Ska Train - Various Artists

Year Released: 1996

Label: Hallmark Records

Year Bought: 2011

Thanks to men old enough to know better sporting long shorts, dyed green hair and dodgy piercings, ska music has something of an image problem. When some hear the word 'ska', they think of bands doing HILARIOUS cover versions of pop songs or unwashed teenagers in a field who think Jackass is funny.

True ska is, of course, nothing like that. Developed in Jamaica in the 1960s, it enjoyed a revival in the late 1970s through groups such as The Specials, Madness, and The Selecter.

This compilation album, released in 1996 (I bought it off a market stall in Braintree in 2011), focuses very much on the first wave of ska. I'm no expert on this genre, but according to short essay in the CD sleeve, the genre name comes from "the scat singing often adopted by vocalists simply to keep up with the chugging instrumental rhythms."

The iconic ska attire – suit, braces, boots – came about thanks to Desmond Dekker, who insisted the bottom six inches of his suit trousers be cut off when handed a suit to play in before his first UK shows, according to the notes.

This compilation is a warm, enjoyable dalliance into the genre. It features standards such as 'Oh Carolina', 'The Wings Of A Dove', and 'Train To Skaville', but what it doesn't have is any Prince Buster or Desmond Dekker, so it's hardly a definitive collection.

An enjoyable listen though. Would provide the perfect soundtrack to a barbecue in a garden which had a shed painted in the colours of the Jamaican flag.

7/10

Track Listing:

1 The Ethiopians – Train To Skaville

2 The Maytals – Never You Change

3 Byron Lee And The Dragonaires – Easy Snappin'

4 The Blues Busters – The Wings Of A Dove

5 The Maytals – It's You

6 The Blues Busters – Shame And Scandal In The Family

7 Byron Lee And The Dragonaires – Oh Carolina

8 The Ethiopians – Engine '54

9 Byron Lee And The Dragonaires – Jamaica Ska

10 The Maytals – Daddy

11 Byron Lee And The Dragonaires – Summer Down

12 The Ethiopians – Train To Glory

13 The Maytals – My New Name

14 The Blues Busters – How Sweet It Is

15 The Ethiopians – Come On Now

16 The Blues Busters – Donna

Comments

Eye To The Telescope – KT Tunstall

Year Released: 2004 Label: Relentless Year Bought: No Idea I'm not sure why I have this record. I have no record of buying it. I've never listened to it. But then I do own two Dido albums so it's not exactly out of character of me to have it. I've always thought KT Tunstall was a pretty cool person. She's clearly talented. But this album, I just can't really connect with it. There's some good tunes on here. 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree' is great, as is 'Suddenly I See'. 'Another Place To Fall' hints at some darker tones, and 'Under The Weather' builds nicely. But overall it's just all a bit safe. I vaguely remember reading an interview with Tunstall a few years after this came out in which she said the original mix was a lot more rough and bluesy, but the label wanted it more polished. You can definitely hear how this album could have been scuffed up. 'Stopping The Love' is a good example of that. It's a mi...

Coming Up – Suede

Year Released: 1996 Label: Nude Year Bought: 2011 I know lots of people love this album, and it has got some great songs on it, but I just can't love it. It's too trebly, too thin, too cold. It kicks off with 'Trash', which is an absolutely brilliant tune with fantastic lyrics. Brett is at his absolute best here, with talk of "nowhere towns" and "cellophane sounds", and being the "litter on the breeze". I love it. But, alas we go from one of Suede's best songs to one of their worst. 'Filmstar' feels incredibly lazy. The riff is nothing, and as for the lyrics: Filmstar propping up the bar driving in a car it looks so easy Filmstar propping up the bar driving in a car tonight These are Noel Gallagher-on-an-incredibly-bad-day lyrics. I hate the riff, I hate the chorus, I hate the lyrics. I hate how shiny it is. It's lazy ... which is the title of the next song. This tune sees the first use on the album of the "here the...

Intimacy – Bloc Party

Year Released: 2008 Label: Wichita Year Bought: 2008 Bloc Party's first two albums were absolute mainstays of my uni years, but their third, 2008's 'Intimacy', didn't touch the sides. All I remember of this album is that they were trying to be nu-rave and the beginning bit of 'Mercury'. Listening to this album for the first time in 16 years, I can see why I didn't get on with it at the time. It's a dense, loud album, with hardly any room in the songs for air. The drums – and drum machines – are all very in-your-face so it is a struggle to really sit and actually listen to. The use of electronic drums is one of the main departures from Bloc Party's previous efforts, which for me is a real shame. One of the strengths of the group was that Matt Tong was a one-man drum machine, and using actual drum machines just feels like a step backwards. Opening song 'Ares' kicks things off with a searing guitar and huge drums that sound like something...

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