Word: ska
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Floyd Lloyd, a Jamaican singer working with several different bands, has tried to create just that: ska for the subdued. This is an interesting proposition, but one which, unfortunately, requires more talent to be implemented successfully than the singer/writer is able to demonstrate. His new CD, Tear It Up: The Ska Album, consists of a collection of tunes that, for the most part, try to be to ska what soft rock is to rock and roll. But while the album offers a few songs with fair instrumentals, the CD does not succeed, lapsing into tedious and uninteresting music backing repetitive...
Only two of the songs on the album, "Big City" and "Tear it Up," come close to expressing the energy characteristic of ska. Though somewhat subdued by comparison to the work of other bands, the tunes have, at least, enough of a bouncy quality to make them passably diverting in spite of their incredibly repetitive lyrics. Take these two songs, reduce their lengths by a third, add some meaningful lyrics, and "Big City" and "Tear it Up" will be lively enough to be worth listening to. But then, the songs will also be closer to the mainstream of ska than...
...though "Big City" and "Tear it Up" approach pass ability, it would be inaccurate to say that Floyd Lloyd's strength lies in "traditional" ska. The album's two other attempts at this more lively variety of music, "Ska Party" and "Mr. Yo Yo," are incredibly tired, depressingly sucking the bounce out of a bouncy kind of song. The music drags and the lyrics are unimpressive. "Ska Party," for example, uses such convincing arguments as "You're on the guest list;/ You won't have to pay," to persuade listeners to "come to the party tonight." Very uninspiring...
...best example of what seems to be the goal of the majority of the songs on Tear it Up is "Sweet Lady." This song succeeds in providing a pleasant "soft" ska feel. The ska rhythms are present but the song is very reminiscent of soft rock. In addition, the song features a pretty saxophone solo, making "Sweet Lady" the most promising of the songs on the album...
...remainder of the songs on the album, however, are unmemorable attempts to use this soft style of ska. Featuring tedious and uninteresting music as well as unexciting lyrics, the songs are all boring enough to be difficult to listen...