"This Is England" (OST) (2007)

This Is England (soundtrack)
release date: 2007
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Track highlights: 7. Al Barry & The Cimarons "Morning Sun" (3,5 / 5) - 9. Toots & The Maytals "Louie Louie" - 10. Toots & The Maytals "Pressure Drop" (4 / 5) - 12. The Specials "Do the Dog" (3,5 / 5) - 15. The Upsetters "Return of Django" (3,5 / 5) - 20. Percy Sledge "The Dark End of the Street"

Original Soundtrack compilation album made for the fine full length British feature film "This Is England" (2006) directed by Shane Meadows. The movie is an interesting and disturbing portrait of working class England in the early 1980s, and the soundtrack is likewise interesting but also very varied. Best tracks are the reggae and ska tracks by Toots & The Maytalls (three tracks), Al Barry & The Cimarons, The Specials, and The Upsetters.
[ film trailer ]

Toots & The Maytals "Sweet and Dandy: The Best of Toots & The Maytals" (2002)

Sweet and Dandy: The Best of Toots & The Maytals" (compilation)
release date: 2002
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Trojan Records - nationality: Jamaica

A 24 track compilation album by Toots & The Maytals. It contains many of the band's best tracks but I don't find it a sufficient attempt. I mean, this band has released dozens of singles and albums that were only available in Jamaica. What is needed is an album that seeks out to collect the best of what they released, from being The Maytals, and in doing so pays the appropriate respect to the different styles and genres they went through, and I think this one misses out on that - 'cause fact is, Toots & The Maytals were not 'just' among the most important contributors in shaping reggae as a genre but also a prominent artist of ska, soul and rocksteady.
The album is slightly better than Island Jamaica's 2-disc album Time Tough - The Anthology from 1996, which contains almost twice as many tracks, but unfortunately put too strong focus on compositions from the 1970s that are not crucial.
Perhaps a better best of album to get hold of could be either Sanctuary Records 2002 2-disc album 54-46 Was My Number: Anthology 1964 to 2000, or the 2-disc album Pressure Drop: The Definitive Collection released on Trojan in 2008.

Toots & The Maytals "Time Tough - The Anthology" (1996)

Time Tough - The Anthology (compilation)
release date: 1996
format: 2 cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: various
label: Island Jamaica - nationality: Jamaica

2 -disc best of compilation album by Toots & The Maytals. The album consists of a total of 41 tracks (23 on disc 1, and 18 on disc 2) put in chronological order. A few tracks are unreleased recordings but the majority of the songs here are written by Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert, which is a nice thing about the selection of songs. Disc 1 is clearly the most interesting of the two parts, and my biggest complaint is that there simply aren't enough compositions from the early period, which again explains the lower quality of the second disc. Focus seems to narrow in on the true reggae roots instead of the greatness of rocksteady and ska.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5 stars ]

Madness "7" (1981)

7
release date: Oct. 1981
format: cd (1989 reissue) / digital (2010 Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley
label: Virgin Records / Union Square - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Cardiac Arrest" - 2. "Shut Up" - 3. "Sign of the Times" - 5. "Mrs. Hutchinson" - 7. "Grey Day" - 9. "Promises Promises" - 10. "Benny Bullfrog"
*Disc 2: 2. "Sign of the Times" (BBC Richard Skinner session recording) - 7. "It Must Be Love" - 9. "In the City" - 10. "Cardiac Arrest (12" Extended Version)"
*2010 2 Disc Deluxe Edition

