Ska music reviews

Now following in the footsteps of the Bruce Lee band Skankin' Pickle was one of the premire Ska bands around. Comming off of Dill Records, the Live Lp fails to capture all the intensity of a real Skankin Pickle Live Show, not due to lack of energy, but due to the sole fact that it is impossible to capture all the Pure Ska-Punk energy this band puts off at a Live show. Still, if you have never seen Skankin Pickle, this is the next best option. Recorded in Petaluma AZ, these 15 tracks bump with Ska-Punk Power, also look for the 7 other tracks from the Tantra Monsters and the Rudeamens at the end of the LP! Even with the current absence of Bruce Lee, scnce he chaped the band to move on with his side project The Bruce Lee Band; Ian, Lars, Chuck, Gerry and Lynette are still Pumping with Lynette on vocals along with a soon to be anounced new lead singer. Watch out Bruce Lee Band, Skankin Pickle is comin' back with a VENGANCE!!! Also Recomended: Voodoo Glowskulls: Band Geek Mafia -- Less Than Jake: Pezcore and Loosing Streak -- Save Farris: It Means Everything

Skankin' Pickle Live fully captures the experience of actually seeing the band live. It has great sound quality, which is especially good on a live album. The cd contains almost all of Skankin Pickle's best songs including, "Hussein Skank", "Pabu Boy", Asian Man" and many more.

Lets say the first review on this page is stupid, for one, Slapstick is not emo, they are Punk-Ska. And you can't get this cd anymore because it is out of print. So the only way you can get it is from being used or a friend. I gave this cd 4 stars because it gets old after a while but still the same great Slapstick music.

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I was lucky enough to grow up in the 90's Chicago punk scene and when it came to local music, bands like Screeching Weasel and The Vindictives were the "big" name bands who gained more national publicity. Those of us in Chicago, though, knew when it came to shows, you could not get more energy than you could from a Slapstick show. If you've never heard them, I'd say they sound like Operation Ivy with a horn section and they do a remarkable job of capturing that live-stage energy on cd. I can not imagine how anyone could ever get bored of listening to this album. It is one of my all-time favorites and now, 10 years later, I get as much pleasure out of this cd as I did when I first bought it a decade ago. Lyrics like "I wannna be a kid again, I want to play in the park" are just one example of this band's aura of nostalgia that make you think back to better days and good friends. You can't find this cd on the shelves anymore, but their self-titled cd contains, I believe, every song they recorded in a studio. If I didn't already own it, I'd buy it again. On a final note, I also highly recommend going to Asian Man Records' web page and picking up the recording of their last live show ever at The Fireside Bowl.... and if you do pick it up, look for me in the crowd wearing my grey, bottle-cap covered, wool hat.

Mix of emo, hardcore, punk and ska in this great a** album. A must for every cd collection!

Those that enjoy ska and are interested in tapping into the Latin music market should definitely check out Maldita Vecindad. Those already in tune with rock en Espanol may already know of the group's popularity. This debut excited many in Mexico and rippled over into other countries. The band even caught the attention of Jane's Addiction from Los Angeles, who invited Maldita to open up for them in December 1990. I recommend this album or the following "El Circo" as a beginning to familiarize yourself with the awesome power of Maldita Vecindad. If the home recording doesn't grab you, their extremely energetic live show will.

Their 1989 groundbreaking debut album was the first successful step to their legendary "El circo" album of 1991. There are great records on this album already like 'Rafael', 'Morenaza', 'Bailando', and their ever epic and mythical 'Mojado'. 8 tracks that cover a lot of influences: reggae, ska, punk, and afro-cuban flashes blend together to form a unique style that still resonates 15 years later. This album is one of those records that brings back memories to those who lived in those days where a new thing called Rock en Espa�ol was barely stretching its legs.

rafael, morenaza, and bailando are my favorites.

