Ska music reviews

I cannot tell you how great this band was live! It is to my sorrow I have to say this band broke up a few years ago. They actually put out 7 cd's, their best being this cd and their last, Malltopia (a concept album of a slacker wandering a mall).

On an almost daily basis, I rag on John Taylor to get the band going again. His buddy Bill,the bass player)works with J.T. and a friend of mine, Kurt Sutton (who did a lot of live work with the group) at Neighborhood Lenders in Martinez california.

I am lucky enough to get together with them when they jam. And they still have the magic.

This is one of those bands that totally dominates in live shows. But there is still a certain `sound' on the albums.

it's time to bring them back out. If they don't rejoin, listen, and enjoy. Punk wannabe, with SUPERB lyrics!

This eponymous major label debut could be called `The Uninvited's Greatest Hits". All but two of the tracks are pulled from their excellent Indie albums, and every track is a stand out. Wry, witty and thought provoking, The Uninvited are nothing if not controversial. If you have any doubt check out `What God Said', in which the creator explains to JT that he can't help out everyone, or `Ordinary Man' where Jesus tells Steve that `...it ain't easy to be the Son of God'. The tunes are catchy, tuneful alt-pop, very danceable with punk attitude (they pound pound pound). These guys are one of the best bands you've never heard. They are somewhat similar in style and tone to Deadeye Dick and Harvey Danger. Generally loud and wild, they also write excellent introspective songs like `Rose Street' and `Velcro Heart' that are never smaltzy. Check out `Bottle of Thunder' to hear their signature mandolin sound. I can't say enough good things about this album, just buy it. I gotta be a mega multi media hero!

Easily one of my favorite albums of all time.. I find myself listening to Too High numerous times in a row.

Bachoi! I've always wanted to try it, I wonder if i have enough to buy it, it's grown in japan or maybe in china, or maybe some farm in south carolina. But just then I hear a voice in my head "Stay focused man tuna and bread", but right now I'm in produce bliss, WHHHHOOOOOOO!!! I'm too high for this!! - Uninvited

This CD is pretty good, but it's more of a compilation than a full album. It goes from song to song, and only a few really stick out. This is not to say that the songs are bad, it's just that they are almost disposable. It's a very good album, but it just goes from one to another, and you don't know where you're coming from or going to.

i bought this cd based on the good reviews it had got and i am very very pleased. this cd is very good and the songs are always stuck in my head

The first album I bought of Mad Caddies. Very well put together. Seems to mix ska-core in some parts, reggae in others, and rock in others. Just a very good combination. It really worked.

Less Than Jake's "Losing Streak", really got me into a Ska/Punk phase a few years ago, so I read a bunch of positive reviews about Slapstick, and figured I'd better pick up this CD. To be honest, I didn't really like the CD at all at first and was initially disappointed because I was hoping for a Less Than Jake clone. But like Operation Ivy's "Energy" album, I got a couple of its tunes stuck in my head, and the more and more I listened to it, the better and better it became. It's one of those albums that every time you give it a listen, you hear something new, and like it that much more. The CD was also my first exposure to vocalist Brendan Kelly (Later a vocalist for The Broadways and The Lawrence Arms) whose voice just packs every song with overwhelming energy and excitement. The lyrics are deep and thought out, many of them political, and many of them dealing with the everyday life of being a punk in Chicago. This band was the starting point for many artists in the great punk bands of the 1990's and early 2000's. Members of this band eventually went on to bands such as Less Than Jake, The Alkaline Trio, The Broadways, The Lawrence Arms, and The Honor System. This really is one of the Greatest Ska/Punk CD's of all time.

If you like this CD I would also suggest:

Operation Ivy- "Energy"
Less Than Jake- "Pezcore" & "Losing Streak"
The Suicide Machines- "Destruction by Definition"
The Lawrence Arms- "Guided Tour of Chicago"

IT just doesn't get much better than this. Every single song on this cd is upbeat, fun, loud, exciting, and darn catchy. Alll the songs have the perfect mix of punk and ska. Just enough punk and just enough ska. I love it. It's also perfect party music to jam too. I really enjoyed this album.

Slaptick and Operation Ivy i think are the two best punk/ska bands ever. I hope they do a reunion tour or something cuz i would love to see them live. This cd has 25 great tracks which is impressive.

