Just as Punk was catching its second wind in Britain, and Ska was becoming a quickly fading memory, the Specials arose -- not quite like a phoenix from the ashes but as rude boys from yesteryear -- to blend the sounds of England's present and Jamaica's past. What they did, essentially, was give Ska a swift kick in the pants, hurrying its mellow rhythms just so, while leaving its horns and humor intact. While resurrecting Ska was hardly revolutionary, the band's multi-racial scope w...  [+]