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All Day

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From Goldmine Magazine:

Web Exclusive! Review of the Day -- Pietasters: All Day
Tony Sclafani
The Pietasters
All Day
Indication (IR 001)
Grade: ****

Ska's third wave may have long since crested, but The Pietasters sound anything but washed up on their new CD, All Day.

A time capsule of Motown licks, ska horns, and bluebeat rhythms, the CD might be dry on originality, but when it comes to tunefulness, well, it's an absolute day at the beach.

This is the first Pietasters disc in the past half decade, and in that time they've been able to accumulate lots of first-rate material thanks to new composer Jorge Pezzimenti (who replaced the late Todd Eckhardt on bass).

Time has mellowed the band and their punky energy is largely gone. But that's made up for by Pezzimenti's hook-happy tunes and Steve Jackson's more mature singing. Who says ska bands can't change?

One thing that has changed is the ska scene. The kids who once spent their nights "skanking" to the music in the 1990s are now grown and probably listening to indie. Heck, even The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (for whom The Pietasters used to open) are on hiatus.

But no matter. On this independently-released effort, The Pietasters party like its 1997 (when they released their biggest CD, Willis, and were preparing to play several Warped Tours). Maybe they'll be able to reel back their audience like Reel Big Fish.

All Day is filled with the kind of tunes that summon that 1960s Saturday-in-the-convertible vibe. The opener, "Change My Ways" sounds like The Foundations with a more soulful foundation. The upbeat "Don't Wanna Know" matches old-school ska with pure pop vocals. "Late Night Call" uses a reggae beat and fetching melody to tell a bittersweet tale of a guy "drunk dialing" his gal. The ultra-catchy "Keep on Lyin'" uses a swingin' Supremes rhythm to create an addictively infectious groove. "Ordinary" sounds like old soul done up new wave.

The CD's overly-limited sound seems designed to evoke the sound of music blaring out of an old transistor radio. In a similar vein, Louis Arzonico's cleverly crafted inner sleeve places the song titles on the labels of imaginary 45 records.

As all that idea might indicate, The Pietasters aren't serving up much of anything new with All Day. But they whip up a sweet confection that any fan of retro music will want to sample.

Link: http://www.goldminemag.com/Default.aspx?tabid=2244&articleid=7466&articlemid=6405#6405Articles

I've been a big fan of the Pietasters since middleschool (I'm now a grad student!). This album was a letdown. The reviews before me indicate that it is more "old school" than turbo, and they are right, but to a fault. This sounds like it was recorded in a garage, and the band is back to day one without practicing. The horns are flat, there nothing that hooks you in. Pietasters, I'll see you guys whenever you come to Boston, but don't play stuff off this album at the show.

....this album builds on everything that has come before, looking forward to whatever comes next!....Pietasters are keeping ska alive!....a must have for any ska fan!....

The Pietasters' latest release, All Day, is a very strong album from the ska revival band from Washington, DC. Boasting an old school production reminiscent of the genre's origins, All Day is great mix of ska, reggae, and `60s soul. "Don't Wanna Know", which boasts lots of snappy horn lines and a very memorable chorus, is very catchy and is one of their best songs ever. Tracks like "Keep On Lyin'","Oolooloo", "Triflin''", and "Fozzy (Part 1)" are all strong tracks, some of which sound straight out of Motown. "Late Night Call" is a great reggae tune as is the cool version of Tom Petty's hit "Listen to Her Heart." The instrumentals "Anj Gil" and "Sketch Dub" are very good with the latter recalling The Specials' classic "Ghost Town" in its vibe. Other strong tracks include "Dream of You" and the closing "G to F." The only track that isn't up to par is "So Long", an attempt at garage rock that doesn't quite work. All told, All Day is a great old school ska album that I'd recommend to all fans of the genre.

Imagine, for a moment, that The Pietasters stumbled across a time machine. And imagine, for a moment, that they traveled back in time to Kingston, Jamaica circa 1963 to listen to The Skatalites perform at the height of Ska's popularity. Then, hopping back into the time machine, they traveled to Northern England circa 1965 to watch Mods dance and kick to some classic Soul tunes.

And then, hopping back into the time machine, The Pietasters traveled back to Jamaica circa 1969 to observe Reggae take root in the ghettos of Trenchtown. And then imagine, for a moment, they traveled back to the present day to record an album based upon what they'd heard, seen, and observed.

That album is "All Day", and it just might be the best Pietasters album, ever.

From the soulful overture, "Change My Ways" to the hard-boiled finale, "G to F", the common theme throughout "All Day" is retro, retro, retro. Practically every one of the 14 tracks seems laboriously hand-crafted. This album has been 5 years in the making and the quality shows.

The best news out of "All Day" is that after practically sitting out "Turbo", Ska is back on a Pietasters' album. If you've downloaded the 3 free songs from their website, then you've already heard "Don't Wanna Know". If you like that song, I'm confident you're going to like "Triflin", which has a steady horn line layered over Toby Hansen's frenetic guitar work. "Anj Gil", named after their stage manager Andy Gilmartin, is a ska instrumental that features Jeff Wright (from James Brown's Soul Generals) on alto sax and Jon Darby on the electric organ.

There are 5 Soul/Rock tracks on "All Day". The aforementioned "Change My Ways" is my favorite. "Fozzy" is the most James Brown-inspired. "So Long" is very reminiscent of a 1960's Rolling Stones. "Keep On Lyin" is comparable to "Set Me Up" from "Turbo". "Ordinary" is just that: ordinary. The sole weak track on the album.

Perhaps the most surprising attribute of "All Day" is that out of 14 tracks, 6 are Reggae. And the good news is that I found these tracks much better than say "Higher" or the cover of "Mellow Mood" off of "Turbo". If "Triflin" is my favorite track, "G to F" is my second favorite with "Late Night Call" in my Top 5. It was also nice to see former keyboardist, Jeb Crandall, make a contribution to the album with "Sketch Dub". "Dream Of You" , "Oolooloo", and a cover of Tom Petty's "Listen To Her Heart" round out the reggae tracks.

A lot of what makes "All Day" successful has got to be credited with bassist, Jorge Pezzimenti.
Steve Jackson may be the vocalist, but throughout this album, it's Jorge who put the words to paper, penning 8 tracks himself and co-writing another 4! But it is also evident that "All Day" was a group effort. The horns have never sounded better with great solos peppered throughout by trombonist, Jeremy Roberts, trumpeter Carlos Linares, and Alan Makranczy on saxophone. And it bears special note that guitarist Toby Hansen and drummer Rob Stewart can switch between ska, soul, and reggae with ease, despite that each three genres are quite different.

"All Day" is a great album well worth the 5 year wait. Personally, I would have dropped "Ordinary" and just gone with 13 tracks. But who knows...maybe The Pietasters have triskaidekaphobia.

There are some great songs on here. If you're a fan of The Pietasters, or just a fan of Soul, Ska, or Reggae, you'll like this album. There is definitely some genius on here with Late Night Call being my personal favorite. My only gripe is that compared to Willis, Awesome Mix Tape, Turbo, the recording doesn't seem to be of the same quality. The horns aren't as full and some of the mixing seems a little off on some of the songs.