The Specials – Too Much Too Young

I love ‘Gangsters’ by the specials, it’s a great song. But I think by far their most powerful song is Too Much Too Young.
The original studio album version is instantly forgettable, but the version we all know and love (which sounds like a live recording played at double speed) is just breathtaking.

I’ve always been a rocker, and whenever I think about ‘energy’ in songs I instantly start comparing things to ‘System Of A Down – Toxicity’ or ‘ACDC – Let There Be Rock’ or ‘Slayer – Angel Of Death’. But periodically you’ll get songs in other genres that have the same adreneline releasing properties.
Cases in point might be ‘The Prodigy – Firestarter’ for example.

Too Much Too Young is the Ska equivalent of Toxicity or Firestarter. From the opening drum fill to the ending ‘CAP!! CAP CAp Cap cap…’ it’s just an onslaught.

It’s a Ska masterclass.. a tour de force… It’s just ‘right’.
The lyrics (see below) are a punch to the nose. The tempo is ridiculous, and the added percussion elements and shouted backing vocals make if feel like a punk crossover song.

Anyone who was a teenager in the 80’s has a gut reaction to hearing this song played live. It’s like an electric shock. A heady mixture of nostalgia and amphetamines.

Lyrics

Very much ‘of its time’, this is a song about the virtues of birth control.
The lyrics are pretty brutal and seem in modern times to be borderline misogynistic. But without doubt this song had a massive impact on girls in the 80’s, and I’m going to suggest it was a positive one.
The Specials in fact were incredibly influential, think what impact “Free Nelson Mandela” had. Bands today are just politically vapid by comparison.

It’s pretty on the nose, the message is delivered over and over again : “You’re much to much, much to young, you’re married with a kid when you could be having fun with me” (one assumes this is the royal ‘me’, as in ‘like any young non-parent’).
This message is hammered further home by the continuous interjection of various affirmations delivered in deepest patois by the backing singers : “Gi way de birth can-tro-wal, wi doan wan no pikni” etc.

At some point during the song one of the backing singers utters the phrase ‘you silly moo’. As in ‘you breed like a cow’. Which is not just borderline misogyny, it’s full on. I imagine they wish that wasn’t in there these days.

I do sometimes feel uncomfortable singing this song. I worry that young parents in the audience will take offence etc. But once the song gets hold of you, you loose any misgivings you had and just roll with it.
In fact there’s another song we used to do with a similar message ‘The Raconteurs – Steady As She Goes’ which I feel more uncomfortable with singing.

Anyway the lyrics to this song couldn’t be more direct. There’s no obfuscation. It’s not couched in prose, it’s just a simple stark message : Don’t get knocked up as a teenager.

Music

A masterclass. The bass line is just crazy.
Because The Specials have two guitarists, covering this song is not straightforward, especially if you’re singing it at the same time.
The hard part is the section (“it’s in your living room..” etc.) where the second guitar is wailing, and you’re trying to sing.

No idea of key, possibly G Major.
This would make the verses : V-I-IV-V
But the song uses the A (ii) as a kind of punctuation, making it more likely the song is in some other key where the A is a V etc.? Who knows, not me that’s for sure.

I think what makes this song is the seemingly random use of the piccolo snare drum, it’s just pure Ska.