Album Recommendations 4 - Ska Music Special
- The American Guitar Academy
- Jul 25
- 4 min read
Ska music is a very important style. Not only do I have personal connections with the genre having played in and written for Ska band for a couple years whilst in college, but I also feel that Ska music had a key part to play in the improvement of racial equality in the United Kingdom.
Ska music finds its roots in Jamaica in the mid twentieth century. Following the influx of Jamaican residents moving to the United Kingdom for work, Ska music followed suit and mixed with rock and punk sounds and developed the genre further. In the 1970s, this became a sub-genre itself called ‘two-tone’ - this was symbolised by the black and white chequered artwork which represented the mixture of both black Jamaican and white British musicians.
As in any style of music, there are many bands. However, there are always a couple of particular examples that stand out; every genre has some key groups that epitomise the sound. Let us check out a few of them!
The Specials - Self-Titled
In college, I was thrust into a tribute band to The Specials. I had no experience in the style, but quickly realised how useful it was to learn some of the specific techniques needed to play the style effectively. It caused me to think about chords in a more specific context, and combine different sounds that would not usually be found together.
Many of the songs we chose to play in the tribute band I mentioned before were from this album, and I can still remember how to play them… mostly. There are many favourites, but I chose ‘Monkey Man’ as the stand out song from this album.
The Specials - Monkey Man
The start of this song has some big chords in, using shapes that are common and known universally by guitarists of all styles. The rhythm quickly moves into something that is more typical of the style; almost straight away you start playing a quick, off-beat rhythm using fragments of the chords.
This song is actually a cover; the tune was originally released by Toots & the Maytals and is apparently about a man who loved a girl, but she chose an ugly guy over him. I think you would find it difficult to come to that conclusion given how upbeat the song is. Check it out, and my demo of the song below!
Bad Manners - Ska ‘N’ B
Bad Manners is fronted by one of the most recognisable frontmen in British music, Buster Bloodvessel. His appearance does not immediately cast him as a singer, but he definitely fits the bill - this also adds to the inclusion of anyone, as was the way with two-tone music.
In terms of instrumentation, all three of these bands were very much the same. None of the songs are particularly difficult per se, but the important parts have to be there or it simply will not fit. I was fortunate enough to briefly work with a keyboard player that spent some time touring with Bad Manners and, although there is always the pressure of playing the parts correctly, I was informed that it was extremely fun to play!
Bad Manners - Lip Up Fatty
Many people cite this song as being all about the fuller figure that frontman Buster Bloodvessel possesses. Whilst possibly true, and clearly indicative of tongue in cheek humour, what I take most from this song is that it just gets stuck in your head. In fact, at the time of writing it is stuck in my head, and will most likely stay there for a while.
This song also brings back memories of attending a huge motorcycle rally in the United Kingdom over my 16th birthday - a crazy band for a crazy event!
Madness - Complete Madness
In my opinion, though it seems to be shared by the few people I spoke to about this, Madness were the more popular band of this whole genre, especially in the United Kingdom. Perhaps not the most significant in terms of development of the sound as The Specials, or as visually iconic as Bad Manners, they had a more mainstream appeal. More fans spread across a wider demographic.
I think this was evident not only in their continued commercial success, but also with the inclusion of their music in TV shows and advertisements across several media platforms. This was likely aided by the stronger pop influence evident in some of their songs, and a willingness to adopt ideas from other popular genres of the time.
Madness - Baggy Trousers
‘Baggy Trousers’ is a great song, and always manages to make you feel happy. Even in the sections where the tonality switches from a major sound to a minor one, the energy behind the song remains infectious.
This song is also popular with school children, because the lyrics reflect on an often mischievous but seemingly positive time at school. I get the impression that this song was given its title after most of the lyrics were complete for the reason that, apart from the very end of the tune, the words ‘baggy trousers’ are only mentioned once. I guess that it goes to show that songwriting has an element of knowing when to “bend, not break the rules”.
Final Thoughts
As I mentioned at the start of this blog post, ska music was dropped in my lap whilst I was at college and I believe it made me a stronger musician as a result - it was something I would not have chosen for myself at the time. Even now it is not something I listen to regularly, but there is a huge amount of respect there.
If you have never listened to ska music, or even wish to trace the musical lineage to something more modern, these three albums are a great place to start. There is a similar vibe with all of them, so you will quickly come to know if you do not like the sound. In that case, think about why.
The techniques you find in ska music, something I will cover in another blog post in the near future, are all important in their own right. See if you can hear any and try your hand at them, or ask your teacher!
