Signing Off - UB40 CD

Rating

Album: Signing Off - UB40 CD
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Tyler	More Info...	0:06
2)	King	More Info...	0:04
3)	12 Bar	More Info...	0:04
4)	Burden of Shame	More Info...	0:06
5)	Adella	More Info...	0:03
6)	I Think It's Going to Rain Today	More Info...	0:03
7)	25%	More Info...	0:03
8)	Food for Thought	More Info...	0:04
9)	Little By Little	More Info...	0:03
10)	Signing Off	More Info...	0:04
11)	Madam Medusa	More Info...	0:13
12)	Strange Fruit	More Info...	0:04
13)	Reefer Madness	More Info...	0:05

Album: Signing Off - UB40 CD
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Tyler	More Info...	0:06
2)	King	More Info...	0:04
3)	12 Bar	More Info...	0:04
4)	Burden of Shame	More Info...	0:06
5)	Adella	More Info...	0:03
6)	I Think It's Going to Rain Today	More Info...	0:03
7)	25%	More Info...	0:03
8)	Food for Thought	More Info...	0:04
9)	Little By Little	More Info...	0:03
10)	Signing Off	More Info...	0:04
11)	Madam Medusa	More Info...	0:13
12)	Strange Fruit	More Info...	0:04
13)	Reefer Madness	More Info...	0:05

Performer Notes

Producers: Bob Lamb, UB40, Ray Pablo Falconer.
Personnel: Ali Campbell , Robin Campbell (vocals, guitar); Norman Hassan (vocals, congas, percussion); Michael Virtue (strings, organ, keyboards); Brian Travers (saxophone, tenor saxophone); James "Jimmy" Brown (drums).
Recording information: The Music Center.
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.

Professional Reviews

Q (6/00, p.62) - Ranked #83 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums"

Q (12/93, p.145) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...SIGNING OFF surfed along the 2-Tone wave with slowed down beats, anti-Thatcher rants, inspired cover versions and the vocal interplay of Robin and Ali Campbell. It sounds better than anything [UB40's] recorded since..."

Uncut (p.109) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he Campbell brothers were unusual, characterful and original songwriters, and SIGNING OFF reflects that."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.121) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his is flinty, political and Britain-focused reggae..."

Record Collector (magazine) (p.90) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]heir 1980 debut album remains one of the most articulate and important political statements in British popular music."