Ska music reviews

I had to get the album again because i wore out my first copy. The whole album rocks. Not one bad song on it. Sucks they broke up. Definitely pick it up if you have a chance. ***** stars, all the way!

SHJ was an icon of the northeast ska scene when I was growing up. Let me state that I myself was never really much of a skankin' roughie myself, but my sister and many of my friends were deeply involved in the scene themselves and I have yet to meet a single individual who can credibly speak of the regional ska scene without mentioning SHJ.

This album was regarded as the "pre-sellout" SHJ album, before they added "USA" to their name. Jolene is a decent song, but that release pales in comparison to the diversity of Static World View. Simply put, if you are a ska fan and do not own this album, you are missing out. The songs are not a homogenous mix of boring standard pop structure. The instrumentation is varied and nuanced. The horn lines are catchy as hell. The guitar comes out of the rhythmic background when it needs to. The vocals and harmonies are unquestionably competent.

Addicted, Electric, and Freedom typify this cds diversity pretty damned well. There is no formula other than the collective attempt of a band to create the awesome. The songs swing in an amusing way and rarely comprimise themselves to deliver something you've heard before. I consider this to be my favorite ska cd of all time and among my favorite pop cds. If you consider yourself a fan of the genre, you should be ashamed for not having given this one a chance.

-adam prestin

This is perhaps the most incredible ska(core?) album ever produced. The song "Electric" shall forever remain my all time favorite. Concerning one of the previous reviews from 1999 where an ignorant fan said the same thing 16 times in a row, I would sharply disagree and have to say that this CD does NOT in fact need "Jolene." I found Songs From Suburbia to be a startling disappointment, followed by the band splitting up. Static World View is fantastic from start to finish, both musically and lyrically. I still find myself to be in a state of disbelief every time I hear it. It's just amazing, I bought it twice over the span of a few years, nothing else to say.

MORE OF A SKA ALBUM BUT IN SUCH A GOOD WAY NOT GOOFY ER ANYTHING AT ALL. REGGAE SKA 2 TONE,AND A EVEN BLEND OF SMOOTH PUNK SONGS WITHOUT BEING POPPY.A HARD THING TO DO, AND THE DINGEES DO IT SO WELL.

I really can't stand ska anymore.... the upbeat is something I have come to abhor over the years.... however listening to this CD does not bug me at all..... regae is fine with me and even the skaish songs carry some other quality with them.... I love tracks like Rally-O and Staff Sergent ect. it is an amazing album and I love it....

The dingees are one of the best punk rock bands ever. They keep it interesting through combining traditional ska and reggae music. This CD is a must if you are a fan of rancid or the clash.

After the wild hyperactive ska of their debut I Just Can't Stop It, The English Beat slowed down the tempo big time on the Wha'Ppen? album. Not that the band did a complete u-turn here musically, but it's a definitely a more subdued affair. While there aren't any tracks here as strong as "Mirror In The Bathroom", "Hands Off...She's Mine", or "Save It For Later", Wha'Ppen? is a more diverse affair and most of the songs here are very good.

The first single "Doors Of Your Heart" is pure reggae and several tracks here are in the same vein with the best being "Dream Home In New Zealand", "Cheated", and "The Limits We Set." While other strong tracks such as "All Out To Get You", "Get A Job", and "Over And Over" recall the ska of their debut, the tracks here are slightly more laid back but still danceable. "Monkey Murders" and "I Am Your Flag" are catchy pop songs that point to the direction they'd pursue on their next album Special Beat Service. While these tracks are all very good, the best track here is the opening "Too Nice To Talk To" which combines their sound with a funk beat. Other decent tracks include the very laid back "Drowning" and "French Toast (Soliel Trop Chaud)." While this may be their weakest album, it's still very good and has stood the test of time better than the work of the more successful bands they'd later form, General Public and Fine Young Cannibals. Definitely worth checking out.

my fav. english beat CD (and im a fairlly avid fan)
if you like this Cd you have to try and find "which side of the bed" which is the beats best song unfortunatlly it was never released on to a cd but if you can find it its worth the time

Let's be clear. "Too Nice to Talk To" is the extra track (singular).

What happens you put Dropkick Murphys, Less Than Jake, NOFX, Blink 182, and a heap of great bands all in the same CD... Well... You get something like World Warped III... If you have the money, get it. Along with the bands I mentioned you also get songs from bands you may not have heard... And that's always good.

