REVIEW Rating System

* = Crap

** = Satisfactory

*** = Not bad

**** = Good

***** = Wow!

Use the menu on your right to pick a review, then click on the "" to return to the top of the page. reviewsALBUMS reviewsCOMPILATIONS reviewsSHOWS

Comps: Choose one... "Cruisin' For A Bruisin'" "Dancing Mood" "Dillinquents" "Live From Mars" "Puro Eskanol, Vol 3" "Ska Brazil" "Skaliente"

Various Artists: "Cruisin' For a Bruisin'"
Asleep At The Wheel Records [***]

An eclectic compilation that starts off well but heads into generic ska-punk land by the end. It has a bunch of fantastic bands (many of them from the mid-west), such as Animal Chin, the Siren Six, the Articles, the Impossibles, and Five Iron Frenzy. But there is also your share of mediocre bands like Hot Stove Jimmy, the Lemon Merchants, and the Butchers. This might or might not be worth your money, depending on your tastes.

Various Artists: "Dancing Mood"
Triple Crown Records [***]

This is a traditional ska and rocksteady East Coast-style compilation that includes tracks from Skinnerbox, the Stubborn All-Stars, Mephiskapheles, Inspector 7, and the Slackers amongst others. It's similar in format and sound to many Moon compilations. My favorite track is probably the Slackers' "No More Crying," although I like it better the way it was done on their new album "The Question." The Stubborn All-Stars cover the Rolling Stones' "Citadel" (which actually succeeded despite my doubts). All the bands have strengths. I give this three stars because it was fun to listen to, but I would rather have a CD with just one band...

Various Artists: "Dillinquents"
Dill Records [***]

In an effort to make "something a little different than your usual ska compilation," Dill set out to collect a huge group of ska and punk bands doing mostly punk songs. I think it was really cool what they did, 'cause I'm so sick of bad ska-punk comps! Argh! But this is really unique. I'll give you an example, okay, Slow Gherkin is on the "RED" volume, but instead of putting on some Gherkin favorite like "Salsa III," "Cable," or "Slaughterhouse," the folks at Dill decided to put "Bad Driver," their 30 second punk song. Interesting... All the predicable Dill-related bands are on here: Slapstick, Pickle, Link 80, 78 RPMs, Rudiments, and MU330 (okay, well, some of those are Asian Man bands...), as well as some obscure bands, and a few unlikely bands like the Donnas, the Spice Girls of punk rock (but that's not Dill's problem, that's Lookout's problem so I'll shut up now). As with any compilation, it can sometimes get frustrating sifting through it to find the good stuff, but on this comp there is more good than bad so it doesn't get too tedious. Listen to it when you need to get some of that good ol' punk rock aggression out. Exceptionially good tracks by Skankin' Pickle and 78 RPMs as expected.

Various Artists: "Live From Mars"
Random Order Records [****]

This is an excellent compilation put together by the folks of KZSC's ska/swing radio show "Gangsterbop, featuring the best ska bands from around the Bay Area and California, with live performances by such bands as Monkey, Slow Gherkin, Critical Mass, Los Hooligans, Blindspot, Punch the Clown, and a few others. There are 2 songs from each contributing band. Normally I say that I don't like live CDs because the sound quality is bad, there is a lot of clapping and shouting, and quite frankly, you can't capture the experience of a live ska show on a CD. It can't be done! But this is different because there is no audience present, and the sound quality is really good, so it's almost as good as an honest to goodness studio album. The reason that this gets marked down from 5 stars is because #1, more than half of it is previoulsy released material, and #2, I will never give a comp 5 stars, because every comp has it's weak spots, this one being, perhaps, the two tracks by the Mad Caddies, a band I've never really liked.
This is a benefit compilation and can be purchased for $10 by writing: Random Order Records, ATTN: Adam Levin, 200 Heller Dr. #1009, Santa Cruz, CA 95064

Various Artists: "Puro Eskanol, Volume 3"
Aztlan Records [***]

All right, here is the theme behind this one, the third in Aztlan's series: ska bands from around the world doing latin-ska. The thing is, I'd only heard of 2 of the bands on it, seing as how only 3 of the bands are from the U.S., and admitedly, 99% of my music is from either the U.S. or the U.K., so my knowledge of international music is really lacking. Jump With Joey is one of the bands of which I speak, and they open the album witha great song called "Nuevo Ritmo Ska-cha-cha," which reminds me of the Afro-Cuban All Stars (cool band, check them out). Lots of salsa-tinged tunes here, ones that weren't I didn't like as much (such as the track by Venezuelan band Wahala). Local Bammie-winning youngsters Firme also make an appearance with their anthem "Firme." In all, a compilation with high and low points, but I definetly liked it more than I was expecting to. My biggest complaint is the sleeve design, very amateurish and cliche, especially all the checkers. Made me not want to listen to it for a long time. But, thanks for the international music lesson, guys.

Various Artists: "Ska Brazil"
Aztlan Records [*** ½ ]

This is a set of songs from various ska bands in Brazil. There are ska-rock, ska-punk, pretty much every style you could think of. This isn't something I would necessarily go pick up in store, since I can't understand a word of Portugese, but if you're interested in Brazilian music or culture you might want to give this comp a spin.

Various Artists: "Skaliente"
Grita Records [*** ½ ]

The theme of this compilation is international ska, especially Latin. There is a mix of American bands and Latin ska bands. Groups of note include: Rancid, Inspector 7, Mephiskapheles, Voodoo Glow Skulls, and Hepcat. I personally thought there wasn't much point to this comp other than to make a little money, but they did manage to get some major acts to contribute, so they get props for that. A pretty average compilation.