The results of this collaborative effort are spectacular. Carry Me Home is a triumphant reimagining of Scott-Heron and Jackson's indelible and indispensable songs (beautiful Trojan Horse-like music delivering devastatingly pointed lyrics into listeners' minds) as soulful reggae cuts in the vein of The Wailers, Steel Pulse, and Black Uhuru. The album is essentially bookended by two of their most powerful and--yes--still disturbingly relevant songs, Scott-Heron's "Home Is Where the Hatred Is" and Scott-Heron and Jackson's "Winter in America." A metaphor for a dysfunctional and cruel society (America, writ large) that forces many of its people to seek escape by any means necessary, "Home Is Where the Hatred Is" (from 1971's Pieces of a Man) is heartbreaking in the mass suffering and wasted potential that it hints at. This is what happens when a nation decides that Black lives don't really matter:
"Home is where the hatred is
Home is filled with pain and it
Might not be such a bad idea if I never
Never went home again...
...Home is where I live inside my white powder dreams
Home was once an empty vacuum that's filled now with my silent screams
Home is where the needle marks
Tried to heal my broken heart..."
Puma Ptah's vocals are filled with so much sorrow on this track--and his singing is highly evocative and affecting throughout this album (as if he's channeling the unheard music of so many singers).
In the waning days of the disastrous Trump years, when racism, corruption, incompetence, cruelty, cronyism, inequity, lies, Covid-19, and outright sedition (I still can't believe that there was an out-in-the-open attempted coup by a sitting president abetted by the majority of Republicans in both houses of Congress!) have run wild and nothing good and right seems to matter, Scott-Heron and Jackson's mournful "Winter in America" (from their 1975 album Midnight Band: The First Minute of a New Day) feels uncomfortably prescient:
"And now it's winter
Winter in America
And all of the healers done been killed or sent away
Yeah, and the people know, the people know
It's winter
Winter in America
And ain't nobody fighting
‘Cause nobody knows what to save"
Augustus Pablo's wonderfully gifted son Addis Pablo contributes melodica to the Dennis Bovell-sounding (and "Rivers of Babylon"-like themed) "Rivers of My Fathers" (from Scott-Heron and Jackson's 1974 album Winter in America): "Rubber soles against the concrete/And the concrete is my smile/Got to change my way of living/Got to change my style/Let me lay down by a stream/Miles from everything/Rivers of my fathers/Could you carry me home?" "Peace Go with You, Brother (As-Salaam-Alaikum)" (also from Winter in America) is plea for Black solidarity in the face of oppression. The toll of America's still unresolved legacy of slavery and racism on generations of Black Americans is pointedly raised on the plaintive "Who'll Pay Reparations on My Soul" (from Scott-Heron's 1970 album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox). Reworked in an awesome Lovers rock style, with impassioned vocals by Raheem Devaughn, "A Toast to the People" (from Scott-Heron and Jackson's 1975 album From South Africa to South Carolina) recognizes the awful burden and struggle Black Americans have faced, but is also hopeful that someday things will be better:
"And though it's been too long
Too many years have passed
And though the time has gone
The memory still holds fast
Yes, as strange as it seems
We still live in the past
The essence of a black life
Lost in the hourglass
And ever since we came to this land
This country has rued the day
When we would stand as one
And raise our voices and say
You know there won’t be no more killing
And no more talk of class
Your sons and your daughters
Won't die in the hourglass...
...A toast to all black fathers
Who live their lives in vain
A toast to all black mothers
Who shoulder this life in pain
A toast to the people"
With its sweet harmonizing and great, off-kilter percussive elements, the highlight of the album is "Must Be Something" (from their 1975 album Midnight Band: The First Minute of a New Day)--which brings Fishbone's "One Day" (from their 1988 record Truth and Soul) to this reviewer's mind, as they're both about Black Americans living in a kind of limbo, since there's no clear answer as to how or when racial injustice will end (and it's not necessarily their responsibility to solve the problem, either): "Must be something we can do/We didn't come all this way just to give up/We didn't struggle all this time to say we've had enough."