OK, I went to Warped Tour 2000 in Tennessee and I thought most of the bands there performed very well, particularly Green Day. Shindig is a great band with excellent songwriting skills which should have been on this CD, however their set was adversely affected by lousy sound techs. This CD is high quality, it is live (even if not recorded at the actual tour as it should have been), and only lacks in that more local bands are not represented on it.

This CD is great, and is a must have for any punker. Although it's called World Warped III and contains bands that were on the warped tour in recent years, none of the shows on this disc are recorded from warped tour, most are from clubs and various other shows. Most of the recordings are terrific quality, while others like NOFX appears to be recorded from a bootleg.

If you like Dropkick Murphy's, the first track contains "Barroom Hero" live, with Al Barr singing, it's the best version of this song I've ever heard because the crowd sings along and it's cool to hear Al Barr singing the song, he does a great job.

The original Dance Craze album introduced me to ska almost 20 years ago. The album changed my life, encouraging me to search out albums from all the bands: The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, Bad Manners, The (English) Beat (sadly, the Bodysnatchers only put out singles, so I couldn't get anything for them in the States). Unlike a great many live albums, this one really communicated the frenetic energy of a live show.

When they re-released this album I was excited to have the opportunity to replace my original worn out copy. While it is still very good, all of the Madness tracks have been removed. I know this is probably a contract issue, but the Madness tunes were some of the best. It leaves a BIG hole in the flow of the album.

Sooo, while this is still a great primer for folks who are new to early 80s British ska, try to track down a copy of the original. Better yet, try to track down a copy of the video. It's got 2-3 times as many songs, and you get to SEE how great the bands were, and how they really got the audiences dancing.

Due to contract problems Madness are not on the CD,Only on the now hard to get record.Still a great CD.Some of the best 2nd wave ska captured on this recording.The movie comes up for sale in scootering mag,s from England now and then ,but to be honest its not very good.Also if you get it from England you will need to change it over to watch it on north American TV,s.I dont think it was ever produced in the American version?Also look for World of SKIN,a great documenty from UK,and Made in Britain [a skinhead film].....HOPE THIS HELPS

This CD contains some of the best of British Ska, or at least some of the best Ska bands recorded on 2 Tone. It's hard to beat live versions of some of these classics, and in fact, songs like Concrete Jungle (the Specials) and Mirror in the Bathroom (the English Beat) on this CD are superior to their studio counterparts. This is a wonderful sampler and a must-have for any Ska fan.

Slow Gherkin played at my friend's barmitzvah 3 years ago, and i still consider it one of the greater concerts i have been to. it was right after they released double happiness, and i bought the CD at the show. it was a great cd, and Thumbs down to Gen-X is still one of my favorite songs. i reccomend this cd to anyone who wants to hear ska that hasnt been completely commercialized and mainstream.

I think this cd is Great, and im just typing this because i love there music and i think they Deserve another star for this cd

Slow Gherkin is beyond a doubt one of the most talented groups to hit Northern California this decade. This particular album is a nice long cushy selection that really shows their wide repertoire of musical capabilities. Songs vary from punk/ska to jumpier dance ska to well crafted latin-inspired instrumentals. The lyrics go from insanely amusing to sharp and meaningful, not all romantic, not all humorous. It's an album for all moods and a staple for all you self-proclaimed ska fans. Shed Some Skin, also an excellent album, is definitely another to check out. If you haven't heard of Slow Gherkin consider this fate, and if you're ever in Santa Cruz check for shows, they put on a wild one.

first of all this is like a really old cd with all their old songs: re-realeased. when i bought it i thought that the songs were going to be newly-recorded, expecting that the track names i hadn't heard of, on their previous cds, to be new! yeah well thats not the case. it turns out that half the songs that are on other releases are recorded at a quality less than previously released. alright i hope that made sense. these are the recordings BEFORE the released the other cds..but since the other cds have already been out--released this one now with worse sound quality had me kinda of disapointed. this cd was worth it for the songs i hadn't heard before. if you alread have the other RBF cds then go for it, but if this is only your first or second RBF cd i'd suggest "why do they rock so hard" or "turn the radio off" before you buy this one.

This is a very good CD. I really like it. But the only reason that I rated it a 4 outta 5 is because it has crappy sound quality. My least favorite of RBF for that reason.

