Signing Off [Translucent Red 2 LP]

Producers: Bob Lamb, UB40, Ray Pablo Falconer.
Although UB40's later records were much more conventionally pop-oriented, even the group's 1980 debut, SIGNING OFF, doesn't fit neatly in the roots-reggae tradition. The album does feature the expected bass-heavy rhythms and socially conscious lyrics of songs like "Food for Thought" (which condemns the Ethiopian famine a full four years before Band Aid brought it to attention) and the gospel-tinged "King." However, lead singer Ali Campbell also essays a left-field cover of the early Randy Newman chestnut "I Think It's Going to Rain Today," a mopey ballad more closely associated with the likes of Dusty Springfield than Bob Marley. Like many classic-era reggae albums, SIGNING OFF also includes deep, heavy dub mixes--in this case, the fiery "Tyler" (which becomes "25%") and "Adella" (which is turned into "12 Bar"). The CD edition also includes all of the tracks from a limited-edition 21-minute EP that was packaged with early vinyl copies of SIGNING OFF.