3rd studio album by Madness originally released by Stiff Records has like the first two albums the producer-team Langer-Winstanley - here with a title that simply refers to the size of the band.
The album sounds much like the predecessor with tracks pointing back in time with uptempo aggressive beats, songs that are more mainstream-founded and compositions with British pub rock attitude and humour. "Grey Day" was the first single from the album, and it does sound as if from another album in mind as it's a more political and rock-based track that would've been fitting for The Clash or the like.. The official video does, however quite nicely, try to make it a typical Madness production. It peaked as number #4 on the singles chart list. "Shut Up" reached number #7, but frankly I think, "Cardiac Arrest" would have been the easy choice for a single release - which it was though; however, not until Feb. '82 when it was issued in a remixed version [!?!] peaking at number #14...
Anyway, the album - reaching a position as number #7 on the albums chart list in the UK - didn't reach the same high sales numbers as its two predecessors, perhaps because the band still was hard to place: were they for the vast masses of mainstream pop / rock, or a cult-audience, and then why release an album that truly signals incoherence in terms of style, seriousness and production sound?
Well, I like it, and think of it as an album they needed to make before going mainstream. In retrospect it links nicely with Absolutely and the successor The Rise & Fall (1982).
The 2010 Deluxe Edition is a fine edition with relevant A- and B-side singles as bonus material. "It Must Be Love" (cover of Labi Siffre 1971 song) from Nov. '81 is an almost essential Madness song but it was only released as a single after the release of 7, hence otherwise only issued on compilation albums.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Madness "Absolutely" (1980)

Absolutely
release date: Sep. 26, 1980
format: vinyl / cd (2000 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley
label: Stiff Records / Virgin - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Baggy Trousers" - 2. "Embarrassment" - 3. "E.R.N.I.E." - 4. "Close Escape" - 6. "On the Beat Pete" - 7. "Solid Gone" - 10. "Disappear" - 13. "You Said"

2nd studio album by Madness who has by now become a septet as regular associate / lyricist / contributor Cathal Smyth (more commonly known as Chas Smash) has joined the band on backing and co-lead vocals and trumpet. The album picks up the style established on the debut album with a slightly more polished production pointing towards a more mainstream audience without losing grip with the 2 Tone ska revival sound. The 2000 remaster is released on Virgin Records.
This album was my first acquisition with the band after having heard One Step Beyond..., and I always considered it a very fine album without being truly great. I do think my feelings about it only has increased making me think of it as yet another corner stone of British pop / rock music of the 1980s. Back in 1980, I think I thought of the band as being too silly, and certainly, even by comparing Madness to contemporaries like The Jam, The Clash, Siouxsie and The Banshees and Joy Division do seem like a bit silly; however, they unquestionably were among a handful of artist [which include Ian Dury, Toy Dolls, Undertones] who brought a [laugh and a] positivity into contemporary popular music, which was basically unheard of at the time.
The album fared quite well peaking at number #2 in the UK, and "Baggy Trousers" and "Embarrassment" reached number #3 and #4 respectively on the British singles chart making Madness one of the hottest names of popular music. Music critics were divided about the whole ska revival thing. Not surprisingly, the English press loved the band, although, some saw Absolutely as weaker and less raw than the debut, and the band sold well in the Netherlands, but the style wasn't embraced with the same enthusiasm on the other side of the Atlantic. Actually, far from it. Rolling Stone still rates it 1 / 5 stars and refers to another famous band of British ska revival from 2 Tone Records: The Specials, simply as 'not very good'. I guess something similar would've happened as British critics should review a new pure country album.
Anyway, the album is essential when speaking of the 1980s music.
I don't really think of it as a lesser work compared to the debut album. The only striking difference is an improvement in sound.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 1 / 5 stars ]

Madness "One Step Beyond..." (1979)

One Step Beyond... [debut]
release date: Oct. 26, 1979
format: vinyl (SEEZ 17) / cd (2000 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley
label: Stiff Records / Virgin - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "One Step Beyond..." - 2. "My Girl" (4 / 5) - 4. "Believe Me" - 6. "The Prince" - 9. "Bed and Breakfast Man" - 13. "Mummy's Boy" - 14. "Madness"

