'Specials'

Ska.

Think of it what you will, but I dare you not to want to dance, wiggle, bounce, bob your head or want to take up the bass guitar.

I dare you not to sing along, to shout or to learn those harmonies.

Back in the mid- to late-1990s, I was one of the many individuals swooped up in the third wave of ska and all music associated with ska.

See, there was the first wave that took place in the dancehalls of Jamaica in the 1950s and 1960s. The second wave included the likes of Madness and The Specials in the 1970s and 1980s.

I was a proud supporter of the third wave in the 1990s. It was my one genre that I never investigated the earlier forms, which is a shame because like all things it was by far more pure and, in a lot of ways, better.

I hadn't truly listened to a significant amount of ska before picking up The Specials' first album in about 10 years, if not longer.

Immediately, the beat and rhythym caught me. I started to bob and weave. I was enveloped with the drums and bass. I quickly learned the simplistic lyrics and the harmonies. I felt like a 16 year old kid again.

Ska is a two-headed monster. As you listen, it doesn't sound complicated. It seems pluralist. It's the soundtrack for the blue-collar, the teenager and for those that just wanted to dance.

However, there's so much more. It's also the music for Joe Strummer and The Clash, who were not shy in stating their political views. They weren't alone. The Specials and anyone living in England in the 1970s or 1980s were thrust in a highly political and controversial period. The lyrics reflect that.

Musically, although seemingly innocent, tunes like The Specials are always highly complicated and in need of players willing to exist within themselves. It's precise music. It's realizing that your part is just a cog in the bigger machine. Putting the vocals, guitar, bass, drums, horns and everything together makes this wall of music and of harmony. It's really beautiful music.