One missed opportunity is "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (from 1971's Pieces of A Man), Scott-Heron's truly groundbreaking musical poem that, in addition to the work of of The Last Poets and the deejay style of toasting in dancehall reggae, helped give birth to rap and hip-hop later that decade (via the JA-born, Bronx-raised DJ Kool Herc). Perhaps all of the dated early '70s references (John Mitchell, Spiro Agnew, Hooterville Junction, etc.) led Burke and company to opt for the mostly instrumental route here, but it would have been fantastic if they'd asked a guest musician (like Horseman AKA Winston Williams) to toast the original text, which is so funny and potent in its urging Black Americans to get involved in the struggle for racial equality, since change will not be brought about by the powers that be and sponsored by corporations for broadcast on TV. And if listeners didn't get some of the political, pop culture, and product references, they should look 'em up! (One stanza from the original that now chills one to the bone is: "There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay." How times have changed.)
There are two excellent dub versions of "Home is Where the Hatred Is" and "Rivers of My Fathers," as well as the terrific "Revolution Disguised as Change," penned by reggae poet/musician Mutabaruka (who performs on this song) and Burke, and lyrically inspired by "Winter in America" and "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"--the chorus reminds the listener that even though some progress has been made in the fight for racial equality, "It's not quite spring yet..." While I'm not well-versed in all of Gil Scott-Heron's music, with at least two business tycoons operating their own space programs (and NASA working on sending people to Mars), it would have been great if The Archives could have included a version of Scott-Heron's biting "Whitey on the Moon."
The Archives' Carry Me Home: A Reggae Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson is a stellar tribute to Scott-Heron and Jackson's extraordinary musical legacy, and one of the best albums I've heard all year.
In Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton's "Reggae: The Rough Guide," they declare that Perry's 1976 dub album Super Ape was "one of the most progressive and imaginative sets of its time...Those who dismissed it for being over-produced missed the point entirely" (they also included it in their "Reggae: 100 Essential CDs," noting that "Super Ape, which together with the Congos' Heart of the Congos represents the fullest single album realization of the producer's unique vision"); and reggae reviewer/historian/selector David Katz called it "a veritable tour-de-force of Upsetter wizardry." In other words, Super Ape is one of Scratch's masterpieces (created at his legendary Black Ark studio, along with extraordinary roots classics like Heart the Congos, Max Romeo's War Ina Babylon, The Heptones’ Party Time, and Junior Murvin’s Police and Thieves)--which begs the question, why re-record it (and risk creating something inferior)? When the Jamaica Gleaner recently posed this question to Perry, he answered: "Well, my music comes from God. Me nah copy no man. Me listen to nature and the sounds of nature are God's music. So, my music is God's music and it will never get old and it will never die." (Ah...got it.)
Of course, before reviewing Super Ape Returns to Conquer, I pulled out my copy of The Upsetters' Super Ape to refresh my memory of the original tracks and compare them to the new takes on this material. What was truly revolutionary in the evolution of dub in 1976 still sounds brilliant and unearthly in 2017, yet also a bit tamer than expected, since both Perry and dub have progressed in all sorts of incredible ways in the 40 years since. After listening to both albums, it's clear that Super Ape Returns to Conquer is in no way an attempt at a note-for note/effect-for-effect recreation of the original (even the running order is jumbled)--it's simply a fresh and inspired interpretation of these tracks from this vantage point in time, experience, and technology.
Partially recorded at Perry's New Ark in JA and co-produced by Subatomic Sound System's Emch (who also played melodica, guitar, bass, keys, beats, and effects), the album features Subatomic Sound System members (who have backed Perry live since 2010) Larry McDonald (congas, percussions, vocals), Screechy Dan (vocals), Jahdan Blakkamoore (vocals), Omar Little (trumpet, cornet), Tory Shaka Simms (sax), and, of course, Perry on vocals and at the controls--these shimmering new recordings bring a clarity, expansiveness, depth, and sheer amped-up power to the often mesmerizing versions of these familiar songs, while maintaining the organic warmth and sonic inventiveness one expects of Scratch ("So It Conquer," a short new song apparently recorded live in concert, has the sound of ocean waves in the mix!). Everything sounds terrific--"Zion's Blood" (which still uses The Heptones' vocal track), "Chase the Devil," "War Ina Babylon" (Max Romeo appears on tape here, too, methinks), "Super Ape," "Underground Roots" (with Ari Up of The Slits in what must be one of her last recordings), "Dub Along," and "Three in One" all absolutely shine in their new iterations (and the album includes dubs of some of the vocal tracks--"Croaking Lizard," "Black Vest," and "Dread Lion" in particular are incredible).
So, while Super Ape Returns to Conquer may not be as historic or groundbreaking as its source, it comes mighty close to being its equal and is definitely a vital new entry in Perry's astounding body of work.
