For those of you who don’t know, Laurel Aitken was born in Cuba in 1927. If you can do the math, you’ll figure out that this makes him as old as dirt. However this does not mean that he can not still bust out with some awesome ska. On this album you will find many of his hits from the oh so popular first wave. These were all re-recoreded for this release, giving the album a newer, but none the less, classic sound. Helping to achieve this skafection* was none other than Rico Rodriguez of the Skatalites on trombone, as well as a full band of 15 vocalists, drummers, and people who played just about any other instrument ever used in the making of ska music. Laurel grooves through the thirteen tracks on this album, never missing a beat.
Sally Brown is by far the best track on this CD. It has a quick tempo and some serious upbeat action. The horns do a great job on the masterpiece, and Laurel brings it all together with his masterful voice. It’s impossible to listen to this song and not want to start dancing, even if you’re sitting at your desk, you’ll be overcome by the urge to move to the music. Other standouts on this album are Boogie in My Bones, Rudi Wedding, Mad About You and It’s to Late. This is not to say that these are the only good tracks on this album, far from it, these are just the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the pick of the litter, the…..well, you get the idea. So get this CD and make sure that you don’t miss out on this classic ska forever. Rating: 8
*Ska + perfection….get it?