2023 Charity Shop Purchases #85 - Various Artists - Ska is the Limit
After three Fridays in row featuring Rockabilly this week we move on to another neglected genre namely Ska.
The Merriam -Webster dictionary describes Ska as popular music of Jamaican origin that combines elements of traditional Caribbean rhythms and jazz
It shot to prominence in the UK in the late 70s/early 80s with the success of 2 Tone Records which focussed traditional Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae music with elements of punk rock and new wave. In short nothing short of a multi cultural revolution led by the likes of The Specials, The Selector and Madness
Ska is the Limit is a 1997 compilation on the Disky label which features the first two the the three artists above alongside Fun Boy Three & Bananarama, Special A.K.A., The Untouchables and Desmond Dekker.
We were privileged to grow up in those times when there was a social conscience and a desire for change. Arguably the bland music that seems to be the most popular now is the music we currently deserve.
Let's go back in time to when music mattered
Your "We were were privileged to grow up in those times...." comment made me reflect that even a few years difference in our ages can mean a whole chasm of difference in how we view or appreciate the same song, genre etc. This is deep into esoteric territory I know but bear with me. I was 26 when On My Radio came out in '79 (so ancient I know) but I was coming from a 60s pop/70's prog/rock background - a very different hinterland than someone say 5 years younger and although we 'heard' the same song our absorption or experience of it was essentially so very different.........er, I've lost my thread here but your more discernable followers will hopefully know what I'm cackhandedly trying to say! A great song is a great song whether you're ninety or twenty. I'm not ninety.
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