The Pinchers and Congo Natty spun a dancehall and DnB track from Baba Boom respectively, but the definitive Jamaicans rhythm is the one which defines an era, given that it contains the riff also heard on Train to Skaville, a classic piece of ska horn work! “It’s time to rocksteady, it’s baba boom time!” … we hear on the vocalised original of this feel-good, midtempo tune, later recut by Jackie Mittoo. Lloyd Knibbs’ drumming on the track is exemplary and the cut has since been covered by groundbreaking skinhead group Simaryp, Judge Dread and even Mongo Santamaria, who gave the riddim a latin flavour. Having just mentioned him, we thought we’d go for it again! After the disbandment of The Skatalites, Roland Alphonso (under his new guise of Rolando Al), Jackie Mittoo and Johnny “Dizzie” Moore formed The Soul Brothers, wasting little time in laying down the jammin’ instrumental Phoenix City. It was from that record that The Specials developed their Gangsters riddim, making Staple’s latest revision of the riddim a clever and career-honouring move! The riddim from which they derive is Prince Buster’s Al Capone, a 1964 cut with cutting edge use of car break squeele and a chunky horn section to boot. Return of Judge Roughneck gets Neville Staple’s latest studio record off on the right foot, with an instantly recognisable keys riff and horn line drawing you in. So without further ado, here are five killer instrumentals that have shaped the ska sound, to warm you up for a chilly December packed with skankin’ live music!
While Macka B helps to keep your roots reggae diet in check, we thought we’d provide you with five staple ska riddims, to ensure your five-a-day coverage in the rocksteady department! Thankfully, two acts heading to Band on the Wall in December have riddims-a-plenty to choose from Neville Staple, with his Specials backstory and solo rudeboy antics, plus the mighty Baked a la Ska with their deep arsenal of ska classics dating back to the very origins of the sound.
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