Skanktified

Description

Skanktified is a multi-artist compilation album released in the US on Eclectica Music in 1998, a sub-label of N-Soul, distributed by Diamante Music Group in the US. (“Eclectica Music – A record label of some of the best youth rock, alternative & Ska music made by Christians today.”) Also released in Europe by Eclectica, marketed and distributed by Alliance Music.

The ska revival in the USA Christian music scene has mirrored an underground revival in ska music in the mainstream scene over there. To British ears, it may seem strange that once more the sounds of The Specials and those other 2 Tone acts from the late ’70s are finding a new audience amongst American teens tired of grungey rock! Although bands like The Insyderz and The Supertones have managed to create quite a reasonable profile, there are plenty of other bands bubbling under and this N-Soul compilation brings the best together, although this is occasionally tenuo-us! This actually brought back weird flashbacks of the British ‘Shots In the Dark‘ comp from the early ’80s! So let me just rave about my faves!! The Skadaddles’ furious «Unsaid» is a good example of a chunky rhythm and plenty of horns. This, it has to be said, is also the glory of the wonderfully named Big Dog Small Fence who manage to create a bit of a Nutty Boy feel for «Finite». Solomon’s Porch and The Israelites have adopted a more ’60s ska feel for their songs and chosen to not add in a little grungey rock into the mix and their songs stand out for that. Some things are just curiously quirky and therefore worth a mention! Sideshow Cafe do a fast paced ska cover of an old Don Francisco song – «Praise The Lord» – and boy it works! Great fun too. Talking of fun, the Zion Mennonite Youth Group serve up a happy song called «Servin’» with most of the group contributing vocals at some stage! Weird but it works! I’d be very surprised if new Word signees Skypark would be happy that «Wax Tadpole» from the indie album they are trying to forget has turned up on here! Like all indie comps, this one has mixed production values, some crackin’ tracks and surprisingly few turkeys! Whether the porkpie hat will ever make a comeback amongst Christian music lovers over here is another thing! Nostalgic 2-Tone lovers should snap this up! [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, December 1998]

N-Soul’s Eclectica sub-label picked up this little ska-core compilation originally put together as an indie project. It definitely sounds like an indie production, with fairly raw recordings of 22 different bands. And it pushes on both ends of the “ska-core” label as some of it is fairly two-tone and some of it is pretty flat-out punk. It’s a little difficult to get a good feel for how each of these bands would sound given a full production budget. Hearing The Insyderz do «The Walking Dead» here and comparing it with the version from Motor City Ska, makes it very clear that this album is not a finely polished creation. But it does serve as an introduction to a variety of up and coming acts.

One of my favorite tracks is Big Dog Small Fence’s «Finite» with a nice bass groove, pretty good blend on the brass, and some thoughtful lyrics. Hearing The Israelites’s contribution («Israelite Train») makes me wish I hadn’t missed them at Cornerstone last year. And the coolest band name on the compilation has got to be GenkideSka (a little play on a Japanese phrase). The goofiest track comes from Zion Youth Group («Servin’»), the content of which reflects the band name quite well.

If you’re really looking for some new bands to check out in the future, you might want to check this out as a reference point, but it has not earned a place in my listening rotation. [Titi Ala’ilima, The Phantom Tollbooth, 1998]

> iTunes

CD tracklist:

01. The Dingees – Wake Up
02. The Skadaddles – Unsaid
03. The Philibusters – Golden Ticket
04. Genkideska – Encircle
05. Newmans – Beautiful Girl
06. Zion Youth Group – Servin’
07. Nester’s Bad Habit – Skankin’ On The Streets Of Gold
08. Not For The Crowd – The Hideout
09. Trump Mother Jones – Preachers Boy
10. The Daily Special – Girls
11. Sideshow Cafe – Praise The Lord
12. The Insyderz – The Walking Dead
13. Buck – Our World
14. Rainy Days – Pied Piper
15. Gransane – Time To Change
16. Pax – It’s All Good
17. Pop – Postcards
18. Big Dog Small Fence – Finite
19. Skypark – Wax Tadpole
20. Solomon’s Porch – Birds Of The Air
21. This Side Up – Lost Boy
22. The Israelites – Israelite Train End

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Eclectica Music.