As part of its "Sound and Vision 2015" series, the Film Society of Lincoln Center screened two ska-themed films on August 3, 2015: Brad Klein's"Legends of Ska: Cool and Copasetic" and Julien Temple's Madness concert film "The Liberty of Norton Folgate" (Temple, of course, is responsible for "The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle," "The Filth and the Fury," and "The Future is Unwritten," amongst other music-related movies.) While I wasn't able to to attend "Legends of Ska," I was lucky to have caught the amazing "The Liberty of Norton Folgate," which was shown later that evening. When I arrived in the theatre lobby, there was still a big crowd talking and taking pictures with reggae percussionist Larry McDonald (Carlos Malcolm, Toots and the Maytals, The Skatalites, Gil Scott-Heron, Peter Tosh) and reggae producer Clive Chin (Augustus Pablo, Lee Perry, Black Uhuru, Dennis Brown, Junior Byles)--and director Brad Klein was chatting up fans while signing "Legends of Ska" posters (after "Legends of Ska," there had been a Q and A session with Klein and McDonald).
Word of mouth, largely via a grassroots Facebook campaign of sorts amongst NYC ska fans, had effectively promoted "Legends of Ska" (it's how I learned of the screening). But there had been practically no publicity for either film in the local mainstream press--I accidentally discovered "The Liberty of Norton Folgate" screening on the FSLC website while looking for "Legends of Ska." (A quick Google search resulted in practically no listings in the local press for these films or this series.) There are probably thousands of Madness fans in the NYC metro area--but it appears that there was no significant effort to reach out to them. There were only six or seven people--including my son and me--in the theatre for "The Liberty of Norton Folgate." And that was a real shame; this excellent movie deserved a much bigger audience for what must have been its New York City (or even American?) premiere.
"The Liberty of Norton Folgate" captures Madness performing its phenomenal concept album of the same name at The Hackney Empire in 2009. It's kind of heady stuff, but it's vital to have an understanding of the album before delving in to the film. Here's what I wrote about the theme of The Liberty of Norton Folgate a few years ago for Ready Steady Ska:
"Just as New York City’s incredible diversity and social/political liberal traditions came about due to the fact that she was the point of entry for successive waves of immigrants for decades, the liberty that people enjoyed for centuries in Norton Folgate is due to the history of its unique geographical place.
The Liberty of Norton Folgate is, as Suggs writes in his extensive liner notes for the album, "a travel song in one place…about one small area of London—gets the x-ray camera out and shoots down through the crust, past the bullets and bones, the clay pipes and stones to try and get to the soul of the place." It focuses on an area that sprang up outside the old London city walls (originally a garbage dump) in the 1100s that first served as a point of entry for immigrants and outsiders. It eventually developed into an unofficial town with its own laws and conventions apart from those of London proper. By the 1700s, London had encompassed Norton Folgate, but it remained independent of London (hence, "the liberty of"), run by a group of trustees, and was home to generations of immigrants, as well as a "refuge for actors, writers, thinkers, louts, lowlifes and libertines, outsiders and troublemakers all," in Suggs’ words.
Norton Folgate was a place that fostered freedom, diversity, and tolerance despite—or more likely because—its reputation as a place of ill repute. It was society’s receptacle for outsiders. And at that point proper London society couldn’t be bothered with enforcing its conventions on Norton Folgate’s citizens. This is what fascinated Suggs and the band—that "certain areas seem to retain their distinct personality through centuries of time and the passing of generations’ different peoples.""
During the concert, to help provide both a taste of, and connection to, Norton Folgate's past (The Hackney Empire, a music hall theatre built in 1901, is located near Norton Folgate, which is now part of the Stepney neighborhood of London)--and to emphasize how a place's history influences the present day residents of the area--actors in 19th century garb were present throughout the theatre as Victorian-era music hall performers (the British equivalent of American vaudeville or burlesque performers). At first, they're heckling the band and audience between songs, but gradually they're integrated into Madness' performance, so that by the time Madness plays the song "The Liberty of Norton Folgate," one of them is playing the bass drum, many of them are dancing on stage with the band, etc. (It's important to note that throughout their career, Madness have incorporated elements of the British working class music hall into their songs and performances--and for this concert they're overtly displaying their connection to that tradition.)
