After 90’s ska boom had come and gone in the USA, many albums released in the early 2000’s were simply missed by fans worldwide. Hopefully, you realize artists like THE SPECIALS and labels like JUMP UP continued to support ska during “the lean years”….labels ran to release other styles (dare I say emo), and ska bands “changed their sound” to avoid being called ska. Guess what? There were some cool ska albums released at the turn of the millenium, including 2 albums by THE SPECIALS! Both “SKINHEAD GIRL” and “CONQUERING RULER” dig into the TROJAN RECORDS soundbook, and the band’s sound was top notch lead by RODDY RADIATION, NEVILLE STAPLE, HORACE PANTER, and NEOL DAVIES. Well done MAD BUTCHER, releasing these records on vinyl give the albums a new lease on life and will be enjoyed by an entire generation of vinyl fans! Continue reading Restocked: THE SPECIALS “Conquering Ruler” & “Skinhead Girl” LP vinyl in stock now!
Tag: specials
RODDY RADIATION “BLUES ATTACK” LP (JUMP095LP – OUT OF PRINT)
BLUES ATTACK now OUT OF PRINT. Far too often when a band claims to combine two dissimilar styles of music into an all powerful “new” hybrid, fans get a wee bit skeptical. After all, in most cases these creative endeavors fail miserably – and quite often it involves ska music. Simply put, this stereotype does not apply to the SKABILLY REBELS. RODDY RADIATION’s band successfully takes the best parts of rockabilly, minus the cheesiness that all too often is associated with the genre, and then puts it to a laid back traditional ska beat. Should we expect anything less? Of course you already know him as the legendary guitarist of The Specials (who also wrote their classics ‘Rat Race’, ‘Concrete Jungle’ & ‘Hey Little Rich Girl’), who also later formed blues influenced acts The Bonediggers and The Tearjerkers. He’s a veteran and true innovator of both the 2-TONE ska movement and the English rockabilly revival scene. Roddy’s voice is smooth and melodic, yet with pub grit. The fact that his guitar playing is superb goes without saying, but his ability to seamlessly combine both ska and rockabilly without losing the integrity of either genre is downright amazing. Roddy Radiation has proven again that he is a truly innovative musician and may be in the process of once again reinventing the face of ska music. Guess this album forces rude boy mods and skins to mix with rockers and teddy boys. What can’t we all just get along? Continue reading RODDY RADIATION “BLUES ATTACK” LP (JUMP095LP – OUT OF PRINT)
SPECIALIZED 7″ with ROLAND GIFT – LEE THOMPSON – KING HAMMOND and ORANGE STREET (OUT OF PRINT)
SPECIALIZED – A MODERN TAKE ON THE SPECIALS is a fantastic charity album that came our earlier this year in the UK, featuring 30 great artists covering songs made famous by THE SPECIALS – with proceeds going to the TEENAGE CANCER TRUST charity. As someone who recently lost his father to cancer, we immediately contacted the compilation organizer to see if JUMP UP could be a part of this historic compilation. JUMP UP is donating the majority of the pressing to the SPECIALZED people in the UK to help raise more money for this great and noble cause. You should pick up the full length CD at www.specializedcharityalbum.co.uk Continue reading SPECIALIZED 7″ with ROLAND GIFT – LEE THOMPSON – KING HAMMOND and ORANGE STREET (OUT OF PRINT)
