Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: King Kong 4 "There's Not Much That You or I Can Do About It," Jackie Mittoo "Striker Showcase"

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

King Kong 4 There's Not Much That You or I Can Do About It (Five-track digital EP, Winterbeard Records, 2017): I saw the harrowing movie version of Nevil Shute's post-World War III/doomsday novel "On the Beach" (where the last bits of humanity in Melbourne, Australia wait for the the nuclear fallout to reach and kill them--though most of the characters opt out via suicide pills, rather than suffering an agonizing death due to radiation poisoning) while in middle school at the end of the 1970s, when nuclear armageddon was a terrifyingly real possibility (and kept me up at nights). While King Kong 4's There's Not Much That You or I Can Do About It EP and its song titles are all taken from Shute's bleak novel (note the mushroom clouds in the EP cover art), all of their instrumental tracks are actually pleasantly bright and cheery. "Going a Bit Mad in Our Own Way" (with its incredible ice rink organ line), "To Lose Before You Start" (which features samples of President Harry Truman talking about bombing Hiroshima), and "Sitting Behind the Wheel of Her Car" (plus two dub versions) are fantastic spaghetti Western ska tracks (appropriate, given America's cowboy image/mythology and notoriety as the only country to have used nuclear weapons in war). One imagines the KK4 up in Toronto, watching in resigned horror as its destabilized and unpredictable superpower neighbor wreaks havoc on the world, but opting to keep on creating (life-affirming) music rather than giving into helplessness and despair.

Jackie Mittoo Striker Showcase (2xCD, 17 North Parade/VP Records, 2017): Back in the latter half of the 70s, producer Bunny "Striker" Lee arranged for Studio One's former musical director, arranger, and master keyboardist Jackie Mittoo (Skatalites, Soul Vendors/Brothers, Sound Dimension) to depart his adopted Toronto for the UK and JA to re-record/re-interpret many of his seminal riddims that he created for Coxsone Dodd in the 1960s ("Hot Milk," "Ram Jam," and dozens more) for a series of albums: The Keyboard King (1977), Hot Blood (1977), Showcase (1978), and In Cold Blood (1978). For these wonderfully loose, warm, and funky recordings, Mittoo was backed by a stellar band that included Sly Dunbar on drums, Robbie Shakespeare on bass, Winston Wright and Ansel Collins on piano, Earl "Chinna" Smith on guitar, and Tony Chin, Winston "Bo Pee" Bowen, Geoffrey Chung, and Carl Harvey on rhythm guitar--all providing Mittoo with the rock solid roots foundation for him to work his extraordinary keyboard magic. Even if you picked up Blood and Fire's Champion in the Arena, 1976-1977 back in 2003, which contains most of what's on the first half of this release, you'll want this comp for its second CD. You can never have enough Jackie Mittoo in your collection.

Duff Review: Phoenix City All-stars "Searching for the Young Ska Rebels"

Happy People Records
2015
CD/LP

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Despite their improbable--but inescapable!--Celtic jug band smash hit "Come On Eileen," Dexys Midnight Runners (named after a form of speed, Dexedrine, which enabled one to dance all night long at Northern Soul parties) were considered an Eighties "one hit wonder" here in the USA (alongside the likes of Kajagoogoo, The Vapors, and many more; I'm sad to say that even Madness fell into this category with "Our House"). Before this hit, I've no doubt that the marketing people at the American wing of Mercury Records had deemed Dexys to be too eclectic and/or "British" for US music consumers' taste (and the marketing execs back then would have been befuddled as to how to pitch white British men playing black American soul music to white US audiences!) and only acquiesced after they saw "Come On Eileen" hit #1 in England in August of 1982. Of course, "Come On Eileen" captured the #1 spot on the Billboard charts in the USA in April of 1983, helped immeasurably by MTVs round-the-clock broadcasting of Dexys' video. (Indeed, many a consistently stunning 1980s UK act like The Jam and Echo and the Bunnymen were shunted off to "left of the dial" media in America, where they were shown the love by college, free form, and "modern rock" radio, as well as odd, late night--and mostly cable--video shows, like "Night Flight"--and madly devoured by anglophile Generation Xers like me; but they were never thought of as being worthy enough to be promoted to the masses). So, while Dexys' "Come On Eileen" will forever be celebrated in the annals of pop music history as a tremendous #1 hit, the rest of Dexys' output will be remain largely unknown by most American pop music fans.

