You might have seen this CD before and been miffed at the measly 17 tracks on offer, especially compared to the 50 track box sets that Trojan offer for less money, and so left it on the shelf. However, this CD is simply the best ska compilation I've ever seen, so go back to the shop and buy it! I'll tell you why you should:
This compilation contains original ska recorded at Brentford Road in the early sixties by the then-superstars of Jamaica, and the quality of the selection is awe-inspiring! As the house band, The Skatalites pretty much play on all of these tracks, with the artists forming a who's who of Jamaican music - Tommy McCook, Don Drummond, Jackie Mittoo and Roland Alphonso play in various arrangements alongside The Maytals, The Ethiopians, Delroy Wilson, Joe Higgs and The Wailers.
The scorching ska instrumentals - Exodus, Addis Ababa, The President, Beardsman Ska, Sampson, Freedom Sounds, Look Away Ska, El Bang Bang, Scamnelena and Cosmic, are some of the classiest, top drawer tunes you will find, with driving, pulsating rhythms and beautiful melodies, matched only by Prince Buster's All Stars (who were basically The Skatalites under a different name anyway!). These guys were the business.
The vocal tracks are even better though - "Marching On" by The Maytals and "I Want Justice" by Delroy Wilson are storming up-tempo belters, "I'm Gonna Take Over Now" by The Ethiopians is my favourite and a lovely downtempo melodic number, plus there's the weird-but-amazing "I'm the Song My Enemies Sing" by Joe Higgs. Tagged onto the end is "Your Wondering Now" as famously covered by The Specials on their debut LP (and more recently Amy Winehouse), which is simply a classic and ends the set well.
The tracks are pulled from all sorts of subsidiary labels of Studio One and contains some educated and inspired selections - whoever put together this album definitely knows their stuff! GET IT NOW!
if you like this album, check out the "Bonanza Ska" Studio One ska compilation, another absolutely essential album, and the Trojan Ska Box Sets ("Ska", "Ska Vol. 2", and "Ska Rarities"), plus the Prince Buster "King of Ska" CD.
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