Story Of Blue Beat: The Birth Of Ska, The

The Story of Blue Beat
Reviewed by Sadie O., 1/11/13
Jamaican music from the early 60’s, documenting the transition from imitating American radio hits to Ska. Killer stuff, if you like either early rock and roll, doo-wop, etc. or early Jamaican music. Blue Beat was actually a London label recording Jamaican artists (Laurel Aitkin, Byron Lee, Duke Reid, Derrick Morgan), which wound up being so influencial both in England and Jamaica that the label’s output eventually became used to identify the entire genre that bridged rock ‘n’ roll and Ska. Terrific comp! FCC-Free!

CD 1: (the sense of historical progression disk)
1. 2:35 ***midtempo, boogie woogie rock and roll – think “Rocket 88”.
2. 2:57 ***downtempo slow dance, doo-wop.
3. 2:45 ***midtempo bopper instrumental. Gets the distinctive ska syncopation halfway through. Nice!
4. 2:39 ***somewhat downtempo bopper with a ska hiccup. Fun!
5. 2:29 ***piano triplets, slow, almost a mambo, with doo-wop vocal harmonies.
6. 2:35 **swingy doo-wop. Sweet.
7. 2:21 **a bit downtempo doo-wop with a definite ska syncopation. Wonderfully crappy guitar solo..
8. 2:25 **rather retarded piano, downtempo doo-wop – sort of B-movie, so bad it’s good. Vocals do improve over the course of the track…
9. 2:45 ***cute, stoned bopper – nice street-corner doo-wop vibe. Doodlywop!
10. 2:30 ****skalicious bopper, hiccupping doo-wop vocals – perfect.
11. 3:14 ***slow dance number with male/female duet, gorgeous sax. Awww!
12. 2:16 ***midtempo ska-bopper, same male/female harmonies. Groovy!
13. 2:23 **groovy (if muddy sounding) downtempo Calypso-bop.
14. 2:08 ***midtempo ska – great bounce.
15. 2:17 ***midtempo rock ‘n’ ska, fun piano and sax, and the vocals are no slouch either.
16. 2:13 ***midtempo rock ‘n’ ska, walking piano, sweet.
CD 2: (the muddy and offkey disk!)
1. 3:04 ***chunky little midtempo piano groove, doo-wop vocals.
2. 3:21 **slow dance doo-wop, raw (e.g., not always on key) street-corner vibe.
3. 2:23 ***midtempo relaxed sway with a bit of ska, cool vocals and hand claps.
4. 2:16 ***slightly downtempo boogie woogie with a large dollop of New Orleans.
5. 3:13 **muddy sounding downtempo slinky doo-wop with a hint of ska in the backbeat. Male/female duet – not always on key. Ouch!
6. 3:01 ***deeply perky uptempo horn-based ska instrumental. Bouncy bouncy bounce!
7. 2:09 **midtempo ska-wop (I just made that up – huzzah!), male vocals and cute female backing vocals. All of it utterly offkey. Yay!
8. 2:20 ***rather bizarre midtempo mashup of ska-wop and gospel – the girl backup singers sound adorable but CANNOT hit the right note to save their lives. Oh my.
9. 2:54 **slightly downtempo ska-gospel with handclaps.
10. 3:18 ***a bit downtempo, and virtually everything is offkey, although the vocalist is really trying to do a good rock ‘n’ roll job, bless his heart.
11. 2:50 **slightly downtempo stroll with New Orleans feel. Desmond Dekker had a huge proper ska hit with this tune a bit later.
12. 2:19 **downtempo stroll, trying to be Fats Domino but not quite there…
13. 2:43 ***midtempo spirited rock spiritual with handclaps – vocal harmonies are on key! Clearly, the lord has touched their vocal chords.
14. 3:08 ***upbeat midtempo bopper, vocal harmonies. Very groovy!
15. 3:25 **sweet slow dance doo-wop waltz, vocal harmonies, sad, sad song…
16. 2:47 ***bouncy ska-bop instrumental with happy happy happy guitar and keyboard.
CD 3: (the “these guys got GOOD” disk!)
1. 2:45 ***midtempo SKA. No ifs, ands, or buts. Rock on!
2. 3:09 **downtempo jerky Ska, not Derrick’s best vocals…
3. 2:09 ***sweet swingy midtempo, vocal harmonies. Definitely a couples dance.
4. 3:06 ****fine midtempo bounce, nice horns. Instrumental. Yummy!
5. 2:52 ***classic intro, downtempo Ska, group vocals, great swing.
6. 2:24 ***same (terrific) Ska track, different (solo) vocal.
7. 2:47 ***impossibly uptempo and bouncy instrumental bopper. Danceable as heck!
8. 2:25 ****slow, clearly channeling the Benny Goodman Quintet, including Teddy Wilson on vibes. Grab your baby tight and wobble around the floor. Nice!
9. 2:52 ***back to New Orleans –style rock ’n’ roll with a hint of Ska, cool vocals.
10. 2:49 **very slow, with every slow-dance cliché in the book. Yay!
11. 2:51 ***midtempo rock ‘n’ ska with a “Kansas City” bounce.
12. 3:07 **midtempo rock ‘n’ ska instrumental. Jive-worthy.
13. 2:25 ***midtempo, deeply syncopated instrumental. Get that beat just as late on the quarter note as you POSSIBLY can!
14. 2:52 ***classic rock ‘n’ roll riff with a good bounce, vocal harmonies, total party.
15. 3:07 ***downtempo rock ‘n’ blues ‘n’ ska. Pass the bottle to Laurel, please.
16. 2:49 ***midtempo rock ‘n’ ska – no idea what he’s talking about!