Word: ska
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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This past week, veteran ska acts the Pietasters, formed in 1990 in Washington D.C., and the Slackers, formed in 1991 in New York City, each rolled out a new album. Both bands have toured the ska circuit for several years and are just now starting to gain the recognition given to such bands as The Toasters, The Skatalites and The Scofflaws. Each is a seven piece band utilizing the trumpet and saxophone in the horn section. The Pietasters further take on a trombone in their horn section while the Slackers add a keyboard as their seventh piece...
...contrast, Redlight, the first effort on Hellcat for the Slackers as well, offers up the ska beat at its finest. The Slackers combine Latin rhythms, big band and Jamaican reggae to create their own unique sound...
Like the Pietasters horn section, the Slackers trumpet and saxophone lay down a steady beat and background ska tone. While shining on occasional solos, the musicianship of the Slackers is most apparent on a pair of superb instrumentals, "Cooking for Tommy" and "Tin Tin Deo," that mark the album's two opposite musical poles. "Cooking for Tommy" is the opening number on Redlight and is described by the band as "a major key, Latin-goes-ska number" that showcases the band's horns. "Tin Tin Deo," with guest percussionist Larry McDonald, exhibits the significant Jamaican reggae influence on the band...
With songs like "Ocean" and "Stone Feeling," the Pietasters also display their instrumental talents. Throughout Willis, Toby Hansen (trumpet), Jeremy Roberts (trombone) and Alan Makranczy (saxo-phone) provide listeners with terrific melodies to elaborate on the ska beat. Within a half a minute of the start of most songs, however, the vocals come on and destroy any satisfaction the tracks could offer...
Besides their instrumentals, the Slackers shine most brightly on their title track, "Redlight," a soulful song about a lost love that recalls the music of Bob Marley, and "I Still Love You," a synthesis of the two-tone ska beat with vocals reminiscent of the ageless classic songs that fortunately still flourish today on oldies radio stations. Throughout Redlight, the Slackers prove their mettle. Ska music, much like punk music, is easy to play but very difficult to make original. With this release, the Slackers unveil a new dimension in ska music that will hopefully spark greater recognition and more...