Know Your Skalphabet 2, Various Artists
When Dan reviewed the first record in the Skalphabet series last year he was so blown away he gave the record the full five stars. And rightly so too - it was a record so fun you'd have been hard pushed to have heard anything as good from any sampler, let alone one by our Welsh buddies at the 'small' GCF. Not content with making us skank the once, they've gone and done it again with the sequel, proving they're anything but one trick ponies. Featuring some fantastic ska bands (MU330, Lightyear, Howards Alias and Shootin Goon), alongside some bands that aren't really ska at all anymore (Lightyear, Route 215, NoComply), this is a record that has something for everyone if you like your horns to be big, bouncy and plentiful. Ahem.
Although the majority of the bands are from the UK and US there is a sprinkling of Gallic and Japanese action too, enforcing the point that there is something for everyone. And at a budget price you can't really go wrong, especially with the recent warm streak that seems to have enveloped the UK (there's nothing that makes ska sound better than the sun after all...and I ain't talking about the newspaper).
Like any sampler you have the good, the bad and the ugly - thankfully there is plenty of the former and not much of anything else. The Busdrivers (RIP) kick things off in fantastic style with the awesome 'Holding On', a track that starts things off in the way they continue. The big-hitters like MU330 and Voodoo Glow Skulls don't disappoint either, with choice cuts from recent records. The Cheapskates and The Chinkees are both cracking, while Howards Alias, Lightyear and NoComply bring it home for the UK. I'm still yet to mention the brilliant The Toasters either, who create a really groove-filled atmosphere with 'Barney'. The soundtrack to the perfect barbecue? Quite possibly...
Of course there are a few tracks that don't really make the grade, although these really are few and far between. 'Crunch' by Route 215 isn't bad but certainly is not indicitive of where the band are now, while Splitters are a bit generic in my book. The Planet Smashers let the side down a little with the middling 'Wish I Were American' while Uncle Brian certainly don't feature at their best with 'Another Night'.
So Good Clean Fun have done it again with a collection of summery ska fun that begs to be played when there is a cloudless blue sky. Pop it on the stereo, grab a beer and skank the day (and night) away - it's a neccessary addition to any ska fans collection.
www.goodcleanfunrecords.co.uk
Paul
