In 1964, Jamaican singer Prince Buster released a single called Al Capone and cashed in on the fascination Jamaican society had at the time with the famous gangster and American gangster and outlaw films in general. Fifteen years later, British group the Specials, aka The Special AKA, took parts of that song and turned it into a hit single called Gangsters.
Prince Buster's song opened with squealing tires and a voice saying Al Capone guns don't argue. In the opening seconds of Gangsters, we hear the same squealing tires, and one of The Specials says Bernie Rhodes knows don't argue, a reference to their former manager. Musically, the opening 0:12 of Gangsters is a main motif from Al Capone.
The vocals are covered in a shadowy reverb that heightens the gloom that one who is living in gangster time would feel, a world of tapped phones, false accusations, and people who use the law to commit crime. The music bounds along as somberly as it can on a typically upbeat ska rhythm. Here and there, between the words, little guitar and organ licks dance like a coven of doom around a bonfire. At 1:18 the guitar takes an extended solo. I hear shades of Joe Meek in Gangsters, like Night of the Vampire or Johnny Remember Me. I think he would have liked this song.
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