Dance Craze: The Best of British Ska...Live!

Dance Craze: The Best of British Ska...Live!

1981

Chrysalis/2-Tone Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. The Specials: Concrete Jungle  2. The English Beat: Mirror in the Bathroom  3. Bad Manners: Lip Up Fatty  4. Madness: Razor Blade Alley  5. The Selecter: Three Minute Hero  6. The Bodysnatchers: Easy Life  7. The English Beat: Big Shot  8. Madness: One Step Beyond  9. The English Beat: Ranking Full Stop  10. The Specials: Man At C&A  11. The Selecter: Missing Words  12. Bad Manners: Inner London Violence  13. Madness: Night Boat To Cairo  14. The Selecter: Too Much Pressure  15. The Specials: Nite Klub




I picked this up at Revolver Records awhile back...This is the soundtrack to a 1981 film chronicling the height of the British Two-Tone explosion...

 I paid 10 bucks for it (which I consider to be a lot of money for an album) but looking at that line-up, I couldn't pass it up... It's a compilation of smokin' live tracks from ska heavyweights The Specials, The English Beat, Madness, Bad Manners, the Selecter and some band I hadn't heard of called the Bodysnatchers (turns out they never got around to recording an album...Just a coupla singles...). 

This was done right when most of the bands had just put out their second albums (some of them wouldn't make it to a third and the others largely abandoned the ska style after the second albums), so the timing couldn't have been more perfect...I can't really think of a better overview of the Two-Tone era, really..Unfortunately later versions of this album had to remove the Madness tracks and replace them with additional live Specials recordings, greatly lessening the impact (despite the greatness of the Specials material)...I mean, how can you have a proper "Best of British ska" without Madness?!?!  I bet lawyers are to blame for this...

Boo, lawyers...Hiss...Anyway, if you plan on picking up a copy of the album, keep your eyes open, because there's two version of it out there...I guess either way, it's a good listen...

On a side note, I like all the band's cool logos on the cover, such simple, crisp designs...I can't pick a favorite, but if I had to choose, I'd pick The Specials' classic two-tone man or the English Beat girl, (although I have to give mad credit to that Bodysnatchers mascot)...But why didn't the Selecter get a sweet mascot?  Couldn't they have that miserable-looking bastard from the "Too Much Pressure" album leaning against the big shoe or something?



It's a real shame that the "Dance Craze" film hasn't been released on DVD...I'd buy a copy in a heartbeat! Oh well, there's always youtube...Pop up some popcorn, and have a seat, cos here's the entire movie...Enjoy, while my account gets termed...

Bad Manners: Bad Manners

Bad Manners: Bad Manners

1981

MCA Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Lorraine  2. Special Brew  3. Just A Feeling  4. King Ska-Fa  5. Suicide   6. Lip Up Fatty  7. El Pussycat  8. Here Comes The Major  9. Spy I  10. Tequila  11. Inner London Violence 12.
Fattie Fattie



I know I just did the Bad Manners a post a coupla days ago, and I should be moving forward, but I just picked this up last Friday from Revolver Records and decided to write it up now, rather than wait until next January...

There's not much information on this release online, but as far as I can determine, this is Bad Manners' American debut. It's a compilation that collects some of the best moments from the band's first two albums, probably designed to introduce us Journey-lovin' Americans to the ska boom that was all the rage in England.

 

 Needless to say it didn't work (unless perhaps the 1997 US ska-craze was a  ridiculously delayed reaction).  Journey's "Escfourpeethree" ended up a smash hit and to this day, most Americans still have no idea who Bad Manners are. Which is waaaay too bad. 

 I haven't heard every Bad Manners album by a long shot, but I'm confident in saying this would be a fine place for anyone to start...The instrumentals are kept to a minimum, as this compilation focuses  its attention to the band's pop side, which is undoubtedly what they do best. Songs like "Special Brew," "Lip Up Fatty" and "Lorraine" are  perfect pop singles, in my pop-lovin' opinion.  

 The abundance of quality ska here is astounding. It's a massive shame that the band has been  largely written out of rock history and relegated to the dreaded "novelty" bin. Just because something is fun doesn't mean that it isn't worthwhile, especially when the playing and songwriting is this consistently spectacular. Silliness should not exclude greatness.

