SKA ? the english beat, specials, madnass toasters etc

clevohardcore - 5-4-2009 at 03:40 PM

Never been a huge ska fan but I am interested in the rep, music and whatever of these bands. I know the history of some of the BEAT being in FYC and BAD. The stuff I have picked up all sound good but really radio friendly. Maybe that's why I wrote them off as a youngster. Who are good and why?

I have a ENGLISH beat record and a best of and the songs are good.

I have the first SPECIALS and I wasn't digging it at first but now I jam it out often. I think it was the recording sound that through me off because the songs are good. Where does OP IVY fit in? I know the RANCID connection, but I haven't picked it up to know anything about them.

If anyone with info can rate good ska bands for me to check out. Like what am I missing? My son is digging riding around in the car/truck listing to some of it. I have never been into it so I am in the dark with whats good stuff. Plus, some early Elvis Costello is similar in sound.

panzerkreuzer - 5-4-2009 at 04:01 PM

i´m not the big ska fan, but you should listen to the first the madness records.especially the first one has only hits as "one step beyound", "nightboat to cairo"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-uyWAe0NhQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSTHMxBttlU

the selecter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjKtQO3IPrk

really important are symarip! they released the original version of "skinhead girl"
http://www.myspace.com/mrsymarip1

and desmond decker, specials, inciters, ...

mr review aka rude and visser
http://www.myspace.com/rudeandvisser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3sg6XGObjY

the toasters
http://www.myspace.com/toasters

hellcat released some good new ska bands, here´s the rancid connection...
http://www.myspace.com/thepietasters
http://www.myspace.com/theslackers
http://www.myspace.com/theaggrolites
www.myspace.com/hepcatlive
http://www.myspace.com/westboundtrain

clevohardcore - 5-4-2009 at 04:17 PM

I saw the AGGROLITES open for dropkick. They were alright. Not great but ok. I got the first MADNESS on cd as well. That is one my 3yr old likes. I'll check out your links.

XHonusWagnerX - 5-4-2009 at 05:13 PM

I really like The Toasters, I think they are my favorite Ska band.

Other than that I like The Specials, early Madness, Bad Manners...

A few other newer (3rd wave?) ska bands that are kinda cool... Mephaskapheles, Mustard Plug, Big Lick, Gals Panic....

Reel Big Fish (the first 2 records) isnt bad.

The Amazing Supertones first record is great, but if you listen to the lyrics they are super christian, which is funny if it doesnt bother you.

The Suicide Machines first 2 records are good.

MarkV - 5-4-2009 at 06:37 PM

Op Ivy are pretty much the first "ska punk," band (although the Bosstones are very close in time).
Where as the second wave (ie 2 tone) bands were contemporaries w/ the british punk scene (and sort of part of that scene) and brought a "punk energy," it was just ska. Op Ivy, bosstones, etc were some of the first bands to have songs with parts of both.

JawnDiablo - 5-4-2009 at 07:07 PM

look for suited and booted and download it
theres alot of good stuff on it.

DaveMoral - 5-4-2009 at 07:19 PM

Check out David Hillyard and the Rocksteady 7. It's all instrumental, but really really good.

Hepcat
Skinnerbox

That's all "3rd wave."

JawnDiablo - 5-4-2009 at 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DaveMoral
Check out David Hillyard and the Rocksteady 7. It's all instrumental, but really really good.

Hepcat
Skinnerbox

That's all "3rd wave."

David Hillyard is great.
Playtime is very worthy of purchase.

Dave - 5-4-2009 at 08:32 PM

i dont even know where to begin.....

upyerbum - 5-4-2009 at 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave
i dont even know where to begin.....

There's so much out there, but for starters, I'd say track down a copy of the Trojan comp, "Tougher than Tough".

DeathByForce - 5-5-2009 at 01:07 PM

Bosstones were a few years before Op Ivy.

2tone had more of a '77 punk edge to it. Especially with the Specials. Most of their songs they covered, were much quickers than the originials. That first Specials album is pretty much all reworkings of old ska and reggae songs.

DeathByForce - 5-5-2009 at 01:10 PM

Also, I'd advise anyone to check out the Slackers' discography. One of the best bands out there, in my opinion.

MarkV - 5-5-2009 at 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DeathByForce
Bosstones were a few years before Op Ivy.