In addition, Suggs and Carl (AKA Chas Smash, born Cathal Smyth) introduce each song through these strange, amusing, sometimes cryptic, and highly theatrical spoken-word bits (written by Smyth) that evoke the London of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, then Karl Marx and Jack the Ripper, and were shot in various spots in Norton Folgate at night (though this Yank would have preferred a more straight-up tour of the neighborhood and the significance of its history; I felt like I missed many of the things they alluded to). Indeed, there is a heavy emphasis on connecting everything to the neighborhood--some of the concert footage was projected on various structures near The Hackney Empire and footage of that was edited into the final film; it's as if they're suggesting that the music from this album, influenced by/celebrating the history of the neighborhood, is as a part of/integral to the neighborhood as the buildings themselves, the notes and lyrics housed within the grout that keeps the bricks from crumbling (and allowing present day residents to live/work in edifices built by and occupied by those from the past).
"The Liberty of Norton Folgate" opens with a wide shot of the inside of the theatre, just prior to the "Overture" that opens the album and concert. A woman sings the 1892 George and Thomas Le Brunn music hall tune "Oh, Mr. Porter" ("Oh! Mr. Porter, what shall I do?/I want to go to Birmingham/And they're taking me on to Crewe/Take me back to London, as quickly as you can/Oh! Mr. Porter, what a silly girl I am!") and as the camera pans up to the starry night-like ceiling, another declares (from one of my favorite Oscar Wilde quotes, brilliantly incorporated into The Pretenders' "Message of Love," where I first encountered it decades ago), "All of us are in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" (this elicits the rude rebuke from another actor: "Speak for yourself, you stupid pissant!"). Chas Smash then appears to introduce the evening's proceedings, which he warns that some may find, "a flatulent piece of frivolity, while other may consider it with awe and reverence" and apologizes if "any pipette or syringe becomes lodged in your thigh." (He also asks the ladies not to spit.) Finally, he announces, "I give you, for the first time, in this time [pointing to the closed curtain obscuring Madness behind him and, presumably, the past], in your time [pointing to the audience, very much in the present--well, 2009], "The Liberty of Norton Folgate!" Strings, you fuckers!" And the "Overture for Norton Folgate" begins.
As a small orchestra plays the "Overture," we see a wood cut print of old London, and then cut away to a segment filmed one misty night where Suggs and Carl tell us, "You can walk the entire length of Norton Folgate in a matter of minutes. And beneath your feet, through the soil, lies old London. Bobbins and florins, boot soles, and bones, fragments of all kinds of crap. Bits of old bombs sent from Berlin. The past is very close in Norton Folgate--and always has been." After another spoken-word performance about the various denizens of the area, Chas and Suggs repeat their refrain, "We Are London"--which, of course, is the first song off the album. The curtain rises and Madness commence The Liberty of Norton Folgate, which time-travels, H.G. Welles "Time Machine"-style, between songs about the past and present lives of those in Norton Folgate.
Unlike other concert films, which tend to focus almost exclusively on the action on stage, Temple does his utmost to document as much of the night as possible. In addition to capturing Madness performing up close and personal, his cameras prowl through the audience in all sections of the theatre (as the fans revel in Madness' show--god, it looked like they were having an incredible time--and the theatrical performers do their thing), as well as outside the hall, all over Norton Folgate. At first, Temple's manic pace of jump cuts between all of the different footage is distracting and even a bit bewildering (What am I looking at now? I wasn't finished taking in that last bit...). But as the film unfolds, it grows on you--and you begin to appreciate Temple's ADHD approach to the concert and understand his desire to capture and cram in as much of the experience of the concert as possible, from all vantage points and points of view. There's no polite fourth wall here--and the border between past and present (Madness as music hall performers from Norton Folgate's yesteryear; the audience in the here and now) is blurred as much as our imaginations will permit.
Much to my embarrassment, I have to admit that I've never been able to see Madness live, but it seems to me that this film has to be a pretty good substitute for the real thing (I came out of the film exhilarated by the experience, as if I had seen them in person). Several of the songs that I hadn't paid much attention to on the album The Liberty of Norton Folgate ("NW5" and "Clerkenwell Polka," in particular) really connected with me in their live versions (as is so often the case) and it was fantastic to see/hear my favorite tracks from the album, too ("We Are London,""Dust Devil,""Idiot Child,""Forever Young," and "On the Town"--Rhoda Dakar makes a wonderful appearance on stage in the film to sing with Suggs for this song, as she does on the album).