I, too, have to admit that I only became acquainted with more of Dexys' excellent back catalogue about seven years ago (with the 2008 reissue of their debut album, Searching for the Young Soul Rebels) and have just heard some of their more famous songs while doing research for this review! (Back in the day, apart from "Come On Eileen--which was played on commercial pop radio, I never heard any of Dexys' other tracks on WLIR--the New Wave radio station in the NYC area--and none of my friends had any of their albums or talked about them.) Having said that, I'm now a much bigger fan of Dexys Midnight Runners and certainly understand Phoenix City All-stars' smart choice to focus on Dexys for their third tribute album.

Being Brits, the mighty Phoenix City All-stars (led by Sean Flowerdew of Pama Intl and Lenny Bignell of The Sidewalk Doctors), whose previous--and brilliant--albums paid tribute to the music of 2 Tone (Two Tone Gone Ska) and The Rolling Stones (Skatisfaction) as if approached by The Skatalites circa 1965, are clearly more than familiar with Dexys' body of work, which was extremely popular in England (their debut album was #6 on the UK charts in 1980 and two of its singles, "Geno" and "There, There My Dear," went to #1 and #7 respectively). Upon its arrival, the furious, blue-eyed soul of Dexys Midnight Runners' Searching for the Young Soul Rebels was like nothing else at a time when 2 Tone, New Wave, post-punk, and synth-pop were ascendant (as was Margaret Thatcher and her ilk) and made a huge impact on the UK music scene.

Like Dexys Midnight Runners' Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, the Phoenix City All-stars' Searching for the Young Ska Rebels kicks off with a terrific instrumental version of "Burn It Down"--which, in the original, expressed Kevin Rowland's disgust at people's ignorance of Irish people and their culture/history and, in a very bold, punk rock move, his desire to wipe out/replace all of the fashionable pop music of the time with soul (at the opening of Dexys' version of this song, we hear radio static, then snippets of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water," The Sex Pistols' "Holidays in the Sun," and The Specials' "Rat Race" as the dial is turned from station to station, before Rowland shouts out, "For God's sake, burn it down!"; Jerry Dammers had offered Dexys a deal with 2 Tone, which Rowland declined, so the "Rat Race" reference is quite the cheeky, public slap in the face in response to Dammers' extended hand...).

Dexys' fantastic, but awkwardly herky-jerky, '"Geno" (a tribute to American soul singer Geno Washington, who, with his Ram Jam Band, was massively popular in the UK during the 1960s--particularly with the mods), is smoothed out and transformed into a great, brisk rocksteady instrumental cut by the Phoenix City All-stars. While the Northern Soul stomper "Seven Days Too Long" (originally recorded by Chuck Wood) was given an almost manic reading by Dexy's (though it captured the singer's desperation quite well), the Phoenix City All-stars' buoyant ska version, with terrific vocals by Cara-Jane Murphy, is a much more confident and relaxed affair. And I love the church organ-led, dub interpretation of the mournful "I Couldn't Help It If I Tried."

Perhaps my favorite song on this album is PCAS' phenomenal, swinging ska cover of "There, There, My Dear," one of Dexy's greatest tracks (and Rowland's blistering attack on what he saw as the phony, clueless, and duplicitous music industry). The commanding, unison horn line gets me every time--it's such a catchy riff (a big shout out here to PCAS' Ali Thomas on alto sax, Jason Cole on tenor sax, and Nick Richards on t-bone, as well as Malcolm Goldmaster on bass and Terry Davey behind the drum kit)! The country-folk-ish "Because of You" was the last single to hit the charts (#13 in 1986), just before Dexys disbanded (and was used as the theme song for the BBC housepainter sitcom "Brush Strokes"). Murphy returns for vocal duties here and the Phoenix City All-stars turn this track into a sweet, Trojans-like vintage ska tune.

Only two songs from 1982's Too-Rye-Ay appear here, Van Morrison's (amazing) "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" and "Come On Eileen" (though there certainly are lots of other good ones to choose from!). The tenor sax takes on the vocal duties for this breezy ska rendition of "Jackie Wilson Said," with fantastic results. And while you'd have every expectation that "Come On Eileen" would include vocals, the Phoenix City All-stars opt to deliver a mellower, Jackie Mittoo-inspired keyboard-driven dub instead, which was a clever and unexpected way to go. (The CD version of Searching for the Young Soul Rebels includes two bonus tracks: an excellent non-vocal version of "Because of You" with the organ upfront and the instrumental version of "Seven Days.")

