Reviews (1)

Good Mix
This CD is an excellent mix of punk and Ska. All of my favorites are on it. If you like punk and Ska you'll no doubt love this CD ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Jump? Golly Geez I did!!1
This is great finally a Ska comp that I can show off at my Dungeons & Dragons night. The first band East 76 was awesome, they say to jump and I just have to. I almost broke my arches last time I heard the song, it was Skatastic. wooohoooooooo!!!!

Outstanding Collection
Finally, a ska comp I can I can listen to start to finish and not skip any tracks. Taxicab Samurai's are great and DHC is always da bomb. I listened to it over and over, all in one car trip down to the shore. Nice job SSR!! ... Read more

Album Description

Limited edition 3 CD boxset featuring 50 of the very best ska tracks...many on CD for the first time. Artists include Derrick Morgan, The Riots, Lord Tanamo, The Maytals, The Skatalites & many more. 2000 realease. Each disc comes in it's own paper sleeve and come housed together in a 5 x 5 x 1 inch box. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

2 1/2 stars. You know, just below average.
Interesting collection, but probably not worth the price. The Selecter's "On My Radio" is a classic and well worth having in any rudeboy's collection. The Specials' "A message to You Rudy" is an interesting rendtion, despite having its authenticity called into question by another reviewer. It too is worth having as it stands in stark comparison with Rancid's version of "A Message to You Rudy" on "And Out Come the Wolves." The Selecter's "James Bond" is pretty funny, particularly if you're a 007 fan. The Judge Dread works waffle between being annoying and pleasantly entertaining. But then again, these tracks' authenticity have also been called into question. The rest of the set seems to be filler, some tracks are very high quality filler, but filler all the same. Regardless of how the set was recorded and mastered, it is entertaining. It's not worth going out of your way for, but if the oportunety comes up to get it cheap - go for it.

SDG

Not Sold In Stores!
Remember when you were a kid and you'd see those commercials on TV for a record with a bunch of familiar songs on it that you liked, and the announcer kept saying "sung by the original artists," and then when you got the record it didn't sound any good--because the songs were all recorded by a bunch of studio hacks calling themselves "The Original Artists?"

I think that's what we have here. "On My Radio" is done by The Selector, and the old Bob Marley tune "Mr. Chatterbox" sounds like it is truly the King of Reggae, but everything else on this triple-disc CD sounds like it's being faked by "The Original Artists."

I am a huge fan of The Specials and I can tell you without fear of contradiction that they are not on this record, no matter what the credits claim. Yes, "Gangsters" and "A Message To You Rudi" are songs from the first Specials LP, but it's somebody else sleepwalking through the songs on this CD, and they aren't doing a very good job of it, either.

In fact, it sounds like the same pedestrian vocalist on most of the songs on this CD, backed by some less than average studio musicians. During "Gangsters" the singer keeps yelling "Mobster! Gangster!"; on "James Bond," a tune which is credited to The Selector, the same vocalist spends three minutes yelling "James Bond! Tequila! James Bond! Dr. No! Tequila!" There are some fake crowd sounds to make a few songs sound like they were recorded live. It sounds to me like even the British accent is faked.

The songs credited to Judge Dread are embarassingly bad, and the demolition of Madness's "One Step Beyond" by Inspector 7 is even worse. On some tunes the drummer can't keep a steady beat, inexplicably speeding up and slowing down mid tune.

Worst of all, the mastering of this CD is awful. The vocals are mixed way too high (after being recorded completely flat); both tracks from Lee Perry seem to have been transferred to CD with the tape machine running wayyyyyyyyyyy too slow. Yech! The 3 or 4 songs that sound like they are actually versions by the bands they are credited to are particularly poorly recorded, as if somebody just sat down at a CD burner with a worn 45.

I love Ska; this ain't it.

Great Memories
What a great gift to bring back all the memories. There is a little bit of everything for anyone who likes Ska & Reggae.

This is the BEST ska in the world!!
i bought this collection because i am obsessed with ska music. boy was i thrilled when i listened to this. this 3 cd set is awesome! it's a lot of british ska, (which is the best kind), however every song is different! it's a lot of fun to listen to and i highly recommend it. ... Read more