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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!
#003
Civil Disobedients
Capdown
(Household Name of London Records, 2000)
Although not strictly a ska record per se, it’s impossible to underplay the importance of Civil Disobedients and the seven years of Capdown that followed. As a band the Milton Keynes outfit played the role of spearhead, a bastion within the UK underground scene that would influence a world of new acts. The premier example of mash it up/smash it up mentality that took third-wave ska and made it oh so vital. As an album Civil Disobedients flooded the upstroke/downstroke jolliness of the ‘wacky’ era with a beating heart of furious punk rock, booming dub, a politically charged conscience of social awareness and just about anything else the band damn well wanted. Wicked.
Opening with the double-header of ‘Unite to Progress’ and ‘Kained But Abel’, Civil Disobedients is set-up like a full-on gnarly punk-rock upstart, vicious and piercing. It’s track three, ‘Ska Wars’ where the ‘down finally break out the sax and bring in a ska number, and what a number. Just how long did Mike Davies use this as a bed on his radio show? Jovial enough to warrant a good ol’ skank-along but lyrically educated at the same time; a proper kick in the nads to those chef trouser wearing bands of the time.
‘Positivity’ and ‘Cousin Cleotis’ followed cue, the former kicking off with a menacing guitar riff before breaking into a massive ska chorus, whilst the latter is pretty much best described as a super ska jaunt (pick-it-ups included) that urges the listener to not “just sit around on your arse dreaming of a better day”. Positivity indeed, not to mention a fat wedge of pro-activism. Delve into the scene now and look at the sheer number of bands that preach this same thing.
If you’re looking for the records diversity, look no further than ‘Dub No. 1’, a, you guessed it, dub number that demonstrates the bands multi-faceted approach. Listen to this and then to Suicide Bid. Notice the resemblance? ‘The Neverlution’ pretty much returns to the punk-rock blueprint, although this time around there’s a smidgen of brass and a hint of rapping. Well, nu-metal was at the forefront of everybody’s mind.
With a touch of everything it’s been argued for years now that in the years to follow Capdown never reached the heady heights of Civil Disobedients. Fair? On recorded output, yes. In the live setting, no. Anytime the band performed live you knew you were in for a good time, and each show seemed bigger than the last. Towards the end it appeared the band had reached the scene’s glass ceiling (since smashed through by The King Blues). Perhaps the delay between album two and three derailed the momentum. Regardless, Civil Disobedients is an absolute monster, a standard to be held aloft proudly.
Few bands managed to combine the brash uniqueness and the influence of Capdown and fewer bands will be missed more. There was a solemnity to the loss of the band’s brothers-in-arms, King Prawn (Mutiny Classic #004, anyone?) that forebode the disappointment of the break-up that would be in 2007. Regardless of any reunions (inevitable, perhaps?), the bands debut lives on and will be drawn from for years to come.
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!
#003
Civil Disobedients
Capdown
(Household Name of London Records, 2000)
Although not strictly a ska record per se, it’s impossible to underplay the importance of Civil Disobedients and the seven years of Capdown that followed. As a band the Milton Keynes outfit played the role of spearhead, a bastion within the UK underground scene that would influence a world of new acts. The premier example of mash it up/smash it up mentality that took third-wave ska and made it oh so vital. As an album Civil Disobedients flooded the upstroke/downstroke jolliness of the ‘wacky’ era with a beating heart of furious punk rock, booming dub, a politically charged conscience of social awareness and just about anything else the band damn well wanted. Wicked.
Opening with the double-header of ‘Unite to Progress’ and ‘Kained But Abel’, Civil Disobedients is set-up like a full-on gnarly punk-rock upstart, vicious and piercing. It’s track three, ‘Ska Wars’ where the ‘down finally break out the sax and bring in a ska number, and what a number. Just how long did Mike Davies use this as a bed on his radio show? Jovial enough to warrant a good ol’ skank-along but lyrically educated at the same time; a proper kick in the nads to those chef trouser wearing bands of the time.
‘Positivity’ and ‘Cousin Cleotis’ followed cue, the former kicking off with a menacing guitar riff before breaking into a massive ska chorus, whilst the latter is pretty much best described as a super ska jaunt (pick-it-ups included) that urges the listener to not “just sit around on your arse dreaming of a better day”. Positivity indeed, not to mention a fat wedge of pro-activism. Delve into the scene now and look at the sheer number of bands that preach this same thing.
If you’re looking for the records diversity, look no further than ‘Dub No. 1’, a, you guessed it, dub number that demonstrates the bands multi-faceted approach. Listen to this and then to Suicide Bid. Notice the resemblance? ‘The Neverlution’ pretty much returns to the punk-rock blueprint, although this time around there’s a smidgen of brass and a hint of rapping. Well, nu-metal was at the forefront of everybody’s mind.
With a touch of everything it’s been argued for years now that in the years to follow Capdown never reached the heady heights of Civil Disobedients. Fair? On recorded output, yes. In the live setting, no. Anytime the band performed live you knew you were in for a good time, and each show seemed bigger than the last. Towards the end it appeared the band had reached the scene’s glass ceiling (since smashed through by The King Blues). Perhaps the delay between album two and three derailed the momentum. Regardless, Civil Disobedients is an absolute monster, a standard to be held aloft proudly.
Few bands managed to combine the brash uniqueness and the influence of Capdown and fewer bands will be missed more. There was a solemnity to the loss of the band’s brothers-in-arms, King Prawn (Mutiny Classic #004, anyone?) that forebode the disappointment of the break-up that would be in 2007. Regardless of any reunions (inevitable, perhaps?), the bands debut lives on and will be drawn from for years to come.
SkaMutiny Rating: 5/5
Al
