Search - Ska Flames :: Damn Good

Review of Japanese ska band

09/03/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Very few bands today can really capture the authenticity of true 60's Jamaican ska. The Ska Flames have been able to take a slot as being one of those bands. Many people today who hear of ska think that it is a music that originated in the U.S. or England. In fact, it originated in Jamaica. For over ten years now, the ska flames have been playing to crowds in Japan and in England tearing the crowds up with their horn driven intrumental ska. In the most recent release from the Ska Flames entitled "Damn Good" the band is joined by a few pioneers of Jamaican ska. Roland Alphonso and Lester Sterling two of the lead saxophonists of the Skatalites, the band credited with inventing ska, join the Ska Flames on a few numbers. Also appearing on the record is Laurel Aitken, one of the most famous jamaican ska singers of the sixties. The Ska Flames are an 11 man band including a five man horn section. This is rarely seen in modern day ska bands. There is not a poor number in the entire record and is completely worth the price. It is a journey of powerful and stomping authentic ska."