Truly one of the best underground Cd's out right now. Al Kapone is one of the best rappers coming out of Memphis. Check out tracks 5, 9, & 10.

i like them songs & them music i love them thanks i hope if i can give them more then 5 stars but... i am from australia but my mother country is lebanon thanks again jack arnold

All Mighty Senators are the country's best-kept secret as far as music that makes you dance. You can't listen to AMS without wanting to shake that booty. Though the live show is the penultimate as far as the music goes, listening to this CD will get you geared up for a night on the town or will allow you to dance around the house, whether you're alone or not!
GREAT CHOICE!!!

Coming off 2000's amazing "Raw Power Live," I expected AMS to finally break the studio spell and make an album that accurately reflects their insane, free-wheeling, booty-shakin live sound.

Oh well.

Don't get me wrong. This is a pretty good effort, but it sounds too flat and dim to really capture the energy that this band is notorious for.

For all its faults, it's still far better than some ...

The Senators have been mainstays in Baltimore, Md for a over 10 years..and are always fun to go back to. Big Business is more polished then previous releases and just has the the feel and look of a more produced, great sounding album.
Standout songs IMHO are: Soul(rockin and funkin), Giant Steps(funkin), Music is Big Business, Good(this sounds like a theme song to a Saturday morning show OR would sound great as background music as closing credits roll on a movie!), Mother Nature's Afro, Booty Fresh(pretty little ditty)

You can't deny the orginality and the fun they create. The whole album is pretty easy to listen through without having to skip around(a key to great albums in my book.) Not a big fan personally, but cool that there are small appearances by singers of other good Baltimore bands - Kelly Bell Band and Jimmie's Chicken Shack.

My only complaint(and this applies to other groups too) is the need for chorus lyrics to be repeated so often, particularly when they are not always catchy or good.

Also, Landis sure does talk about going downtown a lot!

To sum up, get this album!

Yes I am fully aware there will be lil' punk kids unhappy and vengeful when my 2 star rating brings down the overall score of a beloved nasty punk album that lots of lil' angry punk kids probably still love. I was thinking about the signifigance of this particular album this morning. I will explain my crummy rating, which I think is an accurate and deserving score for this oxymoronic album which for me bookends an overblown era of music for that matter.

The 90's did NOT do good things for the genre of Punk rock. The endless marketing, promotion and hunt for the next year's sizzling hot "Warped Tour roster" completely sterilized the attitude and creativity of a genre known for it's lack of comprimise. If I still accurately recall this album came out at the tail end of the decade and was one of the last "decent" ripples of punk rock attitude as the genre headed into seriously embarrassing times. I too heard the kinetic catchy bass line to the "500 channels" song somewhere in 98', complete with it's grimy references to smoking rock, shooting dope and spewing nihilism, vomit and apathy everywhere. All of this sudden I had a small glimmer of hope that a dark and eerie NYC squat punk band could save the fire of "Punk" from the corporate pillaging of the 90's and remind everyone of the genre's core. I held faith in this particular band. I admired some of their choices early on and I even traveled to "less than pleasant" neighborhoods to see them and the Post-CV era Leftover Crack / INDK bands live.

For my ears, that "500 Channels" song was the peak. It never really delivers beyond that song. I am now 30 and I still like that song, but this band fell down the stairs! My old faith in a band with the potential of a Sex Pistols comparison from the NYC squat scene was dismantled. This recording still reeks of all the studio polish and slick production of a bogus Rancid album that tries to claim it's from the "street". I KNOW someone is going to debate me otherwise, but in my ears this album is all bark and no bite. It is not uncomprimising like an early Slayer album (and they were SIGNED to a major label). It is predictable, carefully fine tuned, stamped with the "Hell-Cat" logo and padded out with some just plain bad songs (practically everything after track #1) . This album is in reality no different than the countless other has-been ska-punk disks of the 90's that people will "recall from their youth" saying they were into it "first" (yawn).

Am I disappointed? Yes. I thought Choking Victim could have been more. Maybe it's tougher than I thought to be a "punk" band. Maybe I wanted them to be better. Oh well.