....so I dismissed this and overlooked it. Like many punk fans, I turned my back to any band that signed with a major label. Sure, our favorite bands, The Ramones, The Clash, etc were on major labels. But ee justified it by saying independent labels weren't as viable of an option back then, and some of the "major labels" started as indies themselves. We kinda knew we were full of crap, but we pressed on. And we should have. The punk scene needs that a-hole element. It just does. But the consequences are missing some great music.
Ever since the whole Dr. Strange/Fat Wreck Chords drama of the early 90's, I never trusted Face To Face. Hearing the Victoria Manor tape (the pre-Face to Face metal band that was, well, awful and funny at the same time) made me think they were simply cashing in on this whole punk thing. Signing to a major confirmed that for me. Maybe they did, but judging the music on it's own merits, it doesn't matter. This is high quality stuff. I always liked Don't Turn Away and secretely loved Big Choice, but I was just too punk rock to get this. Well I should have. The songs on here have a sort of timeless feel to them. They sound like fully realized songs instead of 3 chord punk rock, and that's fine. "Walk the Walk" and "Blind" alone are reasons for buying this.
I guess this review is more about the band than this particular record, but hearing it made me regret not getting in in 1996. It took me almost ten years, it should take you about 30 more seconds. The "add to your cart" button is right there.

Words can't say enough about how truely great Face to Face is. A remarkable band that has sincere creativity and thoughful lyrics that don't patronize. Lead singer and guitarist Trever Keith has an amazing style to his music, his lyrics are powerful, yet simple. They put the listener into everyday life situations that anyone can relate to and hopefully gives them a powerful sense of hope and direction. Extremely catchy guitar riffs and a powerful bass guitar sound, finished off with Keith's uplifting lyrics- this album is one of a kind. I highly recommend it! I had the priviledge to see Face to Face twice, and they are truly a class act and have a damn great live show! Buy this album!!

This is probably my favorite punk cd ever. Face to Face was unbelievable. There just aren't many great straight up punk cds like this anymore.

I listen to a lot of punk/ska/emo/whatever you may call it. I listen to a wide variety of music from NOFX to The Roots to Bob Marley to Sublime, but this Impossibles album is hands down the greatest musical accomplishment i've ever had the pleasure to listen to. Not one song let me down, all songs have lyrics straight from the heart, energetic punk and ska beats and just a pure vibe to it. The Impossibles knew so well how to put music together and it is such a shame that they ever broke up. This will be the best money you will ever spend if you buy this cd. Truely a classic.

one of my greatest friends ever got me listening to the impossibles. i liked them so much, i went and ordered this cd. great move on my part. as of now, i own all of their stuff and although i love all of it, i must say that this one is still my favorite. the first time i listened to it for myself, i loved the ska-ness of it. there is also a lot of variety on the cd, mainly because of the compilation songs from both the EP and their self-titled cd. but every track is just awesome. there aren't any intermissions or fillers. every time i go back and listen to it, i find something new to like about it. since anthology is 20 songs long, at first i didn't always make it to the 2nd half of the cd while i was driving home from school, so i put my cd player on random and was amazed. in the beginning i seemed to like first few songs the best, then later the last ones were the ones that i listened to the most. now i can't pick just one and i can't seem to turn it on without listening to it the whole way through.

at this point, if you're still wondering if you should buy this, my answer would be just buy it anyway and experience their music for yourself.

The Impossibles are just a fun band to listen too. "Eightball" has got to be one of the best songs I've ever heard, and these guys totally rule in concert. I have a lot of respect for them because they sound as good live as they do on the CD.

Anthology is basically the combination of their first self titled CD with all the songs from their second CD, which was and EP called Back for the Attack, tacked on the end. Both of those ruled, but you'd have a hard time finding them anywhere, and it'd be cheaper and easier to buy this.

Pretty much, this is one of those good CD's that you can listen to all the way through and enjoy every song.

This is one of Marley's most perfect statements - maybe his best album. It contains 5 of his most famous songs and 5 of his most underrated songs.. This is probably Marley's most profound statement as an artist and songwriter - it is not quite as raw and hard edged as the original wailer albums with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer - but this is his most mature album as far as song writing goes..Essential!

