The Trojans "Perfidia" b/w "Misogyny" and "Love Is All I Had" b/w "Bertie's Rhino"

Ska in the World Records (Japan)
2013
7" vinyl singles
(Available in the US through Jump Up Records)

(Review by Steve Shafer)

These two singles released in conjunction with The Trojans' brilliant new album Smash It, their first new record since Desiderata in 1998, find the band in incredibly fine form (check out this great interview with Trojans front man Gaz Mayall in Reggae Steady Ska to see what he's been up to all these years). While they stayed out of the studio for the first decade of the new millennium after being very active in the late 80s and throughout the 90s (a pity, really--their unique brand of Celtic/eclectic ska and reggae has been very much missed), The Trojans have been quite active, most notably performing on the Gaz's Rockin' Blues stage at the annual Notting Hill Carnival in London and Gaz himself has been busy keeping his Gaz's Rockin' Blues night going (read a review of his book about his regular club night, the history of Gaz's Rockin' Records and how it helped jumpstart the UK ska scene after the flame-out of 2 Tone, and the genesis of The Trojans here).

Singer Zoe Devlin--who recorded Smash It prior to becoming a contestant on the UK's X Factor show last fall (she didn't win), which caused her to miss The Trojans' tour of Japan, so her friend Hollie Cook took over vocal duties--is featured on this very fine cover of Albert Dominguez's pop standard "Perfidia" (faithless, treacherous, or false in Spanish), which has been recorded by everyone from Xavier Cugat, Desi Arnaz, Mel Torme, Perez Prado, and Nat King Cole to Laurel Aitken, Phyllis Dillon, and Ocean 11. From what I've read online, it seems like Devlin's future with The Trojans is in question--a shame, since she has a wonderfully expressive alto voice that brings a lot of color and character to the band (that already has a lot of these qualities).

The superb, penny-whistle driven Gaelic romp "Misogyny" decries the second-class status of women in much of the Muslim world (honor killings, etc.): "Misogyny, misogyny, the girls don't stand a chance/These medieval attitudes will have to change at once/Misogynist, misogynist, give the girls a chance/with chivalry and equal rights/and let the ladies dance!" To his great credit, Gaz has always been very outspoken about social and economic injustice, as well as environmental issues, and his lyrics on this cut are certainly one of his finest moments.

While the other three tracks on these two singles are included on Smash It, this sultry cover of Phyllis Dillon's heartbreakingly honest "Love Is All I Had" is a non-album cut and well worth tracking down by Trojans' completists and ska/rocksteady fans alike. Written by the The Trojans' bagpiper Anton O'Doherty, the jaunty, knees-up instrumental track "Bertie's Rhino" is another stellar example of their contagious good times Celtic ska. I dare you to put this on and successfully resist the urge to move at least some part of your body to this tune!

As great as these singles are (and they are terrific!), the rest of the songs on Smash It are their equals or better, so make sure to track down a copy of the CD or LP to hear what just might have been the best traditional ska record of 2013.

The Trojans' New Album "Smash It" Available as Import and Digital Download

It's been almost 15 years since The Trojans released their last album containing their trademark blend of Japanese, Russian, and Gaelic music with Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae (though they've been playing live throughout this absence from the recording studio, most notably at the Notting Hill Carnival), so it's big news that their new album Smash It is now available as an import from Ska in World Records (Japan) and as a more reasonably priced digital download from CD Baby (word is that there will also be a vinyl single or two from Ska in the World and that the album will be issued from Gaz's Rockin' Records in the UK at some point in the near future).

If you're unfamiliar with the The Trojans, you should check out this post I wrote about Gaz's book (which gives a good overview of his work with The Trojans, his label, and Gaz's Rockin' Blues)--and be sure to track down Trojan Warriors: For Your Protection, The Best of The Trojans, a great Trojans compilation that Moon Ska Records released back in 1996.

Being the old skool fan of The Trojans that I am, I'm going to try to get my mitts on a copy of the import Smash It CD without breaking my bank!

