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Ska: An Oral History
Before Bob Marley brought reggae to the world, before Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh, before thousands of musicians played a Jamaican rhythm, there were the men and women who created ska music, a blend of jazz, American rhythm and blues, and the indigenous music of the Caribbean. This book tells the story of ska music and its development from Jamaica to England, where the music took on a distinctively different tone, and finally to the rest of the world. Through the words of legendary artists, gleaned from more than a decade of interviews, the story of ska music is finally told by those who were there.
216 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 28, 2011
Ska: An Oral History covers the history of ska music from its inception to Jamaica through the ska boom of the 90's, all the way up to present day.
Lean closer everyone, I have something to reveal. I became a ska fan when I got my first CD player in 1993 and my neighbor gave me a copy of Ska Core, the Devil, and More by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. I've remained a fan of the music ever since, though these days I'm more into the more traditional ska sound of The Slackers, Mr. T-Bone, and Dr. Ring-Ding. Anyway, on to the review...
The chronicle starts in Jamaica, naturally. Pioneers like Derrick Morgan, Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker, Toots Hibbert, and The Skatellites were given their due. Some of the stuff, like Don Drummond murdering his girlfriend and dying in the insane asylum, I was familiar with. Others, like the feud between Derrick Morgan and Prince Buster, I was not.
From there, the English skinhead reggae scene of the 60's is covered, primarily focusing on Laurel Aitken and Judge Dread. The focus shifts to the two tone era of The Specials, the Selecter, Madness, and Bad Manners. It really put me in the mood to dig out the Specials debut album. Actually, I'd say a bit too much time was spent on the two-tone era. I could have done without entire chapters detailing The Beat, The Selecter, and Bad Manners. It seemed a bit like padding.
The third wave was covered, starting with the Toasters and Bim Skala Bim, and moving along with Fishbone, Let's Go Bowling, the Scofflaws, Agent 99, Jump with Joey, and the New York Ska Jazz Ensemble.
Hepcat was mentioned next and I began getting excited. Then radio ska bands like No Doubt and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (of the Let's Face It era. The glorious pre-Let's Face It era was ignored) were mentioned. Deals gone bad was mentioned and then Agent Jay of The Slackers and Isaac Green of The Skalars talked about how the scene died because most of the people going to shows were in bands and nobody was buying records. Which I witnessed first hand in my first couple of years of going to ska shows.
That's pretty much it. The book did a good job of detailing the history of ska but I think it focused on the two tone era a little too much and could have used more than a mention of The Slackers, since they are by far the biggest touring American ska band at the moment. It also wouldn't have hurt to mention that ska has a much bigger audience in Europe and Japan, evident by the turnouts that Mr. T-Bone, The Moon Invaders, and Dr. Ring-Ding see. For being released in 2010, it doesn't feel current to me.
Man, it's hard to settle on a rating for this. I'm giving it a three. I'd give it a four but the writing seemed choppy in places, especially during the transitions between topics.
Lean closer everyone, I have something to reveal. I became a ska fan when I got my first CD player in 1993 and my neighbor gave me a copy of Ska Core, the Devil, and More by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. I've remained a fan of the music ever since, though these days I'm more into the more traditional ska sound of The Slackers, Mr. T-Bone, and Dr. Ring-Ding. Anyway, on to the review...
The chronicle starts in Jamaica, naturally. Pioneers like Derrick Morgan, Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker, Toots Hibbert, and The Skatellites were given their due. Some of the stuff, like Don Drummond murdering his girlfriend and dying in the insane asylum, I was familiar with. Others, like the feud between Derrick Morgan and Prince Buster, I was not.
From there, the English skinhead reggae scene of the 60's is covered, primarily focusing on Laurel Aitken and Judge Dread. The focus shifts to the two tone era of The Specials, the Selecter, Madness, and Bad Manners. It really put me in the mood to dig out the Specials debut album. Actually, I'd say a bit too much time was spent on the two-tone era. I could have done without entire chapters detailing The Beat, The Selecter, and Bad Manners. It seemed a bit like padding.
The third wave was covered, starting with the Toasters and Bim Skala Bim, and moving along with Fishbone, Let's Go Bowling, the Scofflaws, Agent 99, Jump with Joey, and the New York Ska Jazz Ensemble.
Hepcat was mentioned next and I began getting excited. Then radio ska bands like No Doubt and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (of the Let's Face It era. The glorious pre-Let's Face It era was ignored) were mentioned. Deals gone bad was mentioned and then Agent Jay of The Slackers and Isaac Green of The Skalars talked about how the scene died because most of the people going to shows were in bands and nobody was buying records. Which I witnessed first hand in my first couple of years of going to ska shows.
That's pretty much it. The book did a good job of detailing the history of ska but I think it focused on the two tone era a little too much and could have used more than a mention of The Slackers, since they are by far the biggest touring American ska band at the moment. It also wouldn't have hurt to mention that ska has a much bigger audience in Europe and Japan, evident by the turnouts that Mr. T-Bone, The Moon Invaders, and Dr. Ring-Ding see. For being released in 2010, it doesn't feel current to me.
Man, it's hard to settle on a rating for this. I'm giving it a three. I'd give it a four but the writing seemed choppy in places, especially during the transitions between topics.
February 15, 2011
Finally finished this. Pretty good history of the genre that covers all 3 "waves," though it seemed like most of the best interviews were with the 2-tone era groups. It did seem like it kind of glossed over the last 15 years. Props to the author for putting this together!
May 31, 2021
A gallant tour de force of the main waves of ska music, from the 50s to the present, all set in the political context they existed within.
