There was a time when all I really knew about British music came from my Beatles records and the soundtrack to Snatch. It was a sad state of affairs, but that soundtrack served as my introduction to plenty of good bands, like The Stranglers, 10cc, The Specials, and especially Massive Attack, which is one of my most-listened to bands over the last two years. Oasis had a track on there, too, and I've been an Oasis junkie for a year now. Being trapped in ten years ago is awesome. Say, have you heard of Elastica?I can't say I'm terribly familiar with much old school ska, so perhaps this album put me off due to my unfamiliarity with the general aesthetics of the genre in this era. "Ghost Town," the Specials' sole #1 and their tune in Snatch, was a pretty active song with bright production and enough going on to keep it consistently entertaining. Maybe it's Elvis Costello's production on this record or just the slightly more sparse sounds of an unfamiliar genre, but it was easy to get distracted while listening or wish there were more things happening.
After "A Message To You Rudy," the only song on the record I was already familiar with, I wasn't really sure what to expect - some songs were in the same ska-reggae vein, some were a bit more rockin' out, and some just seemed to exist without being much of anything. I spent most of "It's Up To You" waiting for it to kick in. There were still a handful of really energetic and driving songs along the lines I was expecting, such as "Concrete Jungle" and "(Dawning of A) New Era," so I was kept amused. The album picked up at the end, and I'm looking forward to giving it another play to see if now that I'm a bit more prepared, I'll dig it more. I bet I will.
"A Message to You Rudy" live in 1979
"Gangsters"
1 comment:
It's really odd to hear ska that is this slowed down.
This sounds a lot like Toots and the Maytals to me at times, which is a group that definitely has grown on me the more I listen to them. Maybe the Specials will be the same way. But I also think this is something I can put on and simply zone out.
Another thing that's popping into my head is how much Brad Nowell must have listened to this band. Sublime specifically quotes lyrics from "A Message To You Rudy" in one of their songs (can't recall off the top of my head), and generally rocks this same style in several songs.
Post a Comment