Duff Review: Ari Up "Forward" b/w "Rescue Mission"

Ska in the World Records/Stubborn Records
2012
Limited-edition 7" vinyl single

(Review by Steve Shafer)

This stellar single from the late Ari Up (of The Slits) is the second co-release from Ska in the World Records and Stubborn Records that is being issued in celebration of the latter's 20th anniversary (the other is King Django's "Anywhere I Roam" b/w "Career Opportunities"). King Django co-wrote (as well as played/programmed and produced) the two tracks here with Ari, which were recorded at the Version City Studios in April 2003. Anyone expecting Django's usual traditional ska/rocksteady sounds should have their head checked--this is the spectacularly unique post-punky-reggae musician Ari Up (AKA Madussa, which was the name she used when performing dancehall reggae in the mid-2000s) we're talking about here (though it won't surprise anyone who's aware of Django's forays into contemporary reggae and has picked up the dancehall singles on Stubborn imprint Version City Records from Prince Alla, Johnny Osbourne, Pampidoo, and others). This single is trippy electro-dancehall--and while I'm no expert in this sub-genre, I know what I like and know that this is damn good.

"Forward" is a personal and political plea-cum-directive for sexual/romantic partners to cut the crap and posturing in favor of honesty, transparency, and trust (the not-so-subtle subtext is to practice safe sex and be tested for HIV): "Let's go forward/I tell you not reverse/Me check for you/but I must love you first/But for to love you/me have to know you/Just like you should love me and know me, too...Me must take time/and think twice/Rush into things/don't want to pay the price/The price me might pay might cost my life..." In other words, wrap that rascal (and know your status) or there's no action. Sound public health advice, indeed.

"Rescue Mission" seeks to save the citizens of Jamaica, Ari's adopted (and true) home country, from its nation's grinding poverty and dependence on America's foreign aid handouts (with its many thorny strings attached): "Prices going up and we going down/If we don't protest and make some sound/Soon there be no left around...We raise, we raise the whole of Jamaica/We grow, we grow/with everyone there-a/Resurrect the dead and kill the living/When them a hear this bad boy riddim!" Kingston calling for Occupy Jamaica almost a decade before it breaks out in NYC...

I'm not really going out on a limb with this, but it's worth stating the obvious: Ari Up was one of the truly fearless and boldly unique musicians and personalities in the punk and reggae scenes--and this single is terrific way to remember and honor her talent and legacy.

Duff Review: King Django "Anywhere I Roam" b/w "Career Opportunities"

Ska in the World Records/Stubborn Records
2012
Limited-edition 7" vinyl single

(Review by Steve Shafer)

One of the ways that King Django is marking the momentous occasion of Stubborn Records' 20th anniversary (!) is the release of this fantastic single--done in collaboration with Ska in the World Records in Japan. Side A is an excellent reworking of "Anywhere I Roam" (where King Django playfully boasts of his supreme musical prowess over Jack Wright's riddim), which originally appeared on the B side of The Forthrights' "Other People" single (on Stubborn Records), though this remix has even more verve, bite, and cheekiness than its predecessor (my favorite line: "Don't need no bourbon/neither no spliff/when you climb aboard my musical skiff/and catch a whiff of my keyboard riff!"--how many musicians claim that their music itself will give you a contact high?!).

Side B has to be one of the better Clash covers I've ever heard, a ska version of "Career Opportunities" (with New Orleans jazz-like breaks that Americana-lovin' Joe Strummer surely would have appreciated) that alters the lyrics to reflect our Great Recession, 99% vs. 1%, post-9/11 end-of-days (which aren't too dissimilar from the UK in the late 70s, are they?):

The offered me the office, offered me the shop
They said I'd better take anything they'd got
Do you wanna make coffee for NBC?
Do you wanna be, do you really wanna be a cop?

Career opportunities, the ones that never knock
Every job they offer you is to keep you out the dock
Career opportunity, the ones that never knock

I hate the army and I hate the Marines
I don't wanna go off fighting in the desert heat
I hate the civil service, too
And I won't open anthrax letters for you

They're gonna have to introduce conscription
They're gonna have to take away my prescription
If they wanna get me making toys
If they wanna get me, well, I got no choice

Careers
Careers
Careers

Ain't never gonna knock

As always, with this single King Django produces some of the finest ska/reggae you could hope to find. And it serves as yet another example of the extraordinarily good music that his label has been consistently putting out for the past two decades.