90s Ska

Bad Manners - Viva La Ska Revolution (1998) {2CD Set, Recall–Snapper Music SMDCD140 rec 1980's}
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© 1980's, 1998 Recall Records / Snapper Music | SMD CD 140
Ska / Ska Revival / New Wave

Ska madmen Bad Manners make incredibly catchy, fun, and dance-friendly songs that epitomize the ska-pop movement in Britain. Recorded throughout the '80s, this collection is traditional in its approach, leaving out the punk influence that crept in through the decade. A few of the tracks are live, but for the most part this is taken from albums and singles with a bias toward their poppier material.

Various Artists - Deep Ska - 80 Original Ska Classics (1999) {4CD Set Proper Records PROPER BOX4}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 728 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 461 Mb
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© 1999 Proper Records | PROPER BOX4
Ska / Reggae / Rocksteady / Roots Reggae

This compilation should have been subtitled "Duke Reid: The Early Years," as the four-CD box set is drawn exclusively from the great producer's archives. Half the set, interestingly enough, comprises instrumentals, the great majority courtesy of the Skatalites, although Baba Brooks and Drumbago are also well represented. Even a few U.K. groups get to strut their stuff; the Pyramids, Rico Rodiguez' All Stars, and Blue Rivers & the Maroons all put in an appearance. And so boogies, big band swing, and R&B surge out from the grooves, as hit after instrumental classic stream by, interspersed by the vocal tracks.

Graduate was the ska youth group of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, who from 1982 would star in an important musical stage at the helm of Tears For Fears. Graduate were formed in bath in 1979 and took their name from the fact that they used to open their gigs with a cover version of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Mrs Robinson’ as featured in the sublime film ‘The Graduate’. The group consisted of John Baker, guitar and vocals; Steve Buck, keyboards and flautist; Andy Marsden, drums; Roland Orzabal, guitar and keyboards; Curt Smith, bass and synthesizers. It would appear that Curt was not an original member of the band. Roland, John and Andy were gigging around before the name Graduate was taken on.

If the hyped-up ska of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones is your thing, you're sure to also dig the Japanese group Kemuri. Their debut full-length, Little Plaything, is a supercharged explosion of fast drumming, horn bursts, and guitar playing that alternates equally between distorted metal and clean ska. Their lyrics deal with the usual alterna-ska themes that the Bosstones, Sublime, etc., have touched upon, such as working hard at a nowhere job ("Workin' Dayz") and keeping a P.M.A. – which means positive mental attitude – throughout life's trials and tribulations (the opening "New Generation"). The album does successfully convey the party-out-of-control atmosphere of today's ska movement, as evidenced on "Rainy Saturday," "Knockin' on the Door," and "Prayer," while "Don't Know" sounds quite a bit like early Fishbone. But not all of Little Plaything hits the mark, especially the annoyingly clichéd introduction to the above-mentioned track "Workin' Dayz," which features a Valley Girl doing her usual trademark spiel. But at the very least, Kemuri's Little Plaything is equal to the majority of the ska-laced alternative that ruled MTV and the radio airwaves in 1997.

Zoot Suit Riot: The Swingin' Hits of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies is a compilation album and fourth album overall by American ska-swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on March 18, 1997 on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. The album is a collection of all of the swing-styled songs culled from the Daddies' first three ska punk-oriented albums, plus four bonus tracks recorded exclusively for this release. After a successful independent release in early 1997, Zoot Suit Riot was re-issued and nationally distributed by major label subsidiary Mojo Records following the Daddies' subsequent signing to the label. By early 1998, regular radio airplay of the album's eponymous single helped propel Zoot Suit Riot to the top of Billboard's Top Heatseekers, eventually becoming the first "new swing" album to enter the Billboard Top 40 and serving as the catalyst for the short-lived swing revival of the late 1990s.

First released on vinyl on their own Blue Beat label back in 1984, the Blue Beat Party album is the definitive 'Aussie' ska album, with Strange Tenants giving their fans what they wanted - up tempo songs to skank to. Full of classic ska tracks, exhibiting their brilliant song-writing and musicianship, the Blue Beat Party album has become an iconic album in the history of Australian ska. Now in digital form, the world has a chance to share the power ska sound that is Strange Tenants.