http://www.halesowennews.co.uk/newsxtra/music/4880735.On_the_record__Corinne_s_sea_view/

UB40 - Labour Of Love IV.

Ali Campbell may no longer be part of the group but with his brother Duncan taking control of the vocals, UB40 return with another instalment of their Labour Of Love series. With 14 cover songs this is essentially the kind of album you spot in the bargain bucket of a motorway service station album. You're drawn in by the great artists mentioned on the cover only to find once you've set off on the long drive that actually you didn't look closely enough and it's all bland covers rather than the originals. The album includes covers of Smokey Robinson's Tracks Of My Tears, Sam Cooke's Bring It On Home To Me and Delroy Wilson's Close To Me tune. None of the covers come close to the quality of the original tunes and it will take a hardened UB40 fan to rate this album.

Rating: 4/10 (Review by Polly Weeks).

Talking Blackbird - 2010-02-06 9:19 AM

OOOOOhhhhh - That's my local paper - will have to look see if its in the actual paper - cause if it is , I can take it to work and let the animals shite on it cause by the rating its got and from what I've heard  thats all its good for

Polly....

Is Polly your professional name Ang?

What a load of crap!

There's no need to get Scherty?

UB40 were in the thick of the punk scene?

Really? Coz i swear, I've never seen Ali piss on the audience!

Ska, mid 70's?

I always thought that from the mid 70's it went......

Punk.

Then come John Travolta and The Bee Gees.. Followed hand in hand with Carl Douglas, coz everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting!

Then it was the 2Tone ska now i can see where you are coming from with the punk influence there. It's like attitude learning how to play bass! But UB40 only ever jumped on that train to reach a bigger audience, they wasn't really influenced by it......... I thought they were influenced mainly through reggae and motown?

Then came the "New romantics" Boys that wore make-up??

I didn't go that far, but did have my hair permed on top a few times!

Micky - I couldn't have put it better!  But I would have bored everyone to tears with 1981! Also bear in mind that there was a whole cultural difference between Birmingham and London at the time! While Birmingham was a cultural melting pot, the same was not true of London.

As a Coventry girl who knows some of the band members from the Specials I would have to disagree with the bit about UB40 having a lot to do with one of the Specials albums.  Which one are you refering to? UB40 and many of the 2-tone (and I'm using the term loosely with Madness, who weren't 2-tone for long) groups were good friends, playing similar music at the same time, and often shared a stage. I still don't see UB40 in the thick of what was happening on the punk scene.  They were completely unique, musically and philosophically.  I didn't say they didn't look favourably on Ska - but they didn't view it as a step forward musically. Once again, welcome Karl!

Thanks Karl - I will have a listen to it.  I only have the original albums.

The 1970's were very tribal and heavy metal had a big following in the late 1970's.  Birmingham is Britain's second City, and punk arrived in Brum at pretty much the same time as it emerged in the south of England. Don't get me started Karl  - I'm a boring historian and I'll send you to sleep! and it's still the middle of the day for you!

Having arguments with yourself is the 1st sign of madness!

There certainly is, have you seen it as well?

And are you seriously attempting to tell me what i can and can not post?

So you don't like the emoticons? Well it's tough then, coz i do!

People can post whatever they like, even if it's a plug for LOL4!

I can see you are a fan of American TV? Or you are the only Kiwi that say's "Enough Already"

Unless for every Englishman in New York, there's an American in Dunedin?

Crack a smile. It won't break your face!