Lately, my 13 year-old daughter has been completely obsessed with "Come On Eileen," as she was re-introduced to it via the "Perks of a Wallflower" movie soundtrack. I just suggested that she give Dexys' "Jackie Wilson Said" a listen, as I'm trying to do my part to make sure that Dexys Midnight Runners is known for more than one fantastic hit. The Phoenix City All-stars' stellar Searching for the Young Ska Rebels will certainly do a great job of introducing the uninitiated (and most likely American) ska fan to a wider swath of Dexys' music--and those already in the know will love these songs even more in their ska versions!

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May I suggest that the Phoenix City All-stars take on The Kinks with their next album?

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Duff Gig Review: Beat Brigade, Bigger Thomas, and Doomsday! at Electric Avenue (at Characters NYC) on 9/15/12

(Write-up by Steve Shafer)

Well, to be candid, this isn't really a review, since I helped put this whole show together with Marc Wasserman of the Marco on the Bass blog (and Bigger Thomas). So, consider this more of an enthusiastically biased show report for those who weren't able to make this gig. (By the way, that's Paul Gil of The NY Citizens from back in the day representing on the show flyer--he was at the show, so we thanked him in person for letting us borrow his image for our own purposes.)

On Saturday, September 15, about 130 filled up the back room of Characters NYC (a great Irish pub in midtown Manhattan near Columbus Circle and most subway lines) to be time-machined back several decades to experience a night of old school 1980s and 1990s NYC ska sounds/vibes with Doomsday! (The Ultimate Tribute to Mephiskapheles Consisting of Former Members of Mephiskapheles), Bigger Thomas, and Beat Brigade. In between sets, I shared the decks with Kames Jelly and we spun everything from early Skatalites to recently released Prince Fatty.

First at bat were Doomsday! (The Ultimate Tribute to Mephiskapheles Consisting of Former Members of Mephiskapheles), who served up a spectacular, almost folk-ska (check out the electric banjo, rhumba box, and melodica!) tribute to Mephiskapheles/themselves (several were founding members of Meph who recorded the infamous Mephiskapheles demo tape, The Demo(n)--which they performed in its entirety: "Doomsday," "Dansemenot," "Eskamo," and "Shame and Scandal"). Some highlights of Doomsday's set included the mass, inebriated sing-along to "Saba"; Michael Drance (of The Bluebeats) joining Brendog Tween on vocals for a wonderfully rambunctious rendition of Toots and Maytal's "Sweet and Dandy"; the sweat pouring off Mikal Reich as he slapped his rhumba box into overdrive; Jerica Rosenblum's haunting melodica lines; and the palpable and enthusiastic love and appreciation radiating off the audience for the band.

I first caught Meph live back in '91 or 92' at some second floor venue--its name is lost in the less traveled recesses my brain--on 23rd Street and 11th Avenue in or next to a nasty flophouse/hooker hotel and was sold on the band after experiencing their show amongst a sea of skinheads (Buck had sent me to the gig to scope them out after hearing their demo tape). So, it was absolutely fantastic to hear these tracks again after all this time. Doomsday's performance had to be on the early side for NYC and short due to some other obligations of one of the band members, but we hope to have Doomsday back at some point later this year.

(This was our second Electric Avenue show and we're still working out the last few sound and lighting issues with the venue, so please forgive us if some of the videos below are a little dark and the vocals are too low in the mix.)











Up next were perennial faves Bigger Thomas (with the always brilliant Roy Radics of The Rudie Crew) who completely killed it with their high energy, 2 Tone-influenced brand of modern ska--and had the crowd on their feet for their entire set. If you can separate the fact that I'm a huge fan/friend of the band, take my word that Bigger Thomas are one of the best/most enjoyable ska bands on the NYC--if not national/international--scene. I've never been less than completely impressed by every one of their performances. BT played several cuts of their most recent album, Steal My Sound, including "Crown Victoria" and "Can't Remember My Name," as well as older songs like "I Live at Home" (very under appreciated, but one of their greatest) and "Simple Man." (In related Bigger Thomas news, they're currently recording several new songs for a digital, and possibly vinyl, EP in 2013!)  Bigger Thomas are one of the NYC ska scene's biggest assets/treasures. Each time I catch them, I'm reminded why I like ska music so much (catchy tunes to sing along to; the social commentary in the lyrics; propulsive grooves that make you move; and the simple fact that the whole thing is fun as hell!). Whenever they play near you, always make sure to see them!