As much as I love LoC, I have to say its really impossible for anything to compete with Choking Victim. Unlike LoC this is straight punk/ska no experimental death metal and stuff. This CD is so incredible its amazing. 500 Channels, Crack Rock Steady, Suicide, F--ked Reality, Hate Yer State, F--k America, War Story, and Five Finger Discount are the highlights of the album. The music is incredible and catchy and the scummy vocals work perfectly for this band. The lyrics are violent, nihilistic, and downright seditious which really seals the deal for me. 5 stars.

I was first introduced to the music of choking victim a year or so ago when a girl i was dating at the time burned me a CD that had the song Crack Rock Steady on it. I fell in love immediatly with the ska-core beats and riffs that meld perfectly with the classic Hellcat records punk sound we all expect. Punk is about being free and standing up for what you believe in and that is what this CD does. My favorite song on the CD is 500 Channels. I totally reccomend this CD to anyone with half a breain stem to buy. I got this CD for christmas just recently, it was easily my favorinte present.

Is this the same band I've seen at the Flood Zone in Richmond? If so the CD doesn't do them justice. It's a good CD, but it's a studio version. Catch them LIVE to really see how good they are! I saw them as Boy O Boy at their CD release party in VA, if they've changed their name then so be it. Do they have a LIVE album? It would be what yoiu need to capture the real essence of this band.

"No Stopping, No Standing" was the first Fighting Gravity album I ever bought, and I can "honestly" (track 5 on this album) say that this is what got me hooked to this group.

"Mash It Up", the first track on the CD, hits you with some forceful ska beats, and slower tracks like "Home" still keep you moving.

And Fighting Gravity is on its way to even greater success. If you've never heard of them before, "No Stopping, No Standing" is the perfect CD to purchase to sample their talent for the first time!

Pain must be heard to be described. It creates it's own Genre. Pain gives us a taste of their actual shows with On Air, a compilation of songs they recorded live at radio stations. Though a few mistakes are made, the energy is tangible and incredible. The extended sax intro on "The Man Upstairs" is quite cool. One of the best Pain albums. Although the songs have previously released, these versions are some of the best.

On Air is a great CD for those of us who love Pain, but don't get to see them in concert very often (why don't you tour, guys?). New cuts of familiar songs like Antidote and In A Band sound great, and not just because the songs rock! These are live performances from radio shows (hence the name, On Air) so we get the band members' goofiness along with the awesome music we love.

A quote from the CD cover: "This release comprises unreleased tracks recorded live on radio shows around the U.S. Unlike regular album tracks or traditional live recordings, these songs are unique in that they are a snapshot of the band performing live under a microscope with no audience feedback, noise, production tricks, overdubs, or retakes."

Share the Pain!

This was one of my first experiences with this musical group. I knew about Ska/Reggae styles before, but had yet to hear The Ethiopians. This is a great collection of their works! From early tunes in late 60's, up to recording in the 80's. Easy, fun, enjoyable music. "Let Me Blow My Smoke" & "Cherry Pee" are personal favourites. Great rythm and very upbeat! This is a good collection of their tunes, and well worth having in any repetoire of Reggae music!

I enjoyed this album very much. It's one of those albums on which practically every song is good (at least to my opinion). The music is often lively, but has at the same time a somewhat sad, melancholic undertone, which makes this a very interesting album. The Studio One rhytms and music on some of the songs are in itself good (e.g. the music of 'She is my girl' is the same as of Burning Spear's 'Call on you' on his Studio One-album Rocking Time), but the Ethiopians adds that own quality with nice songs and singing.
There's early reggae and some mento-influences, also called 'the country style'. I liked 'I'll never get burned' (a good example of a combined (relatively) uptempo rhythm and a sad side, and the also beautiful, but slower, 'Incessantly'. But, as said, I considered every song on this album enjoyable.

a great mix of trad and modern ska ... knocked this lifelong ska fans socks off..

Incredible mix of traditional ska and reggae, probably my favorite CD