Reggae, rocksteady, and ska fans?

So I'll go ahead and piggy back on the couple music genre threads as of late, and call out to Jamaican music fans out there. Reggae? Rocksteady? First wave ska? Calypso? Dancehall?

Been rotating a lot of:

The Paragons
The Tennors
Desmond Dekker
The Skatalites
Scratch Perry
The Pioneers
The Melodians
Toots & the Maytals
The Kingstonians
Byron Lee & the Dragonaires
Laurel Aitken
Symarip/Seven Letters/The Pyramids
Rudy Mills
Slim Smith
Bob Andy
Carlos Malcolm
John Holt
Dandy Livingston
Alton Ellis

and more...

yes, yes, and yes

I kind of like it, although I don't know much about it.

i been to a Euforqestra concert and like their sound.

Went to a kid's graduation open house on Saturday. He's a very talented drummer and his mentor was there. He played in a ska band called Void Union. So I'm looking to pick that up and see what it's like.

So thanks for the list! I'll be checking them out too.

This music is great to brew by.

I like it, not massively but it's a good sound, my brother is bass player in a ska band.

I've seen a few of your list in the flesh,
Desmond Dekker and the Israelites,
Toots and the Maytals,
Laurel Aitken

And not on your list but worthy of mention were "The Wailers".

I saw three of them on one night at a festival here in Ireland.

Free de 'erb mon

OH, and while they are probably not exactly ska, Euforquestra's last album was downloadable FREE off their website.

Google it.

EoinMag said:

I like it, not massively but it's a good sound, my brother is bass player in a ska band.

I've seen a few of your list in the flesh,
Desmond Dekker and the Israelites,
Toots and the Maytals,
Laurel Aitken

And not on your list but worthy of mention were "The Wailers".

I saw three of them on one night at a festival here in Ireland.

Free de 'erb mon

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Not necessarily my favorite but definitely worth mention.

And not everyone into reggae is into de 'erb

Wish I had the chance to see either Aitken or Dekker before they died.

Homercidal said:

OH, and while they are probably not exactly ska, Euforquestra's last album was downloadable FREE off their website.

Google it.

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Definitely more of a jam band sound that a ska sound, but I dig it.

Scoped out Void Union as well, and they seem really good.

A couple more recent bands in the general style I dig are The Adjusters (they put a lot of soul in the mix as well) and then Hepcat.

Here's a rocksteady classic. Almost everyone knows the song (usually the Blondie cover), but almost no one knows the original. From 1967.

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0rwSPmT3ujU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I could listen to the Melodians for hours on end.

i listen to S.O.J.A. on most brew days or 10ft ganja plant

Roots! Natty Roots!

Max Romeo
Dennis Brown
Horace Andy
The Abyssinians
Burning Spear
Derrick Morgan
The Ethiopians
The Itals
Lee "Scratch"
Midnite

et al

I am real into ska. More into second and third wave than the first wave.

I used to play in a ska band in high school.

http://www.myspace.com/maneatingcamels

theres a link if you are so inclined to check it out.

KayaBrew said:

Roots! Natty Roots!

Max Romeo
Dennis Brown
Horace Andy
The Abyssinians
Burning Spear
Derrick Morgan
The Ethiopians
The Itals
Lee "Scratch"
Midnite

et al

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I forgot about the Ethiopians and Derrick Morgan. Fantastic stuff. Much of the rest is a little too much roots for me normally, but great stuff when I'm in the mood.

Have you heard Scratch's newer stuff? Sad that the new stuff comes from the man who basically created dub. His stuff from the 70s is amazing.

Wakadaka said:

I am real into ska. More into second and third wave than the first wave.

I used to play in a ska band in high school.

http://www.myspace.com/maneatingcamels

theres a link if you are so inclined to check it out.

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My wife loves third wave. A lot of it's really good, but I tend to like the older stuff better. I'm always cool with some second wave and two-tone. I got to see Bad Manners play a while back, and that was a lot of fun. I also love the Specials and the Selecter.

Qhrumphf said:

I forgot about the Ethiopians and Derrick Morgan. Fantastic stuff. Much of the rest is a little too much roots for me normally, but great stuff when I'm in the mood.

Have you heard Scratch's newer stuff? Sad that the new stuff comes from the man who basically created dub. His stuff from the 70s is amazing.

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I haven't heard any of the new "Scratch". I do like old ska a lot, and a lot of the newer roots bands such as Midnite, Groundation, 10 Ft. Ganga Plant, etc.
I was really into John Brown's Body in the 90's. And if you've ever heard of Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, I used to hang with those guys years ago. My sister was real good friends with them. The only thing I don't like is dance hall reggae and it's relatives. Just not for me.

KayaBrew said:

The only thing I don't like is dance hall reggae and it's relatives. Just not for me.

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That was the bomb in the coffee shops in Holland in the 90's, I used to listen to the dance hall quite a lot.

Luv da one-drop mon.

cant say that i'm a fan of ska or reggae so much - but dancehall....oh yes!!!!!

ska was played heavily by peer bands in highschool so i found it overplayed, but since i was friends with all the members ska has a special place in my memory.

dancehall that is fantastic:
sizzla
fela kuti
capleton
anthony b
busy signal
bounty killer
junior kelly
lutan fyah
i wayne
jah mason
spragga benz


enjoy

Today's listening...

