I Just Can't Stop It

I Just Can't Stop It is the debut album by UK 2 tone band the Beat. The album was released in 1980 via Go Feet Records in the UK. It was released the same year in the US on Sire Records under the band name "The English Beat".

I Just Can't Stop It
Studio album by
the Beat
ReleasedMay 1980
GenreSka, 2 tone, new wave
Length36:24
LabelGo Feet (original UK release)
Sire (original US release)
I.R.S. (US CD reissue)
Edsel (2012 UK CD reissue)
Shout! Factory (2012 US CD Reissue)
ProducerBob Sargeant
The Beat chronology
I Just Can't Stop It
(1980)		 Wha'ppen?
(1981)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]
Smash Hits9/10[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10[5]

Well received from the start, publications such as Rolling Stone raved that the music was "wild and threatening, sexy and sharp."[6] AllMusic later said "[it] was a stunning achievement", which has been undiminished by time.[1]

The song "Mirror in the Bathroom" featured in the films Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) and in RocknRolla (2008), while the song "Hands Off...She's Mine" featured in the film 50 First Dates (2004).

Accolades

At the end of 1980, I Just Can't Stop It appeared in numerous lists of the greatest albums of the year: NME ranked it 3rd,[7] Sounds ranked it 13th, The Village Voice ranked it 21st and OOR ranked it 41st.[8] In 1995, Spin ranked the album at number 94 in their list of the top "100 Alternative Albums".[8] Fast 'n' Bulbous ranked the album at number 283 in their list of "The 500 Best Albums Since 1965".[9] A 2002 poll of KCPR DJs ranked it at number 40 in their list of the "Top 100 Records of the 80s".[8] Les Inrockuptibles included it in their list of "50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll."[8] Music journalist Simon Reynolds lists it as one of the five most important albums of "2-Tone and the Ska Resurrection" in his 2005 book Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984.[10]

"Mirror in the Bathroom" was ranked at number 3 in the NME "Singles of the Year" list and at number 24 in Sounds' "Singles of the Year" list.[11] In 2003, Q ranked the song at number 517 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".[12] In 2002, Gary Mulholland included the song in his list This is Uncool: The 500 Best Singles Since Punk Rock.[11] In 2001, Michaelangelo Matos included it in his list of "The Top 100 Singles of the 80s."[11] In 2006, 97x ranked it at number 186 in their list of "The 500 Best Modern Rock Songs of All Time."[11] In 1990, Robert Christgau ranked "Twist and Crawl" at number 10 in his list of the best songs of the 1980s.[13]

Artwork

The 'Beat Girl' icon seen on the cover, and used on the band's merchandising, was designed by Birmingham-based cartoonist Hunt Emerson.[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Beat (Saxa, Andy Cox, David Steele, Everett Morton, Ranking Roger and Dave Wakeling),[15] except where noted.

Original UK release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mirror in the Bathroom" 3:10
2."Hands Off...She's Mine" 3:01
3."Two Swords" 2:19
4."Twist & Crawl"The Beat, Les Bradsell2:35
5."Rough Rider"Eddy Grant, Patrick Grant, Dervan Gordon, Lincoln Gordon; originally performed by Prince Buster & the All Stars4:53
6."Click Click" 1:28
7."Big Shot" 2:34
8."Whine and Grine/Stand Down Margaret""Whine and Grine" written by Prince Buster and originally performed by Prince Buster & the All Stars3:51
9."Noise in This World" 2:19
10."Can't Get Used to Losing You"Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman; originally performed by Andy Williams3:04
11."Best Friend" 3:01
12."Jackpot"George Agard, Sydney Crooks, Jackie Robinson; originally performed by The Pioneers4:19

The U.S. LP release of the album on Sire Records added "Tears of a Clown" and "Ranking Full Stop", originally released as double A-sides of a single on 2 Tone Records in 1979 (TT 6).[15] These tracks remained on subsequent compact disc reissues of the album.[15]

U.S. LP release and compact disc reissues
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mirror in the Bathroom" 3:10
2."Hands Off...She's Mine" 3:01
3."Two Swords" 2:19
4."Twist & Crawl"The Beat, Les Bradsell2:35
5."Tears of a Clown"Henry Cosby, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson; originally performed by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles; from 1979 double A-side single2:39
6."Rough Rider"Eddy Grant, Patrick Grant, Dervan Gordon, Lincoln Gordon; originally performed by Prince Buster & the All Stars4:53
7."Click Click" 1:28
8."Ranking Full Stop" (from 1979 double A-side single) 2:44
9."Big Shot" 2:34
10."Whine and Grine/Stand Down Margaret""Whine and Grine" written by Prince Buster and originally performed by Prince Buster & the All Stars3:51
11."Noise in This World" 2:19
12."Can't Get Used to Losing You"Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman; originally performed by Andy Williams3:04
13."Best Friend" 3:01
14."Jackpot"George Agard, Sydney Crooks, Jackie Robinson; originally performed by The Pioneers4:19

Personnel
The Beat
Technical personnel

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1980 Billboard 200 142[16]
1980 UK Album Chart 3[1]

References
  1. Greene, Jo-Ann. "I Just Can't Stop It – The English Beat". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2004.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1990). "The English Beat: I Just Can't Stop It". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  3. Considine, J. D. (2004). "English Beat". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). London: Fireside Books. pp. 277–278. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  4. Cranna, Ian. "The Beat: I Just Can't Stop It". Smash Hits (29 May – 11 June 1980): 30.
  5. Weisband, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  6. Rose, Frank (September 4, 1980). "The English Beat I Just Can't Stop It > Album Review". Rolling Stone (325). Archived from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
  7. "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  8. Acclaimed Music - I Just Can't Stop It
  9. Best Albums Since 1965 | Fast 'n' Bulbous
  10. Reynolds, Simon. Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. London: Faber & Faber, 2005. ISBN 0-571-21569-6
  11. Acclaimed Music - Mirror in the Bathroom
  12. Q - 1001 best songs ever (2003)
  13. Robert Christgau: Decade Personal Best: '80s
  14. "The Beat Girl - Noted Cartoonist Hunt Emerson Designs a 2-Tone Era Icon". Marco On The Bass. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  15. I Just Can't Stop It (CD liner notes). Los Angeles: Go-Feet Records/Shout! Factory. 2012. 826663-13177-B1.
  16. I Just Can't Stop It at AllMusic. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
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