I entered the NYC ska scene in the late 80s, well after Beat Brigade's rise and fall, but was always aware of their great reputation and importance to the development of this genre in New York and beyond (read some great background on Beat Brigade here and here, courtesy of Marco on the Bass). But due to a host of all too common and lamentable circumstances, the band never released more than two songs on wax ("Armageddon Beat" on the Moon Records NY Beat: Hit and Run compilation LP and "Try and Try Again"--the flip side to The Toasters' "Talk is Cheap" single, also on Moon), which is a real shame, because Beat Brigade have the goods (and then some) and they deliver it in spades (I heard from keyboardist Dave Barry and bassist Frank Usamanont that there are current plans to enter the studio and lay down all of BB's greatest tracks, which is incredible news).

What I really like about Beat Brigade is that their songs and sound are not easily pigeonholed. It's definitely ska, but not stereotypically so. Like so many of the foundational 80s ska bands in New York City, Beat Brigade's music is uniquely their own; they're informed by 2 Tone (particularly The Beat) for sure, and also heavily influenced by the New Wave/post-punk of The Smiths, Elvis Costello, The Jam, and The Clash--but everything is mixed with the secret sauce that is in the songwriting minds of the Beat Brigade. The result is something hard to classify or pin down and that's what makes it particularly great.

My first introduction to ska was through The Specials and The Beat--so when I picked up The Toasters' Recriminations EP and NY Beat: Hit and Run comp at Sounds on St. Mark's Place back in 1985, I fully expected to hear 2 Tone ska. To be honest, I was put off at first; I wanted a continuation  of the familiar and beloved Dammers and Wakeling vision of ska, not the challenging, almost foreign newness of what all these NYC bands were doing with ska. Yet, I came around pretty quickly, playing "Radiation Skank" over and over on my record player, shedding my preconceived notions, and coming to fully appreciate the amazing and special NYC ska sound on its own terms. (The next ska purchases that helped expand my ska horizons were Fishbone's debut EP--which I bought at Caldor's of all places--and The Untouchables' Wild Child.)

Beat Brigade's performance at Electric Avenue was nothing short of a revelation; they were stellar. For so many of us that missed out on seeing them in the mid-80s, Beat Brigade's performance this night was like a gift, a chance for the space/time continuum to bend back on itself and let 1985 and 2012 exist at the same moment for an hour or so in a small corner of Earth called Manhattan. At the end of their show, I felt so thrilled and fortunate to have seen them--to have heard amazing new-to-me songs like "Keep Still Dark"--and to know first hand why there was a big buzz about them in the 80s. I must see them again soon (and you can bet that we'll be bringing them back to Electric Avenue in the future).

Duff Review: Phoenix City All-stars "Two Tone Gone Ska"

Phoenix City Records/Cherry Red Records
2012
CD/LP/Digital

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Imagine if the classic This Are Two Tone compilation had been interpreted and arranged by the sixties-era Skatalites and you'll have a good idea of what the Phoenix City All-stars' stellar Two Tone Gone Ska album is all about (they're marketing it themselves as "2 Tone meets Studio One," which is pretty apt). These versions of 2 Tone's greatest hits (forever embedded in the heads of every self-respecting ska fan worldwide) are surprisingly smart and fresh--providing the listener with a new--albeit vintage sounding--perspective on these very familiar and treasured tracks.

Things kick off with Prince Buster's foundational instrumental  "One Step Beyond" (of course, forever immortalized by Madness in 1979), which here is given such a fantastic, traditional ska reading that it sounds like Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Lester Sterling, Don Drummond, and Co. recorded it back in 1963. A terrific, lively instrumental version of The Specials' "Stereotype" features a vocal line that is split between an Ernest Ranglin-ish guitar and a melodica (but you'll still be singing the words in your mind!). While the Phoenix City All-stars' "Tears of a Clown" (originally by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles)--with the great Dave Barker on vocals--discards The Beat's breakneck speed and rhythmic complexity (as well as Saxa's propulsive sax blasts) in favor of a stripped-down sound and rocksteady beat, this winning version can stand proudly alongside The Beat's (and it'll be yet another compelling take on this song etched in your brain!).

