..:: audio-music dot info ::..


Main Page     The Desert Island     Copyright Notice
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz


UB40: The Very Best of UB40 1980-2000

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Virgin Records
Released: 2000
Time:
 77:32
Category: Reggae
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.ub40.co.uk
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2000.12.16
Price in €: 15,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Red Red Wine (Neil Diamond) - 3:02
[2] Kingston Town (Kendrick Patrick) - 3:46
[3] Higher Ground (UB40) - 3:02
[4] King (UB40) - 4:34
[5] Cherry Oh Baby (Eric Donaldson) - 3:13
[6] I Got You Babe [with Chrissie Hynde] (Sonny Bono) - 3:06
[7] Come Back Darling (Osborne/Riley) - 3:24
[8] One in Ten (UB40) - 4:33
[9] The Earth Dies Screaming (UB40) - 4:37
[10] Watchdogs (UB40) - 4:15
[11] Don't Break My Heart (UB40/Deborah Banks) - 3:50
[12] Can't Help Falling in Love (G.D.Weiss/H.Peretti/L.Creatore) - 3:24
[13] Sing Our Own Song (UB40) - 4:08
[14] Tell Me Is It True (UB40) - 3:24
[15] Rat In Mi Kitchen (UB40) - 3:09
[16] Bring Me Your Cup (UB40) - 3:13
[17] Light My Fire (J.MOrrison/J.Desmore/R.Manzarek/R.Krieger) - 3:45
[18] If It Happens Again (UB40) - 3:45
[19] Food For Thought (UB40) - 4:10
[20] Many Rivers Cross (J.Cliff) - 4:34

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


UB40 are:
James Brown - Drums
Robin Campbell - Guitar, Vocals
Earl Falconer - Bass, Keyboards
Ali Campbell - Guitar, Vocals
Norman Lamont Hassan - Percussion, Vocals, Trombone
Michael Virtue - Keyboards
Astro Wilson - Vocals, Trumpet

Ruby Turner - Backing Vocals
Jacki Graham - Backing Vocals
Mo Brich - Backing Vocals

Additional Musicans:
Laurence Parry - Trumpet, Flugal Horn, Trombone
Martin Meredeith - Alto Saxophone
Herb Alpert - Guest Trumpet on [15]
Jackie Mittoo - Guest Keyboard
Patrick Tenyue - Trumpet
Henry Tenyue - Trombone
Dan Armstrong - Keyboards

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Named after a British unemployment benefit form, pop-reggae band UB40 was formed in a welfare line in 1978, and its multiracial lineup reflected the working-class community its members came from. The band consolidated its street credibility with political topics appealing to dissatisfied youth and got a boost from fans of the waning 2-Tone ska-revival movement. Brothers Robin (lead guitar) and Ali Campbell (guitar, lead vocals) formed the centerpiece of the group, which also included bassist Earl Falconer, keyboardist Mickey Virtue, saxophonist Brian Travers, drummer Jim Brown, percussionist Norman Hassan, and toaster Terence "Astro" Wilson. The band purchased its first instruments with compensation money Ali Campbell received after a bar fight, even though few of the members knew how to play them. But by the end of the year, the group was invited to tour with the Pretenders. Their "Food For Thought" single reached the U.K. Top Ten in 1980, beginning a long streak of chart appearances. Signing Off and Present Arms were big sellers in Britain, if not America, and addressed the political issues of the day in songs like "One in Ten," a Top Ten hit blasting Margaret Thatcher for the country's unemployment rate. 1983's Labour of Love, an album of reggae cover songs, gave the group its first chart album in America and first number one U.K. hit with Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine." Several albums of original material sold well in the U.K., but only respectably in the U.S., where the group's biggest hit was a Top 30 cover of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" featuring the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde.

In 1988, the group performed "Red Red Wine" at a Nelson Mandela tribute concert, and a Phoenix radio station trotted the single out for a second go-round. Listener response was far more enthusiastic, and "Red Red Wine" re-entered the charts and went all the way to the top. Finally having hit on a way to conquer the lucrative American market, UB40 responded with another covers album, Labour of Love II, which produced Top Ten singles with versions of the Temptations' "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and Al Green's "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)." The group scored a huge hit in America with Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love," which was initially featured in the Sharon Stone film Sliver and spent seven weeks at number one. By this time, UB40 had largely abandoned its trademark left-wing politics and was concentrating more on perfecting its reggae oldies covers than its original material; however, the gimmick has thus far resulted in huge sales figures in both the U.S. and U.K., with Promises and Lies reaching number six and number one, respectively. In the spring of 1998, UB40 released Presents the Dancehall Album in the UK. A third Labour of Love collection followed a year later.

Steve Huey - All-Music Guide



This collection is a very good introduction to their music, there are the best selling singles ("I Got You Babe" and "Can't Help Falling In Love") and other 18 great tracks. I wasn't able to find in the whole collection a bad song... Personally I love "Come Back Darling", "Kingston Town", "Tell Me Is It True" and "Bring Me Your Cup". There is also a previously unreleased cover version of The Doors' "Light My Fire". Buy this CD, and you'll be satisfied!

The Essential UB40!, October 21, 2000
 

 L y r i c s


Currently no Lyrics available!

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


Currently no Samples available!