Exodus is Bob's greatest album. It was after this point where he became the Legend that we know him to be. It was almost unfair for Bob to start off with Natural Mystic on the album; the song is almost too good. The first few almost silent chords are the first indication of what await us. What I like about the album the most is the different mix of beats and rhythms. They range from the smooth easy listening of Turn Your Lights Down Low to the hard one drop roots rhythm of Exodus. Exodus really introduced Bob Marley and the Wailers to the world because it had messages that people from all parts of the earth could relate to. It was post 1977 that the Wailers embarked on their legendary world tours in 1978, 1979, and 1980. They went to places as far Tokyo, New Zealand, and filled stadiums with 100,000 people in Milan, Italy and Berlin, Germany. The album set new standards for reggae by being one of the first reggae albums to become more mainstream and less focused on the trials and tribulations awaiting the Rastaman In Babylon. My favorite song on this album is...too hard a choice.

Really this album is definitive Bob Marley.Legend has assumed the mantle of being Bob's best album, yet it does not include " Roots,Rock,Reggae " which remains his only US top ten hit (No6).So-called connoiseurs fail to realise that " Buffalo Soldier" was a hit posthumously for Bob, but he didn't think it was good enough to put on a album when he was alive.Exodus turned Bob into a superstar although the US did not catch on till the release of Legend.Exodus contains everything, militancy, prophecy,romanticism,righteous education and more." Catch a Fire " is classic reggae, Exodus is classic Bob.

This is one of Marley's most perfect statements - maybe his best album. It contains 5 of his most famous songs and 5 of his most underrated songs.. This is probably Marley's most profound statement as an artist and songwriter - it is not quite as raw and hard edged as the original wailer albums with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer - but this is his most mature album as far as song writing goes..Essential!

Exodus is Bob's greatest album. It was after this point where he became the Legend that we know him to be. It was almost unfair for Bob to start off with Natural Mystic on the album; the song is almost too good. The first few almost silent chords are the first indication of what await us. What I like about the album the most is the different mix of beats and rhythms. They range from the smooth easy listening of Turn Your Lights Down Low to the hard one drop roots rhythm of Exodus. Exodus really introduced Bob Marley and the Wailers to the world because it had messages that people from all parts of the earth could relate to. It was post 1977 that the Wailers embarked on their legendary world tours in 1978, 1979, and 1980. They went to places as far Tokyo, New Zealand, and filled stadiums with 100,000 people in Milan, Italy and Berlin, Germany. The album set new standards for reggae by being one of the first reggae albums to become more mainstream and less focused on the trials and tribulations awaiting the Rastaman In Babylon. My favorite song on this album is...too hard a choice.

Really this album is definitive Bob Marley.Legend has assumed the mantle of being Bob's best album, yet it does not include " Roots,Rock,Reggae " which remains his only US top ten hit (No6).So-called connoiseurs fail to realise that " Buffalo Soldier" was a hit posthumously for Bob, but he didn't think it was good enough to put on a album when he was alive.Exodus turned Bob into a superstar although the US did not catch on till the release of Legend.Exodus contains everything, militancy, prophecy,romanticism,righteous education and more." Catch a Fire " is classic reggae, Exodus is classic Bob.

At the time they released Special Beat Service in 1982, the English Beat appeared to be on the verge of a breakthrough. While their first album, I Just Can't Stop It, was a ska classic, and their second album, Wha'ppen?, was very deep into reggae, Special Beat Service toned down those genres in favor of British pop. Dave Wakeling's vocals were more compassionate than ever before and their songs were arguably their strongest overall. However, internal dissention would ultimately break up the English Beat and although several of the band members would later find success with General Public and The Fine Young Cannibals respectively, the excellent songs and performances on Special Beat Service make you wonder how far they could have gone if they were able to keep it together.

One listen to the soulful "I Confess" and the solemn ballad "End of the Party" show a newfound maturity that didn't exist on their previous releases. Songs like "Jeanette", "She's Going", and "Sugar & Stress" are very catchy while "Sorry" mixes their snappy horn lines with a dose of funk. "Soul Salvation", which combines their ska sound with an R&B edge, is also a great track. Other strong tracks include the new wave sounds of "Rotating Head" and the island like "Ackee 1 2 3." The reggae tracks, "Spar Wid Me", and "Pato and Roger a Go Talk" are also pretty decent. Finally, "Save It for Later" is one of the best British singles of the `80s, and is living proof that sometimes the best songs are the simplest. The strings near the end of the track also provide a nice touch. All told, Special Beat Service is a great album from one of the more enduring British bands. Highly recommended.

