For my money, this was the best of the 2 Tone releases of the late 70's/early 80's period. Also, probably the least appreciated of the groups of that ilk. 'Too Much Pressure' was brilliant without it, but had it included 'On My Radio' it would have been absolutely essential.


[Edited 1/26/08 11:24am]

An absolute rankin', skankin' classic. And yes, The Selecter was an underappreciated band.

I this song. I like The Selecter, but after a while Pauline's voice wears on me.

I was really into 2 Tone as a kid, takes me back to school days summer of 79.
Btw, their best single was Celebrate The Bullet IMO

AnckSuNamun said:

Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. And I would say that with almost any other genre it would be like nails on a chalkboard. But for some reason, it works for ska.

I like The Selecter. I wish there were more classic ska bands.
My fav is The Specials

thekidsgirl said:

Yes, The Specials and The (English) Beat were the best IMO. 2 Tone was such a short lived movement though, it pretty much died as quickly as it established itself although for many people my age it still brings back great memories. Btw, I would have mentioned Madness but I don't really see them as a ska band... although they were ska inspired. They were more in the tradition of Ian Dury/Kinks/Music Hall/Classic British Pop.

AnckSuNamun said:

Ditto on that. I used to listen to them non-stop, but nowdays I can only handle her voice in small doses.

Funny I was just listening to them yesterday though. I think their best song is actually "Celebrate the Bullet" though. Very haunting and hypnotic. I wish they had gone that route a bit more actually.

Yeah, "Celebrate the Bullet" was a good song. I love the guitar riff in that one. I've been playing The Slits's debut album a lot lately. Great debut album.....their bass lines and drumming is on point. You know I haven't listened to Madness in a while, but yeah their debut album was pretty much ska, then they introduced new wave into their sound later on. "One Step Beyond" is a pretty solid album.....gotta dig that one back out. I notice a lot of ska bands have solid debut albums.

AnckSuNamun said:

The Specials - The Specials
The Beat - I Just Can't Stop It
The Selecter - Too Much Pressure
Madness - One Step Beyond

All classics, I still play them regularly almost 30 years since they were released.

Or how about the only two tone band that was never a two tone band, The Equators.

I always thought these guys showed all the two tone guys how it should be done.

Try some of these clips: Age of 5, Feelin High, Rankin' Discipline, Mr. Copper, any of 'em really. Too bad they are only 30 seconds. These guys were the shit.

http://www.emusic.com/alb...92501.html

DakutiusMaximus said:

Then there was those who jumped on the bandwagon...

Bad Manners (ageing session musicians become novelty ska act)
Cairo - Manchester based ska band, single "I Like Bluebeat"
Graduate - Early incarnation of Tears For Fears, single "Elvis Should Play Ska"... a song about Costello, not Presley!