As much as I love Madness' "The Prince," it has this awkward, jerky ska/rocksteady rhythm to it that has never quite worked. However, in the hands of the Phoenix City All-stars it really swings here--and the ice rink organ taking on the vocal part sounds like Jackie Mittoo or Winston Wright (even King Hammond!) behind the keyboard (it's hard to dance to the original "Prince," but you can really groove to this). The Phoenix City All-stars' version of Neol Davies' seminal single "The Selecter" (AKA "Kingston Affair") is kind of a shock at first listen. You fully expect to hear an approximation of the hot summery insect buzz of the percussion, the crisp ska rhythm guitar, and then the lazy and haunting trombone line. Instead, one is hit with a very brisk and brilliant sixties big ska band rendition of this track.

The non-ska 2 Tone single that got (given) away, Elvis Costello's "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" (originally by Sam and Dave) finally receives a boss ska treatment with Dave Barker's sweet, high tenor floating effortlessly on top (though I have to say our own Bluebeats do a great ska take on this song, too). Arguably the most significant and magnificent 2 Tone cut, The Specials' "Ghost Town" is revved up and has more bite and minor-key tension with The Skatalites' massive horn sound that is broken by a wonderfully ringing Lynn Taitt-like guitar coming in for the "Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?" vocal part (the original depicts the desolation and desperation of Thatcherite England, while here it sounds like you're experiencing the frustration boiling over, as youth of all colors run riot in the streets...).

Lastly, The Specials' "Too Much Too Young"--which borrowed heavily from Lloyd Charmer's "Birth Control" in both melody and subject matter--is remixed as "Too Much Too Dub" and seamlessly alternates between the two versions of the song (The Specials' bass line vs. Charmer's keyboard riff), as if a selector is shifting the crossfader back and forth on the mixer. This is a terrific manner in which to illustrate the evolution, if you will, of this track from one band to another, as well as celebrate the connection and admiration the 2 Tone bands had for their Jamaican musical forebears (check out all of the sixties ska cuts The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, Madness, etc. covered here).

To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about this album before I actually had the chance to hear it--these tracks have been endlessly mined by bands worldwide and haven't always yielded positive results. But the Phoenix City All-stars' vision and daring in their approach to the 2 Tone catalogue works incredibly well. Rarely have I liked and enjoyed an album of covers as much as this one.

 

Upcoming Megalith Releases: The Toasters' Hard Band for Dead Re-issue, Plus New Freddy Loco & The Gordo's Ska Band CD

Our good friends at Megalith Records have two new releases of note rolling out of their pipeline soon from The Toasters and Freddy Loco and The Gordo's Ska Band.

The Toasters' excellent 1996 album Hard Band for Dead (which followed on the heels of the brilliant Dub 56) is being re-issued as 2Tone Army, with new artwork and six previously unreleased bonus tracks:

1. 2Tone Army (Hingley)
2. Talk Is Cheap (Hingley)
3. Friends (Hingley/Ugbomah/Toasters)
4. Secret Agent Man (Barri Sloan)
5. Chuck Berry (Hingley)
6. Mouse (Reiter)
7. Hard Man Fe Dead (C. Campbell)
8. Don't Come Running [Extra Intro] (Faulkner)
9. Properly (McCain/Ugbomah)
10. Maxwell Smart (Irving Szathmary)
11. I Wasn't Going To Call You Anyway (Hingley)
12. Speak Your Mind (Hingley/Rice)
13. Skaternity (Reiter/McCain)
14. Dave Goes Crazy (Rimsky-Korsakov)
[Bonus Tracks]
15. 2Tone Army [Special Forces Version] (Hingley)
16. Skar-Toon [Unreleased] (Brown)
17. Retroactive [Unreleased] (Reiter)
18. Speak Your Mind [Instrumental] (Hingley/Rice)
19. Skaternity [Demo] (Reiter)
20. Moon Ska Stomp [Unreleased] (Hingley/Toasters)
21. Speedy Gonzales [Unreleased] (Hingley/Toasters)
22. 2Tone Army [Blues Reprise] (Hingley)

The album features guest spots by The Godfather of Ska himself, Laurel Aitken (on "Speak Your Mind"), The Skatalites' terrific saxophonist Lester Sterling (on "Mouse" and the cover of Prince Buster's "Hard Man Fe Dead"), The Ventures' guitarist Jerry McGee (on "Friends"), and King Django (chatting on "Properly").

