flugelhorn
  • Andy Aderinto - saxophone
  • Claudia Fontaine – backing vocals on "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend"
  • Edgio Newton – vocals, percussion
  • Horace Panter – bass guitar on "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend", "War Crimes" and "Alcohol"[10]
  • Roddy Radiation – lead guitar on "Racist Friend"[11]
  • Lynval Golding - backing vocals on "Night On the Tiles"[12]
  • Nigel Reeve – saxophone
  • Tony "Groko" Utah - percussion on "The Lonely Crowd"
  • Dave Heath - flute on "Nelson Mandela"
  • Paul Speare - penny whistle on "Nelson Mandela"
  • Nick Parker - violin on "War Crimes"
  • Dave Wakeling, Elvis Costello, Lynval Golding, Molly Jackson, Polly Jackson, Ranking Roger - backing vocals on "Nelson Mandela"
  • Caron Wheeler – backing vocals on "What I Like Most Like About You Is Your Girlfriend"
  • Naomi Thompson - backing vocals on "What I Most Like About You Is Your Girlfriend"
Technical
  • Jerry Dammers - production
  • Dick Cuthell - production on "The Lonely Crowd" and "War Crimes"[13]
  • Elvis Costello - production on "Nelson Mandela"[14]
  • Alvin Clark, Colin Fairley, Dick Cuthell, Jeremy Green, Mark Freegard, Teri Reed - engineer
  • John A. Rivers, Steve Churchyard - rhythm track engineering
  • Nigel Reeve – remastering coordination
  • Noel Summerville – remastering
  • Adrian Thrills – sleeve notes
  • David Storey – album cover design

References
  1. "News" (PDF). Record Mirror. 9 June 1984. p. 6. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  2. "News" (PDF). Record Mirror. 20 August 1983. p. 4. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  3. Greene, Jo-Ann. "In the Studio – The Specials / The Special A.K.A." AllMusic. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  4. "The Specials: In the Studio". Entertainment Weekly. 24 May 2002. p. 95.
  5. 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.
  6. Lowe, Steve (April 2002). "The Specials: In the Studio". Q (189): 133.
  7. 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.
  8. Christgau, Robert (25 September 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  9. "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  10. "The Special AKA – in the Studio (1984, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1984.
  11. "The Special AKA – in the Studio (1984, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1984.
  12. "The Special AKA – in the Studio (1984, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1984.
  13. "The Special AKA – in the Studio (1984, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1984.
  14. "The Special AKA – in the Studio (1984, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1984.
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