The Youth of Today

The Youth of Today
Studio album by Musical Youth
Released October 1982
Genre Reggae
Label MCA
Producer Peter Collins
Musical Youth chronology

The Youth of Today
(1982)		 Different Style!
(1983)

The Youth of Today is the first album from the musical group Musical Youth, released in 1982. The album includes the #1 UK hit "Pass the Dutchie" which also hit number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Background

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Reggae Reviews [2]

The album was released shortly after the success of "Pass the Dutchie", which is the album's opening song. The Youth of Today contains twelve reggae tracks, written by Freddie Waite and Musical Youth themselves, and produced by Peter Collins. Some subsequent releases omitted "Gone Straight" and "Rub 'n' Dub", and had the rest of the tracks in a re-arranged order. The album included a colourful comic story on its inner sleeve, designed by Lon Goddard, as well as a big Musical Youth poster. The cover photograph is credited to Eric Watson.

"Pass the Dutchie" was the album's lead single, released to great commercial success. It scored a number one position in no less than five countries and earned a Grammy Award nomination. A rapid follow-up, "Youth of Today", was released at the end of 1982 and achieved respectable chart success. The third single, "Never Gonna Give You Up", released in early 1983, became the band's second biggest hit in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The album's fourth and final single, "Heartbreaker", didn't fare as well and charted only in the UK, outside the top 40.

The Youth of Today was released to positive reviews and commercial success. It peaked at number 24 in the United Kingdom and number 23 in the United States. It fared much better in France and Canada, where it peaked at number 13 and number 8 respectively. The album was certified Gold in both the UK and Canada.

Track listing

Full LP release

Side A
  1. "Pass the Dutchie" (Freddie Waite) - 3:25
  2. "Heartbreaker" (Freddie Waite) - 3:45
  3. "Gone Straight" (Freddie Waite) - 3:08
  4. "Blind Boy" (Musical Youth) - 3:50
  5. "Rockers" (Musical Youth) - 3:00
  6. "Youth of Today" (Musical Youth/Freddie Waite) - 2:56
Side B
  1. "Young Generations" (Musical Youth) - 3:20
  2. "Mirror Mirror" (Freddie Waite) - 3:50
  3. "Children of Zion" (Musical Youth/Freddie Waite) - 3:00
  4. "Never Gonna Give You Up" (Musical Youth/Freddie Waite) - 3:00
  5. "Rub 'n' Dub" (Musical Youth) - 3:50
  6. "Schoolgirl" (Musical Youth) - 3:20

Abridged MC release

Side A
  1. "Pass the Dutchie" (Freddie Waite) - 3:25
  2. "Children of Zion" (Musical Youth/Freddie Waite) - 3:00
  3. "Blind Boy" (Musical Youth) - 3:50
  4. "Rockers" (Musical Youth) - 3:00
  5. "Youth of Today" (Musical Youth/Freddie Waite) - 2:56
Side B
  1. "Young Generations" (Musical Youth) - 3:20
  2. "Mirror Mirror" (Freddie Waite) - 3:50
  3. "Heartbreaker" (Freddie Waite) - 3:45
  4. "Never Gonna Give You Up" (Musical Youth/Freddie Waite) - 3:00
  5. "Schoolgirl" (Musical Youth) - 3:20

Personnel

Commercial reception

Chart performance

Chart Peak
position
United Kingdom[3] 1
Canada[4] 8
France[5] 13
Netherlands[6] 23
New Zealand[7] 42
United States[8] 23
United States (Top R&B/Black Albums)[8] 11

Certifications and sales

Country Certification
United Kingdom[9] Gold (+100,000)
Canada[10] Gold (+50,000)

References

  1. ↑ Jo-Ann Greene. "The Youth of Today - Musical Youth". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  2. ↑ "Reggae Reviews: Musical Youth". www.reggae-reviews.com. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  3. ↑ "Chart Stats - Musical Youth". www.chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  4. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". www.collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
  5. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste". www.infodisc.fr (in French). Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  6. ↑ "Discografie Musical Youth". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  7. ↑ "Discography Musical Youth". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Musical Youth". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  9. ↑ "Certified Awards Search". www.bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
  10. ↑ "Gold and Platinum Search". www.musiccanada.com. Retrieved 2012-03-19.

External links