Studio album debut (originally released on Stiff Records) by English band Madness - up until the recording and release of the album a sextet consisting of Graham McPherson [aka Suggs] on lead vocals, Mike Barson [aka Monsieur Barso] on keyboards, Chris Foreman [aka Chrissy Boy] on guitars, Mark Bedford [aka Bedders] on bass, Lee "Kix" Thompson on saxophones and backing vocals, and with Dan Woodgate [aka Woody] on drums and percussion. Seventh member Cathal Smyth [aka Chas Smash] takes part on the album and would formally join the band a few weeks after the album release. The band took its name from Jamaican ska artist Prince Buster's track "Madness", from his studio debut album I Feel the Spirit from 1963, Also the title track [original song] stems from a B-side single to the track "Al Capone" from '65 is by Prince Buster. The 200 remaster is released on Virgin Records.
One Step Beyond... is the first in a long row of albums to be produced by the Clive Langer / Alan Winstanley team, who would later go on and work with artists such as Elvis Costello, Dexys Midnight Runners, They Might Be Giants, Morrissey, and David Bowie.
Stylistically, this is at the core of what would be known as 2 Tone, British ska or more precisely: ska revival as the style builds on the original 60s rocksteady and Jamaican ska, and also it's heavily inspired by British pub rock bands like Brinsley Schwarz, Kilburn & the High Roads, Eddie and the Hot Rods, and Ian Dury & The Blockheads. And British pub rock with its humour plays a central part in the music by Madness.
The track "The Prince" (by Lee Thompson) pays tribute to one of the original Jamaican ska artists Prince Buster (aka Cecil Bustamente Campbell) was a minor hit and the band's first single, which paved the way for a place on the [pre-MTV] TV show Top of the Pops.
The album is almost great as it contains some really classic songs of that particular period, and it's also made up of some minor fillers serving more as entertaining bits, but all in all it's a classic album, and a 'must-have' in any collection of modern pop music.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Mojo, Q Magazine 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Toots & The Maytals "Funky Kingston" (1973)

Funky Kingston
release date: 1973
format: cd (1991 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Warwick Lyn, Chris Blackwell & Dave Bloxham
label: Island Records - nationality: Jamaica

Tracklist: 1. "Sit Right Down" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Pomp and Pride" (4 / 5) - 3. "Louie Louie" (4 / 5) - 4. "I Can't Believe" - 5. "Redemption Song" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "Daddy's Home" (4 / 5) - 7. "Funky Kingston" (3,5 / 5) - 8. "It Was Written Down" (3,5 / 5)

7th studio album by Toots & The Maytals org. released on Dragon (Records) and the first to be released internationally. It's quite evident that the album had been in the hands of more talented producers, as the sound is clearly bettering the predecessor Slatyam Stoot (1972). The album comes in two major different versions: the original Jamaican and similar European issues, and a 1975 issue released for the American market with a completely different track set [found here].
Many of the tracks had been issued on previous albums. "Pomp and Pride", "Louie Louie", "Redemption Song" and "It Was Written Down" were all on the '72 album in other versions. "Daddy's Home" is also found on the previous album and on the debut The Sensational Maytals (1965) as "Daddy", but here that song has been given its original name and the song has doubled its running time and become a reggae composition instead of the former rocksteady version(s), which built on the original 1961 doo-wop single by Shep and the Limelites (written by James Sheppard. The song has been covered by a vast number of artists).
[ allmusic.com, Sputnikmusic 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

Toots & The Maytals "Slatyam Stoot" (1972)

Slatyam Stoot
release date: 1972
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,84]
producer: Warrick Lyn
label: Dynamic Sounds - nationality: Jamaica

Tracklist: 1. "Louie Louie" - 2. "Pomp & Pride" - 3. "Daddy" (4 / 5) - 4. "If You Act This Way" - 5. "Pressure Drop" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Redemption Song" (4 / 5) - 7. "Come Reggae" (4 / 5) - 8. "The Same Thing" - 9. "Collie Baby" - 10. "It Was Written Down"

