The Blue Collars - Sparks & Burns (1999)

 This band was from Tulsa, Oklahoma. This CD has nine Tracks and all songs are instrumental. 

They did have one other release that they put out in 1998 - a year before they put this out - and that release was a live recording that showed they were not an instrumental band. There were vocals in some songs. That recording can be heard HERE.

 

1 Mike the Reindeer

2 La Cocina

3 The Day the Catfish Died

4 El Cid

5 Ghengis Kkan

6 Tilingo Lingo

7 Dance of the Maniacal Fan Blades

8 Mike the Reindeer (alternate take)

9 untitled

 

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...

Alaska - Alaska (demo tape 1994)

 There are at least three ska bands called Alaska. There is the French-Canadian band and the more popular Swiss band. Then there is this band from Helsinki Finland.

They released this demo tape in 1994. Four tracks of early 90s 2Tone inspired instrumental ska. 

1 Sherwood Ska

2 Ta-Ta

3 Get Into...

4 The Bold and the Ska

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va Ska - The Instrumentals (1997)

 1 Otis Reem - La Unda

2 The Allstonians - Mariachi Go Ska

3 Insatiable - Garlic Ice Cube

4 The Rhyth-O-Matics - Riders in the Sky

5 Ruder Than You - Swatara

6 Skavoovie and the Epitones - Cat Juice

7 Undercover S.K.A. - Skalp It

8 Skarotum - 4th Wave

9 Spring Heeled Jack - Peg Leg Bates

10 The Allstonians - Jerry Lewis

11 The Scofflaws - Watermelon Man

12 Insatiable - P.A.F. 

13 The Jumpstarts - Passage to Nigeria

14 Loin Groin - Jammin' (Master Blaster)

15 Skavoovie and the Epitones - Parakeet

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Martinique - La Vie en Rose 7" (1983)

 Martinique was a German pop/disco singer who released a handful of recordings from 1979 to 1986 but the one that stands out to me is this one from 1983. The A-side is typical disco/pop but the B-side is an instrumental ska song. Since she's a vocalist and this song is instrumental it makes me wonder who really did this song. 

A - La Vie en Rose

B - Cajun Reggae

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The Space Heaters - The Space Heaters (1996)

 This is an instrumental ska band who only ever recorded this one album. They were from Illinois and all band members were still in high school (or just out of high school) when it was recorded. It's way more mature than a lot of ska that came out at this time.

1 The Pink Panther

2 Felix Culpa

3 Salt Lane Shuffle

4 Mafia Hit Song

5 The Girl Next Door

6 Mr. Fly-By-Night

7 0-6-3-5

8 Guns of Navaronne

9 Sheriff Durgo

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The Anklebiters - demo tape (1996?)

 This demo tape is probably the only thing this band released. They were from Madison, Wisconsin and they describe their sound as "raging instrumental ska". 

I'm not 100% certain that it was released in 1996. 

1 Opus #4

2 Blue Skai

3 Rosebud

4 Egyptian Healer

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Satelite Kingston - demo tape (1997)

 This tape only has two songs on it and both were released on a compilation called Skamania! Lo Mejor del Ska Argentino Vol.1 so if you have that you don't need to download this unless you want to see scans of the inlay card.

1 Dulcinea

2 Sigo Igual

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The Rhyth-O-Matics

The Rhyth-O-Matics were one of California's first established ska bands. They released the album "Walking in the Shadow" in 1985 and had a big radio hit in 1988 with a 12" single Skatalation / Trickster.

In 1998 the band leader Jimmy Foot re-released the album and single together on a CD-R with an unreleased track called Kinzenge. This download here is for the CD-R version with the added tracks.

1 Afro/Ska

2 Walking in the Shadow

3 Kufilisika Sio Kilema

4 Kweleetonga

5 Roscoe

6 Zonga Andowe

7 El Toro

8 Thina

9 Skatalation

10 Kinzenge

11 Trickster

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Not only did he re-release his old recordings on his own label Bongo Boy Music, but he recorded a whole new album called Ghost Skankers which was also released on a CD-R with a computer-printed cover which sometimes got stuck to the disc itself. 

1 Ghost Skankers/Riders in the Sky

2 Miami Skyline

3 Ska Slaughter

4 Think About Your Life

5 Surfinfast Ska

6 Wagon Train Ska

7 Phoenix City

8 Mojuba

9 Botyana

10 Skankers Island

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Then, in  that same year Jimmy Foot collaborated with some musicians under the band name "Sky Rangers" which had more of a 'country' influence and they also released a CD-R on Bongo Boy records which had that same problem of the computer-printed inlay sticking to the CD itself.

