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The Mutiny Classic Ska Series
Mission statement: a less than in-depth study into some of the most influential records that have shaped ska music since the fifties, from the original island sounds of Jamaica through the two-tone era all the way to the third wave and today’s contemporary offerings. Or some albums that we think are shit hot!
#001
Hello Rockview
Less Than Jake
(Capitol Records, 1998)
“Last one out of Liberty City burn it to the ground.” Its muffled intro has become somewhat iconic, a marker that makes it apparent exactly what’s to come. The explosion of energy and up tempo horn-fuelled power pop that follows now stands up as one of the defining moments of the third-wave ska scene, a record that not only enticed an entirely new generation of music fans to the genre but still sounds every bit as fresh today, more than a decade on.
It may have been released in 1998 but the real impact of ‘Hello Rockview’ was felt in 2000 when Capitol records said goodbye to the band with a re-release of the album complete with bonus disc. That bonus disc was 1996’s ‘Losing Streak’ in its entirety. So in one fell swoop listeners were turned on to Less Than Jake, a rag-tad bunch from northern Florida, thanks to not one but two albums that without argument would be the best produced by the band ever.
Where do you go about starting to pick tracks out from the album? Well, obviously ‘All My Best Friends are Metalheads’? It’s the anthem that has bothered music TV forever, a rock club staple guaranteed to drag even the most stoic of attendees onto the dance floor. ‘History of a Boring Town’ is just about the ultimate teen hymn, a call to arms for anyone that’s ever been pissed off with their hometown, and far more inspirational and fitting than any Hot Topic/guyliner emo tune released more recently. That’s part of the appeal; Less Than Jake knows how to speak to those awkward teens and losers, mainly because the band was those people. Dem losers done good.
Keep ‘em coming. ‘Big Crash’ may well be the best track the band has ever produced, a gloriously massive hook of a chorus, an absolutely galloping pace with huge drums and huge horns. Simply put, gigantic. ‘Richard Allen George…No, It’s Cheez’ may be the worst song title in history but how enjoyable is its skank-generating guitars and frenetic velocity? ‘Al’s War’ not only is the best album closer LTJ has ever put out but easily in the bands top five songs. It’s another emotive piece that focuses on leaving home for the first time, one of those defining moments of growing up, and it’s fantastic.
Between all of the above lives a core of songs that sound right, fit right and go a hell of a way towards suggesting this is the absolute pinnacle of third-wave ska. It’s the type of ‘wacky’ record the elitists will dismiss in a genre oft considered childish and silly. To hell with that. ‘Hello Rockview’ is a fantastically joyous record that connects with an audience and then blasts away any self-reservation with a gloriously infectious skacore sound that has now been imitated a million times over, but never truly overshadowed. Quite simply, if it wasn’t for this record a hell of a lot of bands wouldn’t exist (some thankfully, but even more sadly), and this website definitely wouldn’t be in existence.
Grab it off the shelf, put it in your player and realise how good this record is. Then slip in that ‘bonus disc’: “This is the old dude, Harry J. Reynolds and you’re listening to Less Than Jake.” Hmm, ‘Losing Streak’ itself is pretty damn good. Maybe there’s an argument here for that record as well…
SkaMutiny Rating: 5/5
Al
Mission statement: a less than in-depth study into some of the most influential records that have shaped ska music since the fifties, from the original island sounds of Jamaica through the two-tone era all the way to the third wave and today’s contemporary offerings. Or some albums that we think are shit hot!
#001
Hello Rockview
Less Than Jake
(Capitol Records, 1998)
“Last one out of Liberty City burn it to the ground.” Its muffled intro has become somewhat iconic, a marker that makes it apparent exactly what’s to come. The explosion of energy and up tempo horn-fuelled power pop that follows now stands up as one of the defining moments of the third-wave ska scene, a record that not only enticed an entirely new generation of music fans to the genre but still sounds every bit as fresh today, more than a decade on.
It may have been released in 1998 but the real impact of ‘Hello Rockview’ was felt in 2000 when Capitol records said goodbye to the band with a re-release of the album complete with bonus disc. That bonus disc was 1996’s ‘Losing Streak’ in its entirety. So in one fell swoop listeners were turned on to Less Than Jake, a rag-tad bunch from northern Florida, thanks to not one but two albums that without argument would be the best produced by the band ever.
Where do you go about starting to pick tracks out from the album? Well, obviously ‘All My Best Friends are Metalheads’? It’s the anthem that has bothered music TV forever, a rock club staple guaranteed to drag even the most stoic of attendees onto the dance floor. ‘History of a Boring Town’ is just about the ultimate teen hymn, a call to arms for anyone that’s ever been pissed off with their hometown, and far more inspirational and fitting than any Hot Topic/guyliner emo tune released more recently. That’s part of the appeal; Less Than Jake knows how to speak to those awkward teens and losers, mainly because the band was those people. Dem losers done good.
Keep ‘em coming. ‘Big Crash’ may well be the best track the band has ever produced, a gloriously massive hook of a chorus, an absolutely galloping pace with huge drums and huge horns. Simply put, gigantic. ‘Richard Allen George…No, It’s Cheez’ may be the worst song title in history but how enjoyable is its skank-generating guitars and frenetic velocity? ‘Al’s War’ not only is the best album closer LTJ has ever put out but easily in the bands top five songs. It’s another emotive piece that focuses on leaving home for the first time, one of those defining moments of growing up, and it’s fantastic.
Between all of the above lives a core of songs that sound right, fit right and go a hell of a way towards suggesting this is the absolute pinnacle of third-wave ska. It’s the type of ‘wacky’ record the elitists will dismiss in a genre oft considered childish and silly. To hell with that. ‘Hello Rockview’ is a fantastically joyous record that connects with an audience and then blasts away any self-reservation with a gloriously infectious skacore sound that has now been imitated a million times over, but never truly overshadowed. Quite simply, if it wasn’t for this record a hell of a lot of bands wouldn’t exist (some thankfully, but even more sadly), and this website definitely wouldn’t be in existence.
Grab it off the shelf, put it in your player and realise how good this record is. Then slip in that ‘bonus disc’: “This is the old dude, Harry J. Reynolds and you’re listening to Less Than Jake.” Hmm, ‘Losing Streak’ itself is pretty damn good. Maybe there’s an argument here for that record as well…
SkaMutiny Rating: 5/5
Al