As a concern film, "The Liberty of Norton Folgate" succeeds on every level. Madness are in top form, the songs are some of their best ever (this album is their masterpiece), and there's an immediacy about it all that coveys how fun and extraordinarily special it must have been to be in The Empire Hackney that evening. Yet, "The Liberty of Norton Folgate" is also an ambitious and profound piece of performance art--an examination of obscure footnote in London's history set to music containing a desperately relevant message that humanity still hasn't truly learned: real freedom can only be achieved through living in diverse communities and by fully embracing multiculturalism (see how the history and people of Norton Folgate made this possible...). It may mean living in the gutter (on an old garbage heap) on fringes of polite society, but you'll be afforded the liberty to look for, and perhaps find, your life's guiding star (and happiness).
+ + + +
Below, you'll find an excerpt of the film from when it was broadcast on the BBC that best illustrates all that Madness are trying to achieve with this album and film, It's the magnificent, 10-minute "The Liberty of Norton Folgate"--hundreds of years of Norton Folgate's history recounted in what must be Madness' finest song.
"The Liberty of Norton Folgate" (McPherson/Barson/Smyth)
"This is the story of the Liberty Of Norton Folgate
A little bit of this, would you like a bit of that?
But in weather like this, you should wear a coat, a nice warm hat
A needle and thread the hand stitches of time
Battling Levinsky versus Jackie Burk
Bobbing and weaving, an invisible line
So step for step and both light on our feet
We’ll travel many along dim silent street
Would you like a bit of this, or a little bit of that? (Misses)
A little bit of what you like does you no harm, you know that
The perpetual steady echo of the passing beat
A continual dark river of people
In its transience and in its permanence
But, when the streetlamp fills the gutter with gold
So many priceless items bought and sold
So step for step and both light on our feet
We’ll travel many along dim silent street (together)
Once 'round Arnold Circus, and up through Petticoat Lane
Past the well of shadows, and once back round again
Arm in arm, with an abstracted air
To where the people stare
Out of the upstairs windows
Because we are living like kings
And these days will last forever
'Cos sailors from Africa, China and the archipelago of Malay
Jump ship ragged and penniless into Shadwells Tiger Bay
The Welsh and Irish wagtails, mothers of midnight
The music hall carousel enspilling out into bonfire light
Sending half crazed shadows, giants dancing up the brick wall
Of Mr Trumans beer factory, waving, bottles ten feet tall
Whether one calls it Spitalfields, Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets
Or Banglatown
We’re all dancing in the moonlight, we’re all
On borrowed ground
Oh, I’m just walking down to, I’m just floating down through
Won’t you come with me, to the Liberty of Norton Folgate
But wait!
What’s that?
Dan Leno
And the Limehouse golem
Purposefully walking nowhere, oh I’m happy just floating about
(Have a banana)
On a Sunday afternoon, the stallholders all call and shout
To no one in particular
Avoiding people you know, you’re just basking in you’re own company
The technicolour world’s going by, but you’re the lead in your own movie
'Cos in the Liberty of Norton Folgate
Walking wild and free, in your second hand coat
Happy just to float
In this little taste of liberty
A part of everything you see
They’re coming left and right
Trying to flog you stuff you don’t need or want
And a smiling chap takes your hand
And drags you in his uncle's restaurant
(ee-yar, ee-yar, ee-yar)
There’s a Chinese man trying hard to flog you moody DVDs
You know? You’ve seen the film, it’s black and white, it’s got no sound
And a man’s head pops up and down
Right across your widescreen TV
(Only a fiver)
(‘Ow much?)
(Alright, two for eight quid)
(Ee-yar, ee-yar, look, I’m givin’ it away)
(Givin’ it away!)
