Now you wonder how it all could have worked out

This song is a little hard to classify. It has the swing and punchiness of ska, but the vocals tell an entirely different story-more along the lines of down-south country. Which is why I was especially surprised to see the band was from Boston, go figure. The song is "Please Forgive Me" by Westbound Train.

The song starts out with this punching guitar and minimalist percussion that gives it this light and airy feel, however, the vocals courtesy of Obi "Day 19" Fernandez, just kill it with his bluesy voice and totally encompassing vocals. Another great addition to the track is the background horns that carry the tune so well (I'm a sucker for horns). I can't say the songwriting is excellent but this song just draws you in. Probably the most interesting thing I found on the band was the fact that famed Specials guitarist Lynval Golding is a fan of Westbound Train. That is saying a lot when one such an incredibly and acclaimed ska band is a fan. Enjoy the track.

"Please Forgive Me" by Westbound Train from Transitions (2006)

-S

Easy being an All-Star

I took a class sohpomore year called Music of the Americas, which, in the end, turned out to be an overall pretty lame class. However, one thing that I did get out of it was learning about some pretty cool bands such as Louis Jordan and the Big Mama Thorton.

Basically the class consisted of a North-South timeline of popular music as it traced its way down from Canada to the American South and South American (Inuit Throat Singing was definitely a highlight of the class, also see Tuvan Throat singing of Mongolia). That is not where I got this band though. On the last day of the Ska/Rock-Steady/Reggae unit we went over a band in passing called the Easy Star All-Stars who had done an entire cover album of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (1973) entitled "Dub Side Of The Moon".

The album became an instant classic for me, almost as good as the original (well, actually thats a stretch). After doing some more research in to the band I found whole album covers of classics like the Beatles Srgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (aptly named the Lonely Hearts Dub Band) and Radiohead's 97' classic OK Computer.

I didn't think that I could justify (is it weird that as I wrote that I, to my dismay, thought of how much I really dislike Justin Timberlake's music?)making a post for just one of the songs so I decided to do a little 6-song complilation in which I just picked my two favorites from each album.

"Money" by Easy Star All-Stars from Dub Side of the Moon (2003)

"Brain Damage" by Easy Star All-Stars from Dub Side of the Moon (2003)

"Karma Police" by Easy Star All-Stars from Radiodread (2006)

"Paranoid Android" by Easy Star All-Stars from Radiodread (2006)

"Fixing A Hole" by Easy Star All-Stars from Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band (2009)

"A Day In The Life" by Easy Star All-Stars from Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band (2009)

-S