It's really hard to keep still when listening to this cd. I've owned it on vinyl, cassette, and cd over the years and it's always put me in a great mood. Friends have always asked about it when they heard it, and subsequently purchased it. Buy it, you won't be dissapointed.

Save it for Later is still one of the perfect songs of all time (though the extended versions from later are even better). There's some other great stuff off this album, like Ackee 1-2-3, and I Confess, but the whole album is solid. Actually, all of the Beat albums are solid; if you like any of their songs, I recommend the rest of their catalog to you. But Save it for Later is a special gem, so I recommend this album first.

Still retains a sense of humor unlike all the emo/screamo bands that surfaced in the last few years.

If you like catchy ska/punk and you understand that it's possible to take life seriously but still have fun then chances are you'll really like this CD.

I just got into ska about a year ago when a friend from skewl introduced me to Five Iron Frenzy's "O Canada", which he had on his MP3 player. It got me hooked, that kind of silly humour just fit me so well. I wanted to hear more and I found out that they were a Christian band (awsome!) and that their style was ska. I cannot get enough of them and I am EXTREAMLY sad that they broke up about two years before I first heard them. I would have loved to have seen them live...even if it meant flying to Denver to see 'em (yes, they're that good). "O Canada" remains one of my faves, but "On Distant Shores" beats them all, with ingenious lyrics, music, passion for Jesus, and its all in ska style. Even if your not a big fan of ska and have never heard these guys before, you might want to consider them simply because they're fun to listen to and many of their creative songs convey their feelings of history ("Crazy Horse"), American culture ("Vultures"), Christianity ("On Distant Shores"), humour ("Pre-Ex-Girlfriend"), and themselves ((also funny) "At Least I'm Not Like All Those Other Old Guys"). I just don't see how you CAN'T like 'em!

This CD is the best I have ever heard. It is far more than just music to me, and it's so sad that FIF had to break up. They will be so sorely missed. I won't go into details of the CD, I wouldn't do it justice. Buy this album! You won't be disappointed.

first of aal i want to apoligise if my english isnt good nut i'm from belgium,europe and we speak dutch.
okay now, as being a huge ltj fan , i own all the albums and this was a hard album to get in.
this cd is totally different from albums like hello rockview anthem, or any other ltj album.
like people who only like ltj since anthem or borders and boundries will msot likely hate this cd. this cd has a more rougher (?) sound. you wont find things like auto tuning on this album. and instead of anthem's pop punk with a little bit of horns, this album is alot more ska, you either hate it or love it. songs are also very short and im sure some have been written in an even shorter time, cause musically this album is a lot of the same. but nevertheless this is a good album if you like true ska-punk ( and thats no punk with horns you idiots!!).
early ltj fans will love this album ( like i do) but new fans will be disappointed and thats why i give this album only
3 stars.

This is a really cool Less Than Jake album. This was realeased just after Pezcore and has that same sound, sort of raw and rough around the edges, as opposed to the later albums like Borders and Boundaries, Anthem, and B is for B-sides, which have tighter horns and an overall smoother sound. This album has a lot of good stuff on it. It's energetic and fast like all of LTJ's work. This is a nice addition to your LTJ collection.

I have recently become a fan of less than jake. Their first song I heard of theirs was "All My Friends Are Metalheads" playing Tony Hawk 4 and decided to go out and pick up "Hello Rockview", since that time i have aquired numerous albums of theirs. The first taste i had of Less Than Jake was the more punkish version that shows up in "Anthem" and thier newer cds.
So when i first opened this album and popped it in my cd player, it sounded like a poorly recorded mess of music. After several months of neglecting to listen to it i decided to give it another chance. Pretty soon I started listening to the music more and realized how great it actually is. The songs have very catchy sing along lyrics and are fast paced. The meaningful lyrics and messages in the songs are great and make this album that much better. I would recommend this cd to anyone, even a new less than jake fan can get into it if they just give it a chance. You may hate it at first, but before long you'll find yourself jumping around singing along to the songs.