Monday, June 14, 2010

Ska Week: 'Dance Craze' Soundtrack

Welcome to Ska Week! For the next several days we'll take a listen to the best of ska's second wave. For me, that basically comes down to the British movement of the late '70s through the mid-'80s. That also means lots from the 2 Tone label. We start with the soundtrack spawned from a 1981 documentary about 2 Tone and its stable of stars. If, like me, you're from the west side of the Atlantic, the word "stars" sounds like hyperbole. Believe me, it's not. Jerry Dammers of the Specials started the label in 1979. By the time director Joe Massot began shooting the film in 1980, 2 Tone had already released seven singles. All of them had sold at least a quarter-million copies each, and five of them had reached the British top 10. So, that's where we begin. I have posted one song from each band that appears in 'Dance Craze.' As the lads used to say, "Rock steady." These songs are ripped from my very old vinyl that's been played to death. So, enjoy the pops, too.

Side A
1. The Specials - Concrete Jungle (mp3)
2. The English Beat - Mirror in the Bathroom
3. Bad Manners - Lip Up Fatty (mp3)
4. Madness - Razor Blade Alley
5. The Selecter - Three Minute Hero (mp3)
6. The Bodysnatchers - Easy Life (mp3)
7. The English Beat - Ranking Full Stop (mp3)
8. Madness - One Step Beyond (mp3)

Side B
1. The English Beat - Ranking Full Stop
2. The Specials - Man At C & A
3. The Selecter - Missing Words
4. Bad Manners - Inner London Violence
5. Madness - Night Boat to Cairo
6. The Selecter - Too Much Pressure
7. The Specials - Nite Klub

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