{"id":7348,"date":"2012-09-12T21:51:56","date_gmt":"2012-09-13T04:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=7348"},"modified":"2012-09-12T21:51:56","modified_gmt":"2012-09-13T04:51:56","slug":"the-english-beat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2012\/09\/the-english-beat\/","title":{"rendered":"THE ENGLISH BEAT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u00a0BOX SET\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

T<\/strong>HE ENGLISH BEAT\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The Complete Beat\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

[Shout! Factory]<\/p>\n

\n

The English Beat holds exalted status among fans who continue to cherish the late \u201970s British ska revival. During its all-too-brief career, the multi-ethnic ensemble churned out three brilliant albums that set the standard for their peers. The group hit the pavement running in 1979 with a flurry of frenetic, punk-tinged ska hits that were as sophisticated as they were fun. By 1983, just when it seemed poised to break big in America, the group called it quits. This five-CD box traces the English Beat\u2019s career in fine fashion. Three discs present the official studio albums, fleshed out with bonus tracks. Rounding out the set is a disc devoted to dub versions and extended mixes, and another that gathers live material from BBC radio sessions and a 1982 performance in Boston.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From start to finish, what emerges is a portrait of a band determined to keep evolving. Early tracks like a 1979 rendition of Smokey Robinson\u2019s \u201cTears of a Clown\u201d gradually give way to ratcheted-down tempos and darker moods, then toward sophisticated pop. Latter-day material like 1982\u2019s \u201cSave It for Later\u201d and \u201cI Confess\u201d seemed to point toward a glorious future, but it was not to be. Supplementing the set is a\u00a0photo-filled booklet featuring a lengthy essay chronicling the band\u2019s career and providing historical context. English Beat alumni went on to find post-breakup success in acts like Fine Young Cannibals and General Public, but those acts pale next to the shock and shimmer of the lightning captured\u00a0in this box. \u2013Russell Hall<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0BOX SET\u00a0 THE ENGLISH BEAT\u00a0 The Complete Beat\u00a0 [Shout! Factory] The English Beat holds exalted status among fans who continue to cherish the late \u201970s British ska revival. During its all-too-brief career, the multi-ethnic ensemble churned out three brilliant albums that set the standard for their peers. The group hit the pavement running in 1979 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[196,219,4779,4538,296,4778,4777],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7350,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7348\/revisions\/7350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}