The four hundred and fifty-third album: #453 The Specials - The Specials
Although still heavily influenced by ska, The Specials brings a bit more to the table than that. They are angrier, full of energy, with the usual laid back ska style replaced with the anger we've gotten with rock music. Punk is a clear influence, although the fusion with ska really puts it in a different place. It goes between ska filtered through punk and punk filtered through ska, depending on the mood the track is going for, and it's an explosive mix because of those contrasts. Rather than staying on a single emotional level, which can get quite wearing in both of these genres, they combine here to create a flow that becomes more engaging rather than being exhausting.