Star Maker Debuts: A Mixed Bag

Tomorrow will be taken up in my house with preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Irene, so I don’t expect to have time for another post on this week’s theme. So here are three artists I wanted to get to this week who have nothing else in common.

Mance Lipscomb: Police Station Blues

[purchase]

When I listen to acoustic blues from before World War Two, I often wish I could take modern recording equipment back in time, and capture these amazing performances the way they deserve to be heard. Luckily, some of these artists were recorded better during the folk music revival of the 1950s and 60s. Many of these artists have been on Star Maker Machine before, but not Mance Lipscomb. Lipscomb is not the best known, but he was a very talented musician. Just make sure you never called him a bluesman. Lipscomb was born in 1895, and he represented a link to a tradition that predated the blues. He called himself a “songster”, and his repertoire included songs like Shine On Harvest Moon, which clearly were not blues at all. But, listening to Lipscomb’s music, I can hear the influence of the blues in everything he played. Lipscomb also was unusual among folk revival artists in that he was not discovered until after the war. He made his first recordings in 1960.

Rokia Traore (with The Kronos Quartet): Bowmboi

[purchase]

Rokia Traore is one of the best known singers in Africa these days, despite the fact that she has only done four albums. The foundation of her music comes from the traditions of her native Bambara tribe of Mali, but she is not a traditional singer. Traore gets a much smoother vocal tone than traditional singers, and her songs incorporate elements from many lands and peoples. This, the title track from her album Bowmboi, is one of two collaborations on the album with The Kronos Quartet, and the results are stunning.

Save Ferris: Come On Eileen

[purchase]

Finally, I could not resist sharing this one. You know Come On Eileen from the original version by Dexy’s Midnight Runners, but have you ever heard the ska version? Save Ferris made an EP that got them signed to a major label for their brand of ska. Their Come On Eileen was on their major label debut, a wonderful pop-ska album that I can heartily recommend. But, by the time they recorded the follow-up, the band was moving away from ska, and into unremarkable pop. They broke up soon after that follow-up was released. But there was a brief moment when they made one of the most fun albums I have ever heard.

Horns: Ska Edition

The first thing I thought of when I saw this week's theme was, "Time for some ska". My first introduction to ska music came in 1979. It sounded like this:

Madness: One Step Beyond

[purchase]


I loved what I was hearing. I sought out all the ska I could find at the time, which led me to the Specials, Bad Manners, the English Beat, and the Selector. As I learned about the context for this music, I learned that ska was brought to England by Jamaican immigrants. The music was a precursor of reggae, popular in the 1960s. Once in England, the Jamaican immigrants started jamming with white English musicians who brought a punk element to the music. In the 1980s, the ska bands were the first interracial home-grown bands the English had seen. So this wave of ska bands referred to themselves as two-tone bands, and the label stuck.

So, I wondered, what did the Jamaican version sound like? I learned that the leading Jamaican ska band in the 1960s was the Skatalites. Unfortunately, most of the recordings from this period are very poor quality, but the music shines through. Roland Alphonso was originally a member of the Skatalites, and as heard here, he has remained faithful to the original Jamaican sound.

Roland Alphonso & The Soul Brothers: Phoenix City

[purchase]


Eventually, ska came to America in the late 1990s, in what is referred to as "the third wave". Some of the American bands have added a pop-punk accent to the sound, but I prefer those who have built on the two-tone sound. On of the best of these is the Toasters. They have remained faithful to their version of ska for many years.

The Toasters: Freedom

[purchase]


No one ever got rich playing ska, unfortunately. So many musicians who love the music, and play it well, don't stay with it; they broaden their sound to try to draw a wider audience, and wind up leaving the style behind. Save Ferris was a great ska band for one album; by the time they released their second album, all traces of the style had vanished. But that one album was great.

Save Ferris: Goodbye

[purchase]

Side note: If anybody has an mp3 of "In The Middle of the Night" by Madness, from One Step Beyond, please post it in the comments. Thanks.


Submitted by Darius