Skatalites From Paris With Love
Bounce, bounce! Groovin’ to the Skatalites’s latest release is like taking a water break from […]
Bounce, bounce! Groovin’ to the Skatalites’s latest release is like taking a water break from our war-torn world in the warm surf. And even if the band’s cast of characters feels like it’s in never-ending rotation (Lester Sterling, Lloyd Brevett, Lloyd Knibb, Doreen Shaffer and Dizzy Moore are the original members returning for this go around), its singular ska-jazz sound seems to be working just fine here. Standout tracks include the mellow-but-potent “Glory to the Sound”-a tune Dizzy claims was once an apartheid protest song named “Letter to Botha”-and “When I Fall in Love,” which showcases Shaffer’s smooth-as-cocoa-butter vocals. The Skatalities’s skin-tight horn interplay has lost none of its swing; the disc is just one extended riddim that doesn’t end until around the 60-minute mark. If your ass is sitting still while this joint is in the drive, then there is something seriously wrong with you.