Foundation Ska

Skatalites | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 9, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Heartbeat / Pgd
• ASIN: B00000045F
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,433 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #5 in Music > World Music > Reggae > Jamaican Ska
  • #20 in Music > World Music > Reggae > Rocksteady
  • #52 in Music > Alternative Rock > Ska > Ska General

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Christine Keeler

2. Fidel Castro

3. Simmer Down

4. Alley Pang

5. Exodus

6. King Solomon

7. Eastern Standard Time

8. World's Fair

9. Two For One

10. I Should Have Known Better

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Scandal Ska

2. Occupation

3. Old Rocking Chair

4. Third Man Ska

5. Ringo's Theme Ska

6. Ringo's Theme (Version Two)

7. Nimrod

8. Woman A Come

9. Cleopatra

10. Beardsman Ska

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It's not often that nearly four-decade-old music manages to be both seminal and cutting edge, but these 32 hits from Jamaica's--and the world's--greatest ska outfit are just that. Early ska blended R&B shuffle with mento (Jamaican calypso)--Jamaica's antic response to stateside boogie-woogie. Don Drummond, Roland Alphonso, the late Tommy McCook, and the other Skatalites injected the swinging sophistication of jazz-honed chops, and this set captures the band just starting out, during their '64-'65 tenure at Coxsonne Dodd's legendary Studio One. Ska's buoyant appeal has never died, merely gone underground now and then, and it's raging at an all-time high today. Foundation Ska shows why the Skatalites still dominate. Every track's a burnished gem, and fans will get extra kicks from the band's backing turns for Bob Marley and the Wailers ("Simmer Down") and Stranger Cole and Ken Boothe's "World's Fair" duet. --Elena Oumano

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Reggae Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 9-SEP-1997

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

100 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is that a joke?, May 4, 2002

By 

Michael Day (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foundation Ska (Audio CD)

Poor imitation of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Huh?!?

The Skatalites *started* ska.

You didn't think it came from the US did you?

This album was recorded in 60's Jamaica, you can't expect crystal clear sound. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones aren't fit to lick the stage these guys played on. Third wave 'ska' is almost all garbage.

There are four kinds of ska:

1. Traditional aka 'first wave' (60's Jamaica) (ex. Skatalites, Desmond Dekker, Toots & The Maytals).

2. Rocksteady (late 60's Jamaican music with a tempo between the Skatalites and reggae) (ex. Phylis Dillon, Alton Ellis, Ken Booth, The Gaylads, The Paragons, Jackie Mittoo and Tommy McCook after the Skatalites broke up).

3. 'Two-Tone' aka 'second wave' (early 80's British ska revival) (ex. English Beat, Bad Manners, Madness, The Specials, Selector),

4. Neo-trad (90's traditional style) (ex. Jazz Jamaica, The Slackers, Hepcat, The Toasters, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra)

No Doubt is pop, only famous because their singer's a hot chick. The Bosstones are even worse, basically Green Day with a horn section.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Musical Scorcher!, July 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Foundation Ska (Audio CD)

This is the definitve Skatalites collection that I was looking for when I was a kid! These are some of the hardest and best recorded Skatalites tracks in existence. It's all here - Lloyd Knibs & Drumbago whacking the hell out of their kits with rimshots like firecrackers; Ernest Ranglin matching the whole massed horn section lick for lick; edgy, lyrical solos from Roland Alphonso and Tommy McCook; Lloyd Brevett's nimble explosive-propulsive double bass; Jackie Mitoo's crucial piano; and, of course, Don Drummond's trombone like a Dread clarion over the whole glorius racket. This is the real thing, the orignal, and still the best.

(I just wish they had included their original recording of the "James Bond Theme" the version on "Ball of Fire" is nowhere near as intense as the original!)

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overall great, but could use more of the original hits, January 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Foundation Ska (Audio CD)

This 2 disc set is well worth the amount anyone pays for it. Although I am a lil' bummed that the band's bigger hits aren't included (Guns, Phoenix City...) this is a truly great collection of their stuff. Some of the collection's biggest standouts occur when this super group backs super vocalists such as The Wailers on "Simmer Down", Stranger Cole and Ken Boothe on "World's Fair" and Jackie Opel's "Old Rocking Chair" which also features a great solo from Jamaican guitar legend Ernest Ranglan. The album also incldues a great set of liner notes describing the history of the band and the songs included.