6th studio album by Toots & The Maytals nearly only features compositions written by Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert. The first song is a cover written by Richard Berry. "Pomp & Pride" may be referred to as rocksteady but it fits nicely in the new emerging genre of reggae.
"Daddy" had first been released in '65 on The Sensational Maytals and is here rearranged into a roots reggae version, and "Pressure Drop" was issued in '69 on the album Sweet and Dandy, and is here slightly less tight. Track #7 "Come Reggae", an uptempo soul, rocksteady and reggae composition by Toots Hibbert is another song with the word "reggae" in the title - the first known song with the word was the 'Toots' Hibbert track "Do the Reggay" from 1968, thus giving name to the new genre. The last three tracks on the album are actually the most reggae-styled tracks on the entire album, although I don't find them bettering the first seven.
The album is yet another great release by Toots & The Maytals, and as such highly recommended.

Toots & The Maytals "Sweet and Dandy" (1969)

Sweet and Dandy
release date: 1969
format: digital (1998 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Leslie Kong
label: Jet Set Records - nationality: Jamaica

Tracklist: 1. "Monkey Man" (5 / 5) - 2. "Pressure Drop" (5 / 5) - 3. "I Shall Be Free" - 4. "Bla Bla Bla" (4 / 5) - 5. "Just Tell Me" - 6. "We Shall Overcome" - 7. "Sweet & Dandy" - 8. "Scare Him" - 9. "Alidina" (4 / 5) - 10. "I Need Your Love" - 11. "54-46 That's My Number" (4 / 5) - 12. "Oh Yeah"

3rd studio album by The Maytals - the first as Toots & The Maytals, and the first to feature material almost entirely written by vocalist Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert. The album was originally released on Beverley's Records founded and owned by [legendary] Chinese Jamaican producer Leslie Kong, and in 1998 reissued on cd by Jet Set Records.
This album is one of the absolute best ever studio releases of rocksteady and Jamaican ska. "Monkey Man" was a favourite cover song by The Specials and later Amy Winehouse, "Pressure Drop" has been covered by many including Robert Palmer and my personal favourite: The punk reggae version by The Clash. That song is together with the title track "Sweet & Dandy" and "I Need Your Love" music that forecast the genre of reggae.

The Maytals "The Sensational Maytals" (1965)

org. vinyl release

The Sensational Maytals
release date: 1965
format: digital (1999 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: unknown
label: Jamaican Gold - nationality: Jamaica

Track highlights: 1. "It's You" (4 / 5) - 2. "Daddy" (4 / 5) - 7. "What's On Your Mind" (4 / 5)

2nd studio album by The Maytals originally released on BMN in Jamaica only and later that year in the UK by Doctor Bird Records, reissued by Jamaican Gold on extended cd edition as Sensational Ska Explosion in 1999.
The Maytals were formed in 1962 as a trio consisting of Nathaniel 'Jerry' Matthias, Henry 'Raleigh' Gordon, and Frederick Nathaniel 'Toots' Hibbert. All tracks here are credited the trio, but the band soon became famous as 'Toots & The Maytals' for his lead in the band, and he also wrote many of the trio's songs - later almost everything - and they then became Toots & The Maytals. In the early aftermath of this album, Hibbert spent 18 months in jail from '66 to '67, which explains an unwanted hiatus at a time when the band really was on top of music charts in Jamaica.
The production sound miss much in comparison with American and European releases from that time, but the music is simply golden. At this point reggae was not an "invented" genre but the music by Toots & The Maytals together with The Wailers and Peter Tosh, who all played Jaimaican ska in a combo with soul and r&b was fused into rocksteady, and later became known as reggae [from the 1968 single "Do the Reggay" by Toots and the Maytals].
'Toots' Hibbert has been compared to Otis Redding and this album really proves that analogy quite well. Hibbert doesn't have the same strength of vocal range but listening to this makes you wonder if Redding also listened to this and the debut by The Maytals to find inspiration. The album is stuffed with great tunes, and I have also found this much more inspiring than Bob Marley & The Wailers who experienced international fame in the 1970s when Toots & The Maytals were seen as 'just another' Jamaican band also playing reggae, when in fact they were among THE most important figures in shaping the genre.

1999 reissue