'Cos in the Liberty of Norton Folgate
Walking wild and free, in your second hand coat,
Happy just to float
In this little piece of liberty
You’re a part of everything you see
There’s the sturdy old fellows, pickpockets, dandy’s, extortioners
And night wanderers, the feeble, the ghastly, upon whom death
Had placed a very sure hand
Some in shreds and patches
Reeling inarticulate full of noisy and inordinate vivacity
That jars discordantly upon the ear
And gives an aching sensation to both pair of eyeballs
(Noisy and inordinate vivacity)
In the beginning was a fear of the immigrant
In the beginning was a fear of the immigrant
He’s made his way down to the dark riverside
In the beginning was a fear of the immigrant
In the beginning was a fear of the immigrant
He’s made his home there down by the dark riverside
He made his home there down by the riverside
They made their homes there down by the riverside
The city sprang up from the dark river Thames
They made their home there down by the riverside
They made their homes there down by the riverside
The city sprang up from the dark mud of the Thames
I’ll say it again
‘Cos in the Liberty of Norton Folgate
Walking wild and free
And in your second hand coat
Happy just to float
In this little taste of liberty
Cos you’re a part of everything you see
Yes, you’re a part of everything you see
With a little bit of this
And a little bit of that
A little bit of what you like does you no harm
And you know that"
Here's the LCFS copy about the "Legends of Ska" documentary:
"Whereas second- or third-wave ska bands like The Specials or No Doubt maintain a degree of visibility through North American radio play, the Jamaican originators of the genre often get short shrift. Brad Klein sought to correct this imbalance. On July 12-13, 2002, Klein mounted two massive concerts in Toronto with early-’60s ska superstars like Prince Buster, Derrick Morgan, Stranger Cole, Alton Ellis, Millicent “Patsy” Todd, and the Skatalites. The concert was documented, and, over a decade, shaped into a concert film interspersed with funny and poignant interviews with band members. Also includes a hilarious cameo from Keith Richards!"
And here's "The Liberty of Norton Folgate" blurb:
"A concert film shot during a performance at London’s Hackney Empire, Temple’s inventive approach to Madness’ concept album of the same name connects the iconic ska band with their working-class British roots and a populist tradition of entertainment. The film weaves comical introductions to songs and a tour of various historically seedy London neighborhoods led by Madness’ Suggs and Carl into footage from the concert, whose audience is peppered with burlesque “types” who sometimes steal the show."
I can't make the "Legends of Ska" screening, but my son and I already have tickets to "The Liberty of Norton Folgate!" Read what I wrote a few years ago about Madness' phenomenally good and profound album at Reggae Steady Ska.
Here's a taste:
"While it seemed like their 2 Tone peers had run out of things to say, [on The Liberty of Norton Folgate] Madness were delivering the songs of great meaning that I had wanted from them in my youth—a concept album that promotes/embraces multiculturalism as the only path to real freedom, and the notion that the history of a place and its people has an extraordinary impact on making this possible."
The Promo Copy: Please come out and celebrate the birthday of Larry McDonald when Dub Is A Weapon performs alongside Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad on Saturday, June 11th. Special guest Rob Symeonn will be on hand to sing a few tunes with DIAW. Should be an amazing night of rootical vibrations!
Dub is a Weapon Majestic Twinsounds Saturday, May 9th 2009 @ Southpaw 125 Fifth Avenue (b/w Sterling & St. John), Brooklyn, NY 11217 Doors 9:30 pm $10 in advance/$12 day of show 18+ www.spsounds.com
Their EP Armed and Dangerousis a sonic tsunami full of fierce 'n' heavy dub--and definitely worth picking up.
Here is part of a video featuring DIAW in action last November (2008) at Jewish Mother in Virginia Beach...
What They're Saying About My Book "The Duff Guide to 2 Tone"
“An essential read…Stephen's eye for detail is incredible and his love for 2 Tone oozes from each page.” — Kevin Flowerdew, Do the Dog Skazine
“Written with a personal touch and with great passion about the bands and releases while giving a lot of emphasis to the lyrics, Stephen’s book is a great guiding hand to navigating your way to some great new music.” — Peter Walsh, 2-Tone.info
“It's some of the finest Madness analysis I've ever read.” —Donald Trull, Stateside Madness
“Steve's own story would make a great book, but instead he's written The Duff Guide to 2 Tone, a 250+ page collection of 2 Tone-related pieces from his blog. There are reviews of original pieces, but the book's real purpose is to show how the 2 Tone sound and—more importantly its ideals—carry on today...Get this book right away!" — Charles Benoit, Reggae Steady Ska
"...Shafer has definitely not forgotten how socially conscious issues were at the root of Ska even from the beginning. He makes certain to thread the political issues that motivated the development of Ska throughout his narrative; painting a picture that took both the oppressive political environments and the often ecstatic musical content into account. And in that, he nails down for me what the enduring pull of Ska was to its many fans. Was there ever a more upbeat dance music that combined its boundless energy with a push for progressive social values and calling truth to power?" —Post-Punk Monk
"...[The Duff Guide to 2 Tone is a] chatty, informative and knowledgeable work, one that you can either sit down and read or use as a reference source..." —Nik Skeat, Scootering Magazine
"During the reading of the book it is dangerous to have a screen open next to you with Discogs. I have found lots of ‘new music’ via the stories in The Duff Guide to 2 Tone which I must have." -- Peter Vrakking, Blue Beat & Ska
In the mail today, I received the first copy of my new paperback book The Duff Guide to 2 Tone --and am thrilled to announce that it is now...
