Trojan Ska Box Set (Various Artists)

Running the gamut from a Biblical ode to "Strongman Sampson" to the lasciviously lush "Rub & Squeeze," legendary Trojan Records' Trojan Ska Box Set stirs the rude boy in all of us to get up, ask for the hand of our darlings, and start shakin' it, 1960's ska style.

A marvelous, inexpensive compilation of the titans of first-wave ska, this album is a must-have homage to greats such as the Skatalites, Desmond Dekker, and Derrick Morgan. And with a glimpse of a nascent Jimmy Cliff in "Miss Jamaica" and a chance to discover hard-to-find artists like Lord Tanamo and Lee Perry, the roots of bands like No Doubt and Sublime become apparent.

For a neophyte curious about what ska really is, the Box Set fits the pieces into place quickly. Ska's groove is characterized by a quasi-polka beat carried through to rhythm guitars and brass. Backup singers yelp and harmonize; someone in the studio's shaking the maracas; there's even some haunting skarmonica on "Storm Warning" and some cantabile ska fiddle on "The Tide is High." The influence of American blues and R&B is evident throughout, especially in "The Third Man Theme," which is laced with jump blues guitar solos and percussive Afro-Cubanisms. Fats Waller (remember "Ain't Misbehavin'"?) and Louis Armstrong creep into the solos on some of the instrumentals, including "Watermelon Man" and "Blackberry Brandy." "007 (Shanty Town)" even reveals the transition from ska to rocksteady; its slower, more loping rhythm and pumped up bass licks foreshadow reggae. And many of the tracks are cultural commentaries, like "Jezebel" and "I Don't Need Your Love," which speak of the tension between the sexes. Love is war, right?

Although lacking songs from seminal first wave artists like Prince Buster and Laurel Aitken, this record is nonetheless powerful and affecting, even as Jamaican raconteurs craft stories of puppy love and belly laughs. Don't let the lovey-dovey sound fool you, though—a lot of the ska is serious stuff. Just don't expect Bob Marley Rasta-Christian spirituality or Operation Ivy anti-capitalist rants—think more "Baby We've Got a Date." Regardless of the varied substance, go for the flavor of the island: soulful stories of rude boys struggling against a government broken by British colonialism and little ditties about waiting on your sweetheart's front porch with a bouquet of flowers. This is visceral ska from the ground up, straight from the shanty towns of St. Ann's and West Kingston. (Trojan)

—Jacob Paul

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