Some Duff Guide to Ska Notes to Hard Band for Dead:
In an attempt to capitalize on the intense music press/industry buzz in the mid-90s (Billboard and others declaring ska "the next big thing," and every major label wanting a ska-like band in their pocket), Moon Records produced two of its first music videos, "2-Tone Army" and "I Wasn't Going to Call You Anyway," to help promote this album (which also received a good amount of airplay from college radio, according to the CMJ charts at the time). In true DIY fashion, I shot "2-Tone Army" on Super 8 film at a Toasters show (with Lester Sterling in the line-up!) at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Chelsea; outside the first Moon shop on 2nd Street in Alphabet City; and in my UES living room. The footage was digitally edited with the assistance of the late artist Dieter Froese at Dekart Video in Chinatown (they typically did most of their work with PBS, museums, and video and performance artists, but occasionally edited videos for major label bands like REM). The whole production cost about $2,500--and it ended up premiering on MTV's "120 Minutes" and going into fairly regular rotation on MTV and M2 (hell, they even created a special "Skaturday," when they featured ska viddys for a couple of hours).

Contrary to all of the label's/band's expectations, MTV gave the "2-Tone Army" video an extraordinary amount of support because: a) they genuinely liked The Toasters' music and knew how long they had been plugging away on the scene; 2) they didn't want to miss out on ska craze (the hype really was brutally intense, even if the major labels really didn't know ska from Adam or how to market it)--and there weren't that many new ska videos being produced; and 3) they got a kick out of the fact that we had the nerve to submit this somewhat crude, low-budget video, while many other indie acts were lavishing tens of thousands of dollars on theirs trying to make the big time.

Originally, I had planned to shoot a music video for "Chuck Berry" (the single on the record player in the video is the limited edition "Chuck Berry" 7", which was released well before the rest of the album was finished), but switched it to "2-Tone Army" after hearing an advance copy of the song. Since these were untested waters, The Toasters were minimally involved in the making of this video (I came up with what little concept there was and basically showed up to film them at both the FIT show and their promo photo shoot on 2nd Street before they went off on a tour--one of these pictures ended up on the back cover of the CD--we never scheduled anything specifically for the video) and Bucket didn't see any footage until the editing was completed (either he had complete faith in me or was entertaining my flight of fancy). I spoke with him on the phone after he first saw the video and could tell that he was extremely underwhelmed--but as things progressed, he seemed pretty pleased with all the mileage the band/label got out of it.

Like "2-Tone Army," "I Wasn't Going to Call You Anyway" (which was directed by Drew Sentivan, who also made several higher-end videos for Moon in collaboration with Crazy Duck Productions, all of them great, including The Toasters' "Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down" and "I'm Running Right Through the World," as well as The Scofflaws' "Nude Beach," Isaac Green and the Skalars' "High School," and the Skoidats' "Last Night" ) went into regular rotation on MTV and M2 (remember that station--completely devoted to actually playing music videos, many of them from alternative/indie bands?). For better or worse, Moon also permitted MTV to use excerpts of several songs off of Hard Band for Dead for shows like Singled Out and The Real World, in the hopes of expanding the band's audience and stimulating CD sales.

After the recording sessions for Hard Band, the souring relationship between Coolie Ranx and the rest of the band hit an all time low--and he left/was booted from The Toasters soon after. (One memorable, cringe-worthy event from this period took place at The Toasters' Central Park Summerstage gig, a big deal back then since they were one of the first ska acts ever featured in this concert series, as when it came time for the band to hit the stage, Coolie was AWOL--Bucket and Sledge had to take over Coolie's vocal duties; he finally showed up several songs into the set, dramatically leaping onto the stage from the audience.) As a result, just before the Hard Band for Dead masters were sent to the printing plant, most of Coolie's tracks were dropped from the album (I'll always remember Toasters bassist Matt Malles telling me how bummed he was that one of the songs he co-wrote with Coolie was left off the record--he thought it was the best track of the bunch.) Interestingly enough, the "2-Tone Army" video inadvertently captured the transition between Coolie Ranx (who is in the photo shoot segments) and Jack Ruby, Jr. (who was on stage as a member of the band at the FIT show).

One last tidbit: a version of "2-Tone Army" (recorded months before the Hard Band sessions by the Moon Ska Stompers, which was comprised of members of The Toasters and NY Ska Jazz Ensemble, as well as Victor Rice and King Django) became the theme music for the very cool animated/stop action Nickelodeon show "Kablam!".

