REVIEW: Stubborn All Stars, Back With A New Batch (Triple Crown)
- Daniel Aloi
Young ska-punks could take a musical lesson or two from the Stubborn All-Stars, who go entirely old-school on their second full-length album. With members of The Toasters, Skinnerbox, The Pietasters, The Slackers and Metro Stylee, the All-Stars represent the cream of New York City's ska scene, which has kept the spirit of first-wave and Two-Tone ska going for more than a decade.
I first discovered the All-Stars when their horn section played with Rancid on Lollapalooza '96, and while there I picked up the entire Stubborn Records ethic with the compilation "Roots, Branches and Stem" -- original music based on the influential groundwork laid by earlier reggae, first-wave ska and classic R&B artists.
Back With a New Batch continues the mission, with such thoughtful and positive '70s reggae replications as "One Glimmer of Hope" paying major respect to Robert Nesta Marley. Likewise, "Pick Yourself Up" carries the message forward, and features the members of Rancid and Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones on background vocals.
But the album is still a very giddy piece of work, covering the Jamaican musical map (Lee "Scratch" Perry, Skatalites, et al.) with authority. "I Can't Touch You" is a soulful, tender ballad; that and the jump blues of "Because of You" serves as a reminder of the influence of '50s R&B on the earliest ska and reggae artists. "Struggling Version" brings it up-to-date (to, say, 1978) with upfront toasting by Jack Ruby Jr.
This is like the Cliff Notes version of a comprehensive history of ska and reggae, all rolled up into one 11-song CD. It serves its purpose, informing with concise accuracy, but it makes you want to learn more.
