Sanctuary Records Group - Trojan
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One Step Beyond – 45 Classic Ska Hits
Released on 8 September 2003.
Unashamedly looking at the popular side of Ska and it's (many) revivals. This album not strictly Trojan, because it has the power of Virgin behind it complete with ma major TV advertising campaign.
Classics all the way on CD1 – the original ska side. There is an emphasis on those covered and redone or given prominence by later (2Tone) revivals. On Cd2 we go into the revivalist period.
Classics are classics, some are timeless, some grate and some you can't get enough off. For me the covers pretty much 100% pale into insignificance as compared to the originals (though I've never been a great fan of Tony Tribe's Red Red Wine!)
The Ethiopians will also feature highly no matter how many times I hear it. The Pioneers racetrack anthem Long Shot Kick the Bucket is still fresh as a daisy. The Maytals 54-46 prison anthem is superb still. These three are far and away the best, though the set would not be complete with the groundbreaking Prince Buster, the skinhead instrumentals and Symarip, the popular chart material of Desmond Dekker and Millie, the Skatalite instrumentals and so on. Jamaican lifestyle (and therefore history) is implicit throughout with the likes of Shanty Town, Rudeboys, Spaghetti Westerns, Rastafari and Ganja but all this will be lost on the next generation.
No surprises really, some omissions maybe but play loud, singalong, in the mood for Ska and enjoy.
CD2, the 2 tone revivalists, were essentially copyists but they eventually got a groove and originality of it's own. It was something I never particularly felt because I was so close to, and knew mainly, the originals. UB40 are featured but I never really classed them the same as the rest but they are of the time and rightly featured.
The
frantic Tears of Clown by the Beat was one of the best, and , for some reason,
I had a bit of a weakness for the poppiness and fun of the Bodysnatchers,
although now it sounds pretty poor. The Lambrettas were not really even
strictly ska revivalists aligning themselves more to the mod (revival)
movement. The Specials I suppose were the ones that stood out with their epic
Ghost Town but Madness ended up being the biggest. Old Ska legends were brought
back in like Laurel Aitken. And then UB just mellowed out the whole situation.
VTDCDX546 - Various Artists: One Step Beyond |
Release Date: 28/07/03 |
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Please note: 'One Step Beyond' will not be available to purchase directly through the Trojan Records online shop. It is, however, available to pre-order from most online music retailers - including HMV.co.uk, Amazon.co.uk, Virgin Megastores Online and MVC - and will be available to purchase from all good record stores from Monday 28th July 2003. |
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Click on each track to hear a 30 second sound clip |
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DISC 1: |
DISC 2: |
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