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HrQjI0xFmxQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wtESlTKBa4s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/C3RLOGdFor0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Oi!

gtlaw10 said:

cant say that i'm a fan of ska or reggae so much - but dancehall....oh yes!!!!!

ska was played heavily by peer bands in highschool so i found it overplayed, but since i was friends with all the members ska has a special place in my memory.

dancehall that is fantastic:
sizzla
fela kuti
capleton
anthony b
busy signal
bounty killer
junior kelly
lutan fyah
i wayne
jah mason
spragga benz


enjoy

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I've heard a few of those groups. Have to be in the mood for dancehall, but when it's great it's great.

Cheers

I love the 54-46 was my number riff. I heard it last month playing on the radio in Stockholm, Sweden.

Love Reggae!
Toots and the Maytals
The Heptones
Augustus Pablo
Lucky Dube
Third World
Culture
Steel Pulse
Burning Spear
Jimmy Cliff

juglr said:

I love the 54-46 was my number riff. I heard it last month playing on the radio in Stockholm, Sweden.

Love Reggae!
Toots and the Maytals
The Heptones
Augustus Pablo
Lucky Dube
Third World
Culture
Steel Pulse
Burning Spear
Jimmy Cliff

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Love the list! And happy Jimmy Cliff finally made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

For you third wave ska fans...

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/osPijYP_f3g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Here is my list, all of it might not exactly fit the genres but its close enough

Mattafix
the devastators
slightly stoopid
tribal seeds
collie buddz
rebelution
max romeo
marlon asher
I Wayne
richie spice
natty nation
irievibrations
capleton
barrington levy
wailing souls
seeed
groundation
ini kamoze
steel pulse

Im sure there are more but I cant think of them right now

Ryan

The Selecter will have a new album out next month, it seems. Awesome stuff...

<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DlQWuSZjnZM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Woody Guthrie would be proud.

Another fantastic jam...

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/L3v8h1n-LnY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I like reggae, not so much ska.

Toots & the Maytals
Peter Tosh
The Abyssinians

Aggrolites outta LA??

I have all of their CDs and just saw them live in Providence... love that band. I've gotten a bunch of my friends addicted as well.

Cape Brewing said:

Aggrolites outta LA??

I have all of their CDs and just saw them live in Providence... love that band. I've gotten a bunch of my friends addicted as well.

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They put out some great stuff. Never got that big into them, but I've always loved what I've heard.

Not bad for an old dude. Kinda Muzak in some areas but there's some good live versions online:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/I1aEo4SkOWg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Found myself listening to a bit of Judge Dread tonight. Not going to post any links, as pretty much any of his songs would be completely NSFW. But if you don't mind gratuitous innuendo and double entendre, he's really, really funny.

I've been listening to ska since I was in the 5th grade when a family friend gave me some Madness, Specials, & English Beat records. Now, that I'm almost 40, I'm still listening to the stuff, mainly from the 60s and the European stuff from the late 80s/early 90s.

I have a big box full of demo tapes from all over the world from the early 90s when I was a ska DJ for the local college radio show. I need to convert those to mp3 soon!

Last good ska show I saw was Chris Murray.

CrankyOldLibrarian said:

I've been listening to ska since I was in the 5th grade when a family friend gave me some Madness, Specials, & English Beat records. Now, that I'm almost 40, I'm still listening to the stuff, mainly from the 60s and the European stuff from the late 80s/early 90s.

I have a big box full of demo tapes from all over the world from the early 90s when I was a ska DJ for the local college radio show. I need to convert those to mp3 soon!

Last good ska show I saw was Chris Murray.

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Never really liked the Beat, but Madness and the Specials are awesome, but I typically prefer the 60s stuff as well.

Hadn't heard Chris Murray before. Pretty good stuff.

Qhrumphf said:

Never really liked the Beat, but Madness and the Specials are awesome, but I typically prefer the 60s stuff as well.

Hadn't heard Chris Murray before. Pretty good stuff.

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Chris Murray was in King Apparatus years ago. I never really liked them, but his solo stuff is great. Here's a video of him with Vic Ruggiero (of the Slackers). Last time I saw Chris Murray play, the Slackers were playing at a different club in Boston, and Vic showed and did a bunch of songs with him.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Hh_5VnbcSQU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Anyone remember the Donkey Show out of CA in the late 80s?

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wf_8aD4VcA4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It's a rocksteady kind of brew day.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QPBv4McbM8U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Quite possibly the best third wave ska band ever (in that their style is distinctly first wave )

Qhrumphf said:

Quite possibly the best third wave ska band ever (in that their style is distinctly first wave )

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKOXz_55IvU&feature=related

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Yeah, they good.

Man, some gems in here. Made me miss Trelawny something fierce. That place is home right there. I hit the cockpit country for a couple of months every year. It's good to get back to the roots of life. Trees, mountains, fishing, stars, and nobody around (unless I go to Duncans for supplies)