1 Home on the Range

2 Riders in the Sky

3 My Mama

4 No Woman, No Cry

5 Little Dogies

6 Red River Reggae

7 Wagon Train SKA

8 Just a Man & His Guitar

9 Sky Ranger Squeeze

10 I'm a Rider

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Some of Jimmy Foot's other projects you might want to check out:

Reggae Jackson - Smash Hits (1986)

 

Jimmy Foot - The Instrumentals  

 

Ska Santas

And he has many solo albums. The album Rhythm Addict is mostly a rock-n-roll record but it has a ska song called "Rockin' Ska Man" that is along the lines of the sound from these earlier recordings.

 

Step Lively

 

Step Lively - Step Lively (1998)

1 Without a Doubt

2 Train to Israel

3 String Beans

4 You Don't Know Jack

5 Isabella

6 She Won't Give

 

 

Step Lively - The Trigger Effect (1999)

1 Price I Pay

2 Purple Book

3 Superficial

4 String Beans

5 Give You Up

6 Inside Me

7 Repeater

8 Parker's Last Stand

9 Headcase

10 Sea of Strangers

11 Scorpio's Revenge

12 Into Another

 

These guys were from Lindenhurst, New York. They played mellow and laid back and they played loud and fast. Fans of the traditional and rocksteady revival bands of the 90s and you guys who would say ska punk is more your thing will appreciate these guys the same.

If you caught me off guard and asked me about this band I would say that they released more than just this but it seems this is almost everything they recorded. They did have an earlier promo/demo tape but that same exact tape was re-released as this self-titled CD posted here. Aside from that they have a song called  "Steppin' Up" on the 1998 Pinball Records compilation called The Pinball Family and Distant Relatives which I have included in this download. 

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The Shriners

The Shriners from Provo, Utah were sometimes called The Shriners of Ska. They played intense upbeat ska that appealed to fans of the 2 Tone sound as well as those who liked more of a third wave ska-punk style.

The Shriners of Ska LIVE! (1996) 
1 Dancehall Ska
2 Metro North
3 Rise Up
4 Rude Bwoy on the Run

The Shriners - Finally Got a Cushman (1996)
1 Metro N
2 Rise Up
3 Dance Hall Ska
4 Juanitas
5 Barbara Mae
6 Rude Boy on the Run
*untitled live instrumental

All four songs on the tape are on the CD but the ones on the tape are live and the ones on the CD are studio versions. The spellings of some of the song titles vary between the two so I spelled them the way they are on each release.

Hear "Rise Up"

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Crazy Kids - House Music 7" (1979)

This is a funny one. Way back in the days this used to sell for no less than $30.00 and I was intrigued. For being such a rare and expensive record it had to be a great lost ska record, right. Well, not so much. The song "Achmed" is ska but just barely. It sounds like the Happy Tree Friends theme song. Not great but it sounds like they had fun making the record.

Even though it sells for way less now, you may want to move it down on your list of "must-have" ska records. 

A - House Music
B - Achmed

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Rolly Joker - Yakety Gag (1981)

Rolly Joker was a German comedian/musician who recorded records in the old American style of "blue records" where the comedians told profane jokes that were not usually well-received in a polite society so they would record their stand-up acts in a small room (their own living room for example) filled with friends and family who agreed ahead of time to have exaggerated reactions to the jokes that they likely heard before.

The jokes on Rolly Jokers' records weren't so 'blue' that they couldn't be performed in clubs but he did a good job of adhering to the classic 'blue record' sound.

He did different styles of music but this is probably his only "ska" one (even though it's not really ska in the strictest sense).

A - Yakety Gag
B - Yakety Gag (Instrumental)

He tells eight jokes throughout the song. They are in German but they translate well to English:

*It's a company party at a big company and the boss is telling a joke. Everybody laughs heartily out of politeness. Except colleague Meyer. Boss asks why aren't you laughing? Meyer: I don't need to, I'm leaving on the first.

*Two women meet at the health insurance institution.
"What are you doing here?"
"I am getting a sick note for my husband."
"Well, I get my husband's extended." 
"What they do that here too?"
(Wordplay on husbands and things that get extended).

*A man stands in front of the mirror during his morning ablutions and admires his athletic body: 100kg dynamite. A slight turn to the left: 100kg dynamite. Yells his wife from the kitchen: But a really short fuse!
(A penis joke)

*The fortune teller says to her client: Young man, I got some good news and some bad news for you. Let's start with the good one: You were a good guy, you will get to heaven, in heaven you will become a great soccer player and will achieve lots of goals. Now the bad news: Your first game is tomorrow.