2tone had more of a '77 punk edge to it. Especially with the Specials. Most of their songs they covered, were much quickers than the originials. That first Specials album is pretty much all reworkings of old ska and reggae songs.

Yes, they were but disbanded for a bit. I think Op Ivy actually edges them out with actual release but just a little bit.

tireironsaint - 5-5-2009 at 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by XHonusWagnerX
I really like The Toasters, I think they are my favorite Ska band.

Other than that I like The Specials, early Madness, Bad Manners...

A few other newer (3rd wave?) ska bands that are kinda cool... Mephaskapheles, Mustard Plug, Big Lick, Gals Panic....

Reel Big Fish (the first 2 records) isnt bad.

The Amazing Supertones first record is great, but if you listen to the lyrics they are super christian, which is funny if it doesnt bother you.

The Suicide Machines first 2 records are good.

Holy shit, Honus, how do you know about Gals Panic? Those guys were friends of mine and I did backing vocals at a bunch of their shows back in the day. I didn't think anybody outside of the central Texas area even knew about them.

thedog - 5-5-2009 at 10:37 PM

check out

www.myspace.com/hubcitystompers

www.myspace.com/dealsgonebad

tireironsaint - 5-5-2009 at 10:59 PM

I first got into Ska through 2Tone bands and I think some of that stuff will probably always be some of my favorite from the genre. I believe The Specials were the first of that style that I really got into and are still tops for me from that time. Madness was a runner up, but I never really got into much they did aside from One Step Beyond. That album is so phenomenal that you don't really need much else from them in my opinion. Bad Manners are fucking great, but I didn't hear about them until later. I've seen them twice now, once just about a year or so ago and once back in 1991 or '93 and they were amazingly fun both times. I honestly don't think I've ever danced more at a live show than at either of those two shows. The Selecter was pretty great as well, but their records seem to be hit or miss for me. I saw them live a while back, I think it was '97 and they had massive energy. I never got into The Toasters records, but I saw 'em live not too long ago and they were fantastic.

I was a HUGE Bosstones fan back in the day, but there was a noticeable change in the sound at one point and they just didn't really do it for me after that. I still love those first few records though. I think the last time I saw them was back when they did that big Boston bands tour when they took Dropkick Murphys out on their first tour. The Murphys were amazing that night, but The Bosstones seemed like arena rockers or something. They even had a fucking glitter cannon as part of the act, that was just bizarre to me. I got into Op Ivy back in the day for a while too, but I can't listen to them at all anymore, it just sounds like high schooler music to me now. As much as they irritate me now, I really should have held onto all those original records I had of theirs since they seem to go for a decent amount nowadays.

Most of the third wave stuff is garbage, but there were a few amazing bands that came out of that. Hepcat and The Slackers being the two most notable for me, although I have a hard time trying to classify them as third wave since they had much more traditional sounds. I think when I first picked up their early records is when I finally got around to really checking out the original Ska and Skinhead Reggae stuff. I think my short list of favorites from that would be: Laurel Aitken, Desmond Dekker, Prince Buster, and Derrick Morgan although there's definitely a LOT more than that for great stuff. Trojan Records has tons of really cheap box sets that can turn you on to a LOT of amazing stuff from their roster.

tireironsaint - 5-5-2009 at 11:05 PM

Oh yeah, I wanted to mention that there was a great band from Denton, Texas in the early '90s called The Grown Ups who had a fantastic 2Tone sound and did a crazy ska version of the Star Wars cantina song. I have a really cool ten inch from them as well as a CD which I would bet somebody has available still. I wanna say it came out on Moon Ska Records, in fact, lemme go check...... nope. It was a split release between Spy Music (I think that was their own label) and Direct Hit Records which was out of Dallas and if I remember correctly, mostly did Punk stuff.

mattybar - 5-6-2009 at 09:34 AM

don't mind a bit of Specials or Special Beat here and there but you really can't go wrong with, well.. pretty much any of the Trojan ska comps.

the Skinhead Reggae and Rude Boy collections are personal favourites.

Dave - 5-6-2009 at 12:02 PM

king apparatus - first album

MarkV - 5-6-2009 at 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tireironsaint

Quote:

They were on some of the early 90s ska comps.