AMG Review of Ska's Greatest Stars

Johnny Loftus
All Music Guide

This confusing release packages two minor ska releases together, offers two remix tracks, and misspells "millennium" on the front and back cover. The first disc is called "The Very Best of the Specials and Fun Boy Three," but it's subtitled "Featuring Neville Staples." This footnote makes it clear that the versions of Specials and Fun Boy classics like "Rude Boys Outta Jail" and "Our Lips Are Sealed" heard here are not the originals; their bland production is a dead giveaway as well. After their brief, prolific stay at the top of the 2 Tone scene, the Specials fragmented badly. This release is only a bitter reminder of that breakup. For a definitive retrospective, look no further than Chrysalis' 2 Tone Collection, unless, of course, a copy of the more involved Chrysalis import 2 Tone Story is available. The other release packaged inside Ska's Greatest Stars is a greatest-hits of sorts from the California ska revival group the Untouchables. While it's a relatively decent collection of the band's effective mixture of Desmond Dekker and the Jam, their 1985 release, Wild Child, is a better document of the band's influential sound.