*During the wedding night the couple happily lays next to each other. Only the bride has a terrible flaw: really bad odour from her mouth. The groom has a terrible flaw too, really bad stinky feet.
The bride: "Darling, I got to tell you something..."
Groom: Yes, I already know, you ate one of my socks.

*Little Fritz comes home from school, crying. "Mommy, mommy, the other pupils are so mean to me. They always bully me and say I got gigantic feet."
Mother: "Oh darling, that is not true. Now put your shoes into the garage and come upstairs."

*"Oh Erwin, say why don't you have teeth since birth?"
"Well, my mother stumbled when she was pregnant with me and since then I am missing my teeth." "Oh. See, when my mother was pregnant with me, a turntable fell on her leg. Didn't hurt me at all. Crrgh. Didn't hurt me at all. Crrgh. Didn't hurt me at all."

*Male driving instructor asks the female driving student:
"Miss Mueller, do you have the rules in your head?"
"Why, am I bleeding from my nose?"
(Word play: 'rules' is Regel, but Regel is also used as a word for menstruation.)




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Difficult Music - Not the Kind of Boy 7" (1984)

This Dutch band put out this one single. The A-side is a decent new wave rock song but the B-side is an instrumental - a saxophone/keyboard/trumpet-heavy ska rendition of Erik Satie's Gnossienne Nr.1. You never really see this kind of arrangement for an eighties ska single.

Very rare.

A - Not the Kind of Boy
B - Inch of Love

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The Scamps - Je t'aime (Moi non Plus) 7" (1980)

A - Je t'aime (Moi non Plus) [Instrumental Serge Gainsbourg cover]
B - Nicole [Instrumental]

"Nicole sounds like "Heart and Soul" mixed with Santo and Johnny's "Sleepwalk".

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Jamaican Survivers

Attack of the Maffia (1979)
1 Attack of the Maffia
2 Love Song for Dillinger
3 Jesse James on the Road
4 The Killer in Action
5 Demons in Chicago
6 The Night of Capone
7 Murders Party
8 Action in Chinatown
9 Death of the Traitor
10 Ballad for Elliott Ness
11 Dance of the Syndicate
12 Daysy's Theme

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Jamaican Survivers LP (1980) - this was previously posted - same rip
1 Dark Side of Hong Kong
2 Baby Face Nelson
3 Attack of the FBI
4 Buggy's Theme
5 Murders of Chicago
6 Dillinger is Back in Town
7 The Vendetta
8 Chicago Stomp
9 Theme from The Gamblers
10 Stoned in Bangla Desh

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Jamaican Survivers singles:

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Skavoovie and the Epitones - An Evening with Skavoovie (1994)

Cassette-only demo.

1 Mint Julep
2 One Eyed Giant
3 Batman
4 She Sure Can Cook
5 Sonic Boom
6 Solomon Gundey
7 Nut Monkey
8 Hi-Ball

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Chapter XII - Chalawa Meets Chapter XII (1979)

Chapter XII released two singles:
Crocodile Ska

and

Buffalo Step

...both songs from the Buffalo Step EP are on this 12" and I included the Crocodile Ska single in this download.

There are two additional songs on the EP that weren't released on any other format
  
A1 - Chapter XII - Buffalo Step
A2 - Chalawa - Hop, Skip, and Jump
A3 - Chapter XII - Topless Reggae
B1 - Chapter XII - Topless Reggae Dub
B2 - Chalawa - Picadilly Hop
B3 - Chapter XII - Buffalo Step Dub


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Jamaican Survivers - Jamaican Survivers LP (1980)

1 Dark Side of Hong Kong
2 Baby Face Nelson
3 Attack of the F.B.I.
4 Buggy's Theme
5 Murders of Chicago
6 Dillinger is Back in Town
7 The Vendetta
8 Chicago Stomp
9 Theme from The Gamblers
10 Stoned in Bangla Desh

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Wide Boys - Stop That Boy 7'' (1980) [REPOST - originally posted October 2009]

submitted by Rikard.


A - Stop That Boy
B - Heart of Stone

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The Notables - Quite Notable (1997) [REPOST]

These guys were from Seattle Washington. This is 13 tracks of pure instrumental ska in the style of the Skatalites.
 
1 Escobar
2 Knuckles
3 Teen Party
4 Who Knows
5 Rude Mood
6 Misfit
7 Godfather Ska
8 Palladin
9 Vital Organ
10 The Beachcomber
11 Perdido
12 Night Watch
13 Freak Shuffle



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