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Also on deck for release in mid-August is the sophomore release from Belgium's vintage ska/jazz practitioners Freddy Loco and The Gordo's Ska Band : "Satelites." The album features guest appearances by The Skatalites' Cedric Brooks, NY Ska Jazz Ensemble's Rocksteady Freddie Rieter, and Victor Rice, who also mixed the tracks. The band's debut album, TABA, was digitally released by Megalith in 2007 through CD Baby and iTunes.

Shots in the Dark: The Potato 5 - "Floyd Lloyd and the Potato 5 Meet Laurel Aitken" and "True Fact"

Editor's note: Shots in the Dark spotlights third-wave ska releases that should have been massive hits on the scene but, due to bad timing, poor luck, or a fickle record-buying public, were lost in the fray.

The Band: The Potato 5, an extraordinary Skatalites-styled ska group from London that featured a rotating line-up of singers in its all too brief history (1983-1989), including Floyd Lloyd Seivright, Laurel "The Godfather of Ska" Aitken, and Spyder Johnson (who went on to drum for the Nutty Boys--an early '90s ska band formed by Madness' Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman).

The Sound: Floyd Lloyd and the Potato 5 Meet Laurel Aitken is brilliant, vintage-style ska (in the vein of the Skatalites, Derrick Morgan, Prince Buster, and, not surprisingly, Laurel Aitken). True Fact tries to modernize their sound in an attempt to catch the attention of those beyond the ska crowd, with mixed results.

The Releases: Floyd Lloyd and the Potato Five Meet Laurel Aitken, produced by Gaz Mayall of The Trojans (and originally released on Gaz's Rockin' Records), is a classic album that should be in every ska fan's collection--it's that essential. Released in 1987, long after 2-Tone imploded, but during a rebirth of the UK ska scene that spawned such contemporaries as The Deltones (formed by ex-Bodysnatchers Sarah Jane Owen and Penny Layton), The Loafers, The Trojans, Maroon Town, The Riffs, as well as the latest incarnation of Bad Manners (the only 2-Tone-era group that never really disbanded), this album established the Potato 5 as the undisputed leaders of the UK ska scene (and introduced Laurel Aitken to a whole new generation of ska fans--which re-ignited his career and led to a string of new albums, re-issued collections of his singles from the 60s and 70s, and live appearances that continued unabated until his death in 2005). Floyd Lloyd and the Potato Five Meet Laurel Aitken is stunning from start to finish.

Side A features a mix of tunes written by Floyd Lloyd (who also sings) and the Potato 5's guitarist Martin Aberdeen, including the anti-aparthied/pro-peace and justice rave-up "Tear Up"; the infectiously danceable instrumentals "Jessie Jackson" and "Spin on Your Head"; the melancholy, but cooly encouraging "Big City" ("The city is a big, big, place/Don't let it get to you/Don't let it change your point of view...You've got to keep yourself together/Keep on truckin'..."); and the awesome spaghetti western-inspired instrumental "Western Special" that would make Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, et al proud.

Laurel Aitken owns Side B, with a string of self-penned songs that instantly became some of his trademark Third Wave ska hits in the 1990s: "Sally Brown" (which Bad Manners subsequently covered on their Return of the Ugly album), "Mad About You," and "Sahara." "Sally Brown" in particular is incredibly catchy, with lyrics that will have you singing along everytime you hear it: "Make me tell you 'bout Sally Brown/Sally Brown is a girl in town/She don't mess around/Sally Brown is a slick chick/If you mess around with Sally/She hits you with a cookoomacka stick/Coo-coo-coo-coo-coo-koo-macka stick/She's gonna hit you with a cookoomacka stick!" Laurel is at the top of his game here (as he would be for the rest of his career); the songs are amazing and his performances (as well as the Potato 5's) are brilliantly honest and masterful. "Meet Laurel Aitken" and you'll see that his title as "The Godfather of Ska" is more than well deserved.