About Your Duff Guide
Steve Shafer/The Duff Guide to Ska For most of the 1990s, I was the promotions, marketing, production guy for Moon Records (RIP). It was one of the best jobs I ever had. Seriously, I miss it badly. During 1999/2000, I ran 7 Wonders of the World Music, the first digital download-only ska label that was too ahead of the curve for its own good (RIP).
I filmed and edited this Toasters video for $2,500, which made its debut on MTV's 120 Minutes. I also put together these compilations for Moon: the first three Skarmageddons; Ska United: A Global Ska Sampler; Skank Down Under; This Are Moon Ska I, II, and III; and Moonshot!
Here's an old interview with Adam Monkey from Read Magazine that covers my days at Moon and 7 Wonders. I also did a somewhat more recent interview with Read Junk.
I've been interviewed about ska music and Moon Records for The New York Times, Heather Augustyn's "Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation," Aaron Carnes' "In Defense of Ska," Kenneth Partridge's "Hell of a Hat: The Rise of '90s Ska and Swing," and Marc Wasserman's "Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History" (I also wrote the introductory chapter "1985: The Year American Ska Broke" for Wasserman's book).
And I'm the author of "The Duff Guide to 2 Tone," which can be ordered from Amazon--and is available in the US from Jump Up Records, and in Europe from the 2 Tone Village Shop (Coventry, UK), Champion Sound Records (Hull, UK), Aggroshop (Nijmegen, Netherlands), and Copasetic Mailorder (Hamburg, Germany). Plus, my book was on sale in the museum shop for the "2 Tone: Lives & Legacies" exhibition (May 28 - September 12, 2021), curated by Simon Reynolds, Cory Barrett, Pete Chambers, Jennifer Otter Bickerdike and Daniel Rachel, at the Herbert Art Gallery Museum in Coventry, UK.
I'm now working on my next book, "Calling All the Rude Boys: The Duff Guide to The Toasters, 1981-1992," to be published in 2023.
If you have a ska or reggae release that you'd like me to consider reviewing, please send an e-mail to Steve at duffguidetoska@gmail.com. You should know that I am old school and prefer music in tangible formats (plus I might use your music when I DJ ska events). I'd also appreciate any news or tips you may have about bands.
All reviews and interviews posted on The Duff Guide to Ska are copyrighted and are the sole property of Steve Shafer. Please contact me for permission to reproduce anything on this blog.
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See Live Ska Bands in NYC!
Check out the NYC ska shows I co-host and co-DJ with Ryan Midnight!
To help prepare for my stint deejaying at the NY Beat 25th Anniversary party last month, I mail-ordered a copy of The Selecter's often ...
Visit The Duff Guide to Ska Video Channel!
Check out The Duff Guide to Ska Video Channel for footage of ska bands in action in clubs around NYC, as well as unusual and rare ska videos from the 90s! Bands featured include The Toasters, The Bluebeats, The Forthrights, Across the Aisle, The Caroloregians, The Moon Invaders, The Rudie Crew, Tip the Van, Hey Stranger, Beat Brigade, Bigger Thomas, King Chango, The Scofflaws, UB40, The Hard Times, Jah Love and the Valentinians, The Shifters, Rudies Don't Care, Big Audio Dynamite, Stranger Cole and Patsy with Crazy Baldhead, Queen P of Ocean 11, King Hammond, The Snails, King Django, Doomsday! The Ultimate Tribute to Mephiskapheles Consisting of Former Members of Mephiskapheles, Destroy Babylon, The Frightnrs, The Pandemics, Los Skarroneros, The Bullbuckers, The Scofflaws, The Reggay Lords, The Copacetics, Rude Boy George, Dave Hillyard and the Rocksteady 7, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, The Specials, Roddy Radiation and Lynval Golding, The Ladrones, Chris Murray, Radio Riddler, UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro, and Mickey Virtue, Barbicide, The Twilights, Bim Skala Bim featuring John Bunkley (Gangster Fun), The Pomps, and more!
