All the Rage

I was a big fan of General Public,still am. Dave & Roger's harmonies were as good as anyone around and the lyrics often far too sharp for the casual listener. This album is well worth a listen for anyone into pure pop(with a hint of reggae thrown in!)-however I think the production lets the songs down a bit.I had a tape of the Radio One session they did shortly before the album (Hot You're Cool, As A Matter Of Fact and Burning Bright) and unfortunately the versions on All The Rage were not a patch on these. I also saw them live at the Coventry Apollo, where they blew The Style Council off the stage! The album is almost TOO polished, so you lose a lot of the dynamism of the bass legend Horace Panter, for example.All in all, well worth buying, to hear an excellent and criminally-ignored band, but it doesn't quite do them full justice.

Had the original years ago in vinyl form and in a dramatic clear out got rid of it. Big mistake. A huge fan of both The Beat and General Public, besides having the debut General Public, All The Rage having Tenderness, the highlight of the album, loved the video to match. Great band. Great music. Ahead of it's time.

Great

It's not The Beat, but not a bad album

Great album

In retrospect Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger breaking up The Beat on the cusp of success in America was not a great career move however in General Public they got to produce a more pop orientated reggae which still had a left wing edge. Assembling a band with ex-Specials Horace Panter on bass and ex-Dexy's Micky Billingham on keyboards and Stoker on drums they created the first New Wave super group, they even managed to secure the services of Mick Jones between service in The Clash and BAD.The album kicks off with two sensual and innuendo laced traces `Hot You're Cool' and second single `Tenderness' which possibly show the furthest point from The Beat compass they wished to go. `Anxious' borrows Aswad's brass section to create a song which would not have been out of place on The Beat's `Wha'ppen' and ballad `Never you Done That' which would have fitted nicely on `Special Beat Service'. Side one is closed nicely by the more hard edged `Burning Bright'.Side two starts us off with the trademark Wakeling paranoia of `As a Matter of Fact' and `Are you Leading me On?' before raising the bar with `Day-to-day' and `Where's the Line?' ending with the self titled theme song which was also the debut single.A good album which sounds slightly dated today and I cannot help but think it would have stood the test of time better had it been recorded by The Beat.

The Beat, to me at least, were one of the most under-rated bands of our time with some of the most uplifting ska music which, once combined with Dave Wakeling's ability to twist lyrics with double meanings and plenty of humour, meant you were always in for a treat.When The Beat split up I felt compelled to follow the careers of all involved and General Public, with both Wakeling and Ranking Roger from The Beat, and members formerly of The Specials and Dexy's, were for me the most mouth watering prospect. I bought this album on it's release day, loved it, and have played it countless times.Nearly twenty years after and to me it stands the test of time with ease. From the opening of Hot, You're Cool (with the obvious Wakeling sexual innuendo) through to the final track which is the self titled first single release you find yourself on a musical journey. Highlights include the anthemic Burning Bright, the wondeful Never You Done That and the US smash Tenderness ( I have never understood why GP flopped in the UK) This is a sublime album and I cannot praise the people involved enough.Buy It.

The Beat split in America during a high profile 1983 support tour with David Bowie. Vocalist Dave Wakeling and toaster Ranking Roger returned the following year with General Public.General Public were a nice little pop group. Not a patch on the lovely (and criminally underrated) Beat but quite nice, none the less. Unfortunately ...All The Rage and the follow-up LP, Hand To Mouth, made little impact on the UK Charts. General Public (just like late-period Beat) were, surprisingly, better received in the States.Former Beat members David Cox & Andy Steele were to enjoy the last laugh though. In the ashes of The Beat, they hooked up with a very talented vocalist named Roland Gift and formed The Fine Young Cannibals. Fans of The Beat would be wise to get a hold of the Fine Young Cannibals terrific 1985 (self-titled) debut album.Their 1989 follow-up LP, The Raw & The Cooked, went on to sell more copies than every Beat & General Public album combined!