The main proponents here are the artists themselves who HA gets to open up and genuinely tell this as an oral history. This is a well told narrative and like walking through a museum that has lots of genuine artefacts to consider.
Ska itself is pictured as a reflection of cultural attitudes, local context, youth, subculture and politics. Reactionary but also fun and eccentric, a real electric shock that was brief but spectacular in all three waves.
I actually don't love ska music and wasn't and am not part of any scene. I just love music generally, especially how scenes grow and how they reflect what else is going on. Ska, along with punk and hip hop are really the big three for that, each starting with a small scene of brilliant pioneers before making evolutionary and geographical jumps to become something new.
Overall a very satisfying work. I would say that there were a few areas that were left unanswered, like will there be a fourth wave or have the streams now merged such that ska isn't a standalone genre anymore? Did any kind of scene survive in Jamaica after the first English wave?
You may also find if you're a late nineties/early millennium kid that the third wave is kind of rushed through, though all the key players are represented.
Overall recommend for fans of ska (obviously) and for fans of musical evolution. Applaud the author for a well written book, immaculate and highly open primary sourcing and for doing this at a time when enough of the pioneers were alive to tell something new. A really good cultural artefact in its own right.
The main proponents here are the artists themselves who HA gets to open up and genuinely tell this as an oral history. This is a well told narrative and like walking through a museum that has lots of genuine artefacts to consider.
Ska itself is pictured as a reflection of cultural attitudes, local context, youth, subculture and politics. Reactionary but also fun and eccentric, a real electric shock that was brief but spectacular in all three waves.
I actually don't love ska music and wasn't and am not part of any scene. I just love music generally, especially how scenes grow and how they reflect what else is going on. Ska, along with punk and hip hop are really the big three for that, each starting with a small scene of brilliant pioneers before making evolutionary and geographical jumps to become something new.
Overall a very satisfying work. I would say that there were a few areas that were left unanswered, like will there be a fourth wave or have the streams now merged such that ska isn't a standalone genre anymore? Did any kind of scene survive in Jamaica after the first English wave?
You may also find if you're a late nineties/early millennium kid that the third wave is kind of rushed through, though all the key players are represented.
Overall recommend for fans of ska (obviously) and for fans of musical evolution. Applaud the author for a well written book, immaculate and highly open primary sourcing and for doing this at a time when enough of the pioneers were alive to tell something new. A really good cultural artefact in its own right.
August 11, 2012
If you're looking for a strict chronological history, with all the names and dates and footnotes, this isn't it. But if you're looking for an engaging, behind-the-scenes story that bounces around like a Rudie on the dance floor, this is the one. Great interviews inter-spaced with a clear, well-written narrative that brings the history to life. But keep in mind that it's the history as remembered by the interviewees, so when reading those wonderful excerpts be prepared for inaccurate and self-contradicting information and lots of I-was-the-originator boasts. Augustyn does a great job pairing up interviews with time periods, and includes both the expected/hoped-for(Derrick Morgan, Doreen Shaffer and Laurel Aitken)and the head-scratchers(Judge Dreed)as well as a few fantastic surprises (Millie Small, Lee Thompson of Madness, Dave Wakeling & Ranking Roger of English Beat, and brief bits by current bands like The Slackers and Rancid.) The result is a great must-read for all ska fans.
April 11, 2024
A few moments in music really changed the way I saw the world: the first time I heard Boys Don't Cry by the Cure, the opening chords of London Calling, and the discordant brass and drumming that begin A Message to You, Rudy by the Specials. For at least a year, I walked around with a trench coat, a pork pie hat, and fingerless gloves, the closest I could come to a 2 Tone look in suburban New Jersey.
In the bike shop, during very busy days, I could always count on ska to calm things down. Something about the beat and the coolness of the music stimulates the mind and stops people from being agitated.
This book walks you (skanks you?) right through a great history of ska, back from Laurel Aitken and Derrick Morgan and Hopeton Lewis and Bob Marley (yep, that guy) and the Skatalites through the 2nd Wave and 2 Tone bands (Specials, Selecter, Bodysnatchers, the Beat, Madness) all the way to the 3rd wave with Jump with Joey (who are surprisingly good) and Hepcat (who are the f-ing best) and more pop-oriented "ska" (Mighty Mighty Bosstones, No Doubt, yuck). I reminisced and learned new music at the same time.
In the bike shop, during very busy days, I could always count on ska to calm things down. Something about the beat and the coolness of the music stimulates the mind and stops people from being agitated.
This book walks you (skanks you?) right through a great history of ska, back from Laurel Aitken and Derrick Morgan and Hopeton Lewis and Bob Marley (yep, that guy) and the Skatalites through the 2nd Wave and 2 Tone bands (Specials, Selecter, Bodysnatchers, the Beat, Madness) all the way to the 3rd wave with Jump with Joey (who are surprisingly good) and Hepcat (who are the f-ing best) and more pop-oriented "ska" (Mighty Mighty Bosstones, No Doubt, yuck). I reminisced and learned new music at the same time.
September 18, 2020
Fun but aimed at an American market.
September 25, 2020
Not bad. each chapter is one person,prefer standard oral history format.
March 29, 2018
Except for the chapter on the English Beat, it's not really an oral history at all but more of a colorless narrative from the 60s to 2-tone (only in the last ten pages does she mention any band formed after the 80s) with some interview quotes thrown in. It's too bad, because these subjects had a lot they might have said about everything from race to sudden stardom (and then equally sudden anonymity) to the music itself. The editors didn't help, either - the frequent misspellings ("Elvis Pressley," "banded" instead of "banned") made the book both aggravating and disappointing. It works as an A-to-B history, though. And for big fans of Dave Wakeling.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews