lookin for some ska

RayW

RayW

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I really dig me some ska so help me expand my horizons. I've got some Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, Fishbone, older Madness (One Step Beyond), Specials, and a couple of songs from the Toasters and MU330. Being a Christian type I really love the OC Supertones. I'm sure I've got more but just can't think of it right now.

So, what else should I be looking at?

Thanks!
 
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If you dig "The Specials," a "second wave" Ska band, you should also consider "The Selecter" and other "two-tone" bands like "The (English) Beat." The latter's cover of Andy Williams' "Can't Get Used to Losing You" is swell.

You should also explore the "first wave" of Ska. Desmond Dekker is aces and most anything by Lee Perry from that era is great. "The Upsetter Selection - A Lee Perry Jukebox" is a great primer.

The Trojan box sets are always fun, but don't expect high-fidelity. The "Skinhead Reggae" box set has 50 classics.

Ken
 
Should have thought about The English Beat having "Mirror in the Bathroom" from the Grosse Point Blank soundtrack. I've also got a couple songs from the Itals (saw them live back in college) and the Scofflaws ("Nude Beach" is a masterpiece!) from a sample a friend gave me a long time ago.
 
KeninDC said:
Oh yeah. The "Harder They Come" soundtrack is classic.
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:thmbsp: My good buddy Onepixel just set me up with the LP. I've had it on cassette for years but haven't listened to it because I didn't bother setting up a deck.
 
Skatellites, Skankin' Pickle, Steel Pulse... there are several good comps out there, great ways to find new bands in a hurry.
 
Toots & the Maytals "Funky Kingston" is another fantastic album. The cover of John Denver's "Country Roads" is a summer BBQ standard.
 
There are a bunch of ska collection albums that are good. Ska Madness, ohh damn I have to run through albums to check. First wave ska: need some Ska-talites. They and members of their band are the origins of ska. The NY Citizens are another very early, very good 3rd wave ska band. As someone mentioned, do need some 2nd wave also known as the Two Tone wave as well. I'll dig around and be back in a bit. Maxi Taxi did a oddly flavored ska album as well.

Oh a bit of trivia, Elvis Costello did a single (with b-side) on Two-tone records during this time period. Girl Talk I think was the b-side and trying to remember the a-side.

Another bit of trivia: when it comes to ska music, triple check the album cover and album label with what is on the album. I have never seen so many incorrectly labeled albums as in my ska collection. Some early versions of The Original Ska-talites are very badly labeled.
 
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For me, the only Ska there is is the original Jamaican ska from the 60's. The group The Skatalites invented the form taking aspects of island mento (which fused African rhythms with European melodies) and American soul and jazz. So look for some Skatalites or any Ska collection on Trojan records and you can't go wrong.


Impedance suggested Steel Pulse. But they didn't come around until Ska evolved through many stages to become reggae, so they are a reggae band, not ska.

Toots and the Maytals blur the line a little more, having put out music beginning when it was ska, but keeping up as it evolved into rock steady, then eventually reggae. Funky Kingston is definately a reggae album, and not ska either. The soundtrack to Harder They Come straddles between rock steady and reggae with no ska to be found.

I know these musics can all kinda sound the same, but there are differences once you get into it.

Personally, I really love the rock steady period and the 2-CD collection "Duke Reid's Treasure Chest: Treasure Isle Rock Steady" is one of the best CDs money can buy.

:yes:

Never cared much for what the kids from London and Boston did with the form in more recent decades. --took the funkiness out of it IYAM
 
Skankin Pickle, Mustard Plug, Mad Caddies

A ska/punk style album you should already own is Operation Ivy - Energy

I've got the Skankin Pickle "Green Album" on vinyl and it's kind of cool because it's all covers. Their version of Devo's "Gates of Steel" isnt half bad.
The OpIv "Energy" album is climbing in price because a lot of bands are getting their tapes back from Lookout Records (i.e.-Rancid, Green Day, etc)
 
Look for a copy of the first Ska LP, 'The Real Jamaica Ska," released in the US in 1964, to tie in with the first US performances of Ska at the World's Fair. It compiles a number of Ska singles, including some Jimmy Cliff sides,and has been reissued on CD by Epic if you can't track down the original vinyl.
 
Desmond Dekker and Jackie Mittoo for the real ska. Then come back and laugh at some of these suggestions. Mustard Plug...that's not it. Perhaps the first wave, but be leary of bands who wish to emulate the copy, and not the real deal. You must travel to the source Frodo.
 
Brett a said:
For me, the only Ska there is is the original Jamaican ska from the 60's.

Personally, I really love the rock steady period and the 2-CD collection "Duke Reid's Treasure Chest: Treasure Isle Rock Steady" is one of the best CDs money can buy.
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You're a bit didactic today with your ska demarcations, Brett, although I appreciate your purist attitude. I was lumping ska/rocksteady/and early reggae into the same blended "ska" stash bag.

The Maytals and Desmond Dekker were, at one time, ska bands and even their later "reggay" reeks of ska rather than the roots/rock reggae popularized by Bob Marley. Different, danceable vibe, ska is.

My fast and loose labels aside, I agree that Steel Pulse is not ska.

I'm partial to the "second wave" since the Specials, etc. got me into the original (and pure) ska from the 60s. Kind of like how the Rolling Stones got me into the blues even though they were, technically, a "rock & roll" band.

Ken
 
For the record, I'm not a purist at all. I'm not really interested in what labels might be attached to any group, album, or period. I tend to think in terms of 2 types of music...that which I like and that which I don't. I'm just wanting to find some more music I like.

I know I have at least one Toots and the Maytals disc and need to pick up some Desmond Dekker. However, I also like some of the 3rd generation stuff (see the OP, Bosstones, Reel Big Fish). I'm not trying to compile a definitive collection of a rigidly defined genre. Just want to enjoy the tunes.
 
I'm not a purist either but prefer early ska, especially Ska-ta-lites :music:
Their "Stretching Out" two record album is available on CD and LP (if you can find it). Scandal Ska is an excellent compilation available on CD and LP (if your lucky) with early ska recordings by Don Drummond, Bob Marley, Desmond Dekker, Jimmy Cliff, Laurel Aitken, Ernest Ranglin, Roland Alphonso, and others. "Judge Not" on this album is Bob Marley's first recording done ~1961. Another series on CD I like is Top Sounds from Top Deck. I think there are 8 CDs in the series but I only have a couple.

Roger
 
Streetlight Manifesto - Everything Goes Numb (2003)
Coincidentally, I just played this earlier for the first time in months. I used to play it all the time. It's a great album.

streetlightmanifestoeverythinggoesnumb20033.jpg
 
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