I can tell you, from experience, that spending an evening drinking a good beer, and skanking along to "Fattie Fattie" is one of those rare things that makes you feel extra happy to be alive. The giddiness in the grooves invariably radiates into your Friday night,  giving your party that elusive holy glow. The chip dip positively glistens with possibility...

Whereas spending Friday night listening to "I'm Too Sexy" or  Crazy Frog will only make you feel ashamed the next morning...

 
That shame is what separates a fun song from a novelty track.  Fun can be experienced again and again, whereas novelty is strictly "use once and destroy"...

 So let's just pour ourselves a  pint of brew...

 ...and listen to "Special Brew" by Bad Manners...Hell, play it twice, if you like...It's durable. It'll hold up...

Bad Manners: Loonee Tunes!

Bad Manners: Loonee Tunes!

1980

Magnet Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Echo 4-2  2. Just a Feeling  3. El Pussycat  4. Doris  5. Spy-I  6. Tequila  7. Lorraine  8. Echo Gone Wrong  9. Suicide  10. The Undersea Adventures of Ivor The Engine  11. Back in '60  12. Just Pretendin'


Bad Manners are awesome! There's no way on planet Earth you can feel even the slightest bit bummed out while listening to these guys. I swear to you, put this on when you're feeling that ol' existential angst and you'll be too busy skanking to think about the fact that ultimately, life is just a long, slow, lonely walk to the grave! (skank. skank).

The music is British second-wave ska, but it doesn't have the punk grit of a lot of their contemporaries, like the Specials...This is more pop-oriented and the songs are light, fluffy confections. I'd say the closest point of reference is early Madness, but played even more for laughs.  But it certainly shares Madness' same good-time, carnivalesque  atmosphere and Prince Buster inspired instrumentals but Bad Manners does make the sound their own. Mostly due to their distinctly original frontman, Buster Bloodvessel (aka Fatty), who was just a big, fleshy mountain of a man...

...who invented the whole Miley Cyrus stick-your-tongue-out-all-the-time thing back when she was just a distant longing in Billy Ray's line-dancing bluejeans...

Hey, is it just me or have I been talking about Miley Cyrus an awful lot lately on this blog...Doth I protest too much? Am I really a closeted Miley fan?!?! Hmmm, let's explore this further...

Nope, it's pretty much the worst thing I've heard in my entire life. I can't believe people willingly subject themselves to this shit...There's a whole colorful world of wonderful music out there, and it drives me nuts sometimes that people will just go for the most mindless shit that is dangled in front of them. "But I like it cos it's fun!" Where does this idea that a song has be utterly retarded to be fun come from?  Screw 'em. If they're not adventurous enough to search out the good things out there, then they deserve the shit they get...Besides you and I know better, right?  Wait! This is starting to sound like anger or at minimum some sort of mild outrage! I'd better listen to some Bad Manners and get happy again!

(throws "Lorraine" back on the turntable)

Ahhh...That's better. Y'know there's a good reason there's a big sticker plastered on the front cover proclaiming, "Lorraine's on 'Ere."  "Lorraine" is not only the best song on the album, it's also one of the best songs of the whole second wave English ska movement.  The music is so bouncy,  Buster's voice is so likeable, and the lyrics are a hoot. I swear you'll hear this once and you'll find yourself singing,  "And when I find her, I'm gonna kill her, Lorraine, Lorraine, Lorraine..." for the rest of your life.

But it's not the only good song here.  They just as easily could have advertised "Just a Feeling" on the cover, which pulls off the neat trick of sounding simultaneously moody and happy. And they turn dub reggae into catchy pop on "Echo Gone Wrong," which is no easy feat either.  Plus it works as a nice chill-out track for your own Friday Night Record Party.

I'm recommending this is if you're into late 70's-early 80's two-tone, but a small caveat to those who aren't fans of "near-instrumentals" since a good chunk of the album consists of wacky instrumentals with funny phrases, sound effects or nutty chattering laid over the top, but most ska fans are into that type of thing, and besides, there's at least half an album's worth of the finest, skanking-est  pop out there...

Watch this performance of "Lorraine" and tell me you're not in love...I dare ya!