True Fact, produced by Specials, Madness, and Rico Rodriguez collaborator Dick Cuthell (and released on Rackit Records in 1988), is more problematic and something of a letdown. The songs--all still trad-leaning ska--are good (mostly the ones written by the Potato 5's Paul Hickson and Martin Aberdeen) to great (those composed by Laurel), but the disconcertingly robotic-sounding rhythm section (really the drums--and synthesized drums are sometimes used here to poor effect) really clashes with the organic sound of the horn section--marring many of the songs on this record. Having said that, sometimes the formula works well (mostly with Laurel's tracks, as his songwriting is vastly superior in several cases), as on tracks like the awesome Hitchcockian "Dial M for Murder" (I always thought the line "You picked me pocket/You know it was a rackit" was "You picked me pocket/You know it was erotic," but I guess that's just me being me), "Burning Fire" ("Burning flames of fire/To your musical desire/Ska Flames!"), "Got to Go," and "Heman vs Skeletor" (hey, it was still the '80s!). The Rocksteady Party repackaging of True Fact, which is widely available now (the True Fact LP I have is long out-of-print and my CD of this album was pressed in Japan) includes their great cover of "Do the Jerk" (with Spyder on vocals) and the "I swear the Skatalites wrote this" instrumental "Re-Burial" from their last 1989 single (both cuts bump up the overall quality of this record a couple of notches).

The Ugly Reality:While the Potato 5 were enormously popular on the UK and European ska scenes, they made only minor inroads in the US, particularly because the late '80s ska scene was small, regionalized, disorganized, and very much underground (and to top it off, no internet to connect us all yet, man!). After a brutal tour of the US in late 1989 (I think I saw a CBGB's ad in the Village Voice that had them on the bill, but by then I had already missed the gig!), the band called it quits. Our big loss...

The Grades: Meet Laurel Aitken:A+; True Fact:B; Rocksteady Party:B+

The Floyd Lloyd and the Potato 5 Meet Laurel Aitken CD is available from Grover Records in Germany (you can also sample tracks and buy it from iTunes), while True Fact has been repackaged as Rocksteady Party on Magnum Music and can be listened to and purchased from iTunes (and is available on CD as well).

Mojo Does The Ska: Johnny Moore and the almost there Specials

The November 2008 issue of Mojo Magazine (with the Combat Rock- era Clash on the cover) features two ska articles of note: a decent obit for Skatalites' trumpeter Johnny Moore by Lee Perry/reggae expert David Katz, and a piece on The Specials minus Jerry Dammers' (aka "Terry Hall and Friends") performance at Bestival on the Isle of Wight, in early September. (Terry Hall and Friends played "Gangsters" and then the whole debut album, but swapped "Stupid Marriage" for "Rat Race")

Mojo dubs the band "The Partial AKA" and prints Dammers' reaction to the whole deal, which wasn't exactly glowing:

They did a fantastic job, but I think one of the reasons that I was excluded and didn't want to take part was because I had expressed the opinion that the real Specials would never do a gig where the real Specials fans couldn't even get in--Bestival was already sold out. I went, and it was very weird for me. Without my influence it felt like they were playing themselves a bit, it was too much of a 'fun' thing, a bit of a 'stars of the '80s' nostalgia vibe, not what a real reunion would have been at all. There was something missing, but unfortunately I'm the only person who really knows what that is. The subtleties in the music were a bit lost on them. "Doesn't Make It Alright" should have had the hairs on the back of your neck standing up, but compare it to the record and the heart and soul was a bit lacking. The best excuse for a reunion is if you can do some really good new music. The guy playing keyboards pulled his cap over his face so you couldn't see it wasn't me, which says it all.

Ouch.

Skatalite Johnny Moore RIP

From the Associated Press:

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Johnny Moore, a trumpeter and founding member of the pioneering Jamaican ska and reggae band The Skatalites, died Saturday of cancer. He was 70.

Moore died at a friend's house after being released from the hospital following cancer treatment last week, music promoter Herbie Miller said.

Moore helped form the band in 1964 along with saxophonists Tommy McCook and Roland Alphonso and trombonist Don Drummond.

During the first 14 months the band was together, it transformed jazz, movie themes and other genres of music with ska style. It broke up in the 1960s but regrouped in New York two decades later. Two of their albums, "Hip Bop Ska" and "Greetings from Skamania," were nominated for Grammy awards in the 1990s.

Their music continued to influence bands such as 311, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and No Doubt.

Moore lived in New York City for 14 years but returned to Jamaica in the early 1980s. He last toured abroad about eight years ago with reggae artist Bunny Wailer.

+ + + +

This sad news comes just a few days after I received an e-mail from (Dr.) Dan Neely (ex-Skavoovie and the Epitones guitarist, ethnomusicologist, and music archivist) that Johnny Moore was very ill and that a friend of his was organizing a benefit show in his honor in JA (see poster above)...

Obviously, Johnny and his fellow Skatalites had an extraordinary impact on thousands of ska and reggae musicians worldwide--and brought great pleasure to countless music fans everywhere. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.