HEY ITS ALPHA-BETA-GAMMA

RATING ANOTHER GREAT REEL BIG FISH ALBUM

FIRST OF ALL

LETS REVEIW THE FACTS

-IT HAS 21 SONGS(NO INTROS/NO SKITS/NO INTERLUDES)
-IT IS AN ENHANCED CD
-IT HAS SONGS FROM THE FIRST TWO ALBUMS PLUS NEW ONES SO IF YOU ARE LOW ON MONEY BUY THIS INSTEAD OF THE FIRST TWO ALBUMS

IT FEATURES THE HIT SONGS

"BEER"
"SKATANIC"
"I WANT YA GF TO BE MINE"

Really, just barely. The music is nice but the lyrics fall way short of 3 to 5 stars so, I guess teens are pumping this disk up for the lewd,naked band boy, pictured on the inside of the jacket AND on the disc. I find it offensive and feel volcom entertainment should not have allowed this. The lyrics are the teenage fantasies and adolescent behavior of some wild, sex-crazed kids. I give this yuck 2stars and the band 3stars for having to put up with this stuff everytime they perform.Barely,dude! Not one hit on the disc.

This is one of the top albums on the market today, and the sould put into the music is remarkable. This album can be listened to multiple times and appreciated each and every time. Anyone who likes music should check out this album.

like i always say, you get or don't if you don't get it, shut up.

I'm confused. On a whole ska terrifies me and ska/punk/core is usually even worse, yet I LOVE this record. Much like OpIvy these guys seem to some how transcend the genres/stereotypes and just get inside your head. Not to say this sounds anything like OpIvy or will have anywhere near that kinda impact but they are a good reference point for the Chinkees. As far as an actual review I would call them politically aware, upbeat, pop-punk oriented ska. They make you feel good while hopefully helping inform the kids about the ever present problems of racism/poverty. I don't know enough about the band to gauge thier sincererity but if they do indeed practice what they preach then they are almost to good to be true.

The Chinkees have and always will be one of my all time favorite ska bands, well one of the greatest bands period no matter the genre.This album is by far as good as The Chinkees "are coming", this c.d. along with all of any of Mike Parks bands(skankin pickle and the b. lee band, and this fall his solo project :)) is full of great lyrics to sing along with and skank to....But best of all they imform the listener about the racial problems we face in this world.And yes racism is a major major problem, there is nobody better to express this than Mike Park himself....Now to the c.d. it is a fun and exciting experience and being a big ska fan and fan of Mike Park for a long time could not have expected better :)

The Chinkees' latest album thoroughly deserves 5 stars. Amidst the aftermath of the ska/punk revival and skate punk emergence, the Chinkees are a ska band with a mission... educate and make people aware of racism. Mike Park, former singer and saxophonist for the monumental ska/punk band Skankin' Pickle, emerges from his experimentation to once again dominate this genre. The Chinkees, formed to educate others and deal with racism through music have created a political, yet catchy and poppy album. While bands such as Blink 182 rely on toilet humor to capture audiences, Mike Park utilizes incredibly deep lyrics and a message of peace and unity to draw in questioning listeners. And while the poetic lyrics are enough to justify purchasing this album, the organ played by Richard Morin is perhaps the icing on this catchy pop rock cake. The album encounters many shifts of focus along its way. Park has strategically ordered the tracks in such a way that listeners can encounter the very thoughts that flow through him. The album begins with Park's concerns about his ailing father which leads to a perfect segue way about the racism and struggles that his father has endured in both Korea and the US. The focus on his father eventually ends upon the track "Ultraman," which is an forthright cry about his father condition. With lyrics such as, "my ultraman has fallen down, his light is flashing on the ground," listeners can sense the emotion that Park is going through. After that track, Park begins a series of songs that serve as social commentary in response to poverty, ignorance, and once again education before ending on a pure pop acoustic song entitled "Will I Have a Chance." Despite the seeming dreary subject matter, Park unleashes an array of catchy melodies designed to make listeners sing along. But in the end, the subject matter and message that the Chinkees bring once again prevail to forge an album that thrusts racism and bigotry into a position no longer ignored. Peace Through Music rightfully deserves and earns 5 stars. In a musical era of crassness, superficiality and sexuality, the Chinkees have produced a sing along album that inspires, educates and brings hope to a cause thoroughly worth fighting for...

Anyone remeber when Let's Go first came out, this single was bundled with it for free... now they are selling it. Oh well if you didn't get it with let's go, I bet you could write the band and they will send you a tape of it :) Besides, only one of these songs are unreleased now... since roots radicals is on ...and out come the wolves.

I loved I Wanna Riot, it was the best song on this two track single.

Roots Radicals is awesome, but any Rancid fan would have the album it's on. Just get this Single for I wanna riot, it's the most maddest song I've ever heard