Stretsch Armstrong - Lollygag

1 Gladly Pay You Tuesday
2 Drool
3 Cinderblock Shack
4 Dirty Slag
5 Home
6 Sue Happy
7 Scratch the Ear
8 Classic Hoagie
9 Downfall
10 Jailbreak
11 Cruising for a Bruising
12 Crackhouse


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Rettore - Donatella

I'm only doing this post for three really good reasons:

#1 I'm a little bit drunk.

#2 ZShare seems to be working again and I need some way of testing it.

#3 Reason #1 is a lie and I am in fact REALLY drunk right now.

Donatella Rettore was a slightly interesting pop performer in Italy in the early 80s, and, just like everybody else in those days, she did a 'ska' song.

Here's the video for it, but the actual recording is a slight bit better.


DOWNLOAD THIS ONE SONG

This song was released as a single in 1980 with the b-side "Clamoroso" which I did not include because...well, - though the kazoo work is amazing - you don't actually want it.

...see:

The Boxboys

Here are both singles recorded by one of California's earliest ska bands.

"Uptown Yankee Ska"


A - American Masquerade (1979)
B - Come See About Me (1980)





"Skaletons From the Closet" (1980)


A - Seperate Rooms
B1 - Busy Boy
B2 - Go Go

DOWNLOAD BOTH

Trenchtown article

(thanks again to Rikard!)

Cryin' Out Loud - Live It Up EP

This is the only release by Cryin' Out Loud.
Don Brody later formed an acoustic folk type duo called The Marys. They made only one recording before he died in his sleep 2 days after Christmas in 1997.

You can read more about Don Brody HERE.

They had a video on MTV for "Live It Up" in 1986. Youtube won't allow it to be embedded, but it's HERE


1 The Distance
2 Live It Up
3 Fire
4 Pounding Heart

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There is word that the band has other material that they may put out on cd at some point.

The Uptones - K.U.S.A.

I've been putting this one off for a while because Tone and Wave is supposed to stick to an all-ska format. After time The Uptones became a great ska band, but they weren't always. This is their first release from '85 that shows them as trying to be more of a 'soul' band. There are a couple of songs that show their 2Tone leanings, but, for the most part, they focused on other avenues. This isn't to say this is a bad thing. I personally really like this record.
I hope you do too.
You can see how they went into a more ska mode in their later years on their official site HERE.

1 K.U.S.A.
2 Sounds from the Sidelines
3 Outside the Inn
4 The End
5 Remember
6 Out to Sea

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(I apologize for the quality of this download. The vinyl I have seems to be in good condition but the overall recordings don't seem to be coming out very well.)

Trenchtown - A Visit to Trenchtown

"Trenchtown were a 5 piece combo of huge potential from Drogheda in Ireland. They formed in 1988 and during their time together, built up quite a big following nationwide, gaining a lot of media interest along the way. They came 2nd in a prestigious Battle of the Bands competition in 1989 but unfortunately never seemed to build on this. There was constant talk of an album release but it never materialised, many of these recordings were earmarked for the proposed LP. Their final gig was in Dublin in 1991 at the International Irish Music Seminar which showcased 8 of Ireland’s top young bands. But word had got out beforehand that this would be their last hurrah, they’d already decided that they’d be splitting up which seemed like a strange decision as they were just about to play this important showcase gig to various record labels and a wide audience. Over the years, they’ve reformed for low key one-off gigs."

According to their Myspace they have recently recorded a new demo.


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Skapa article

Here's an interesting interview with Skapa from an old magazine.

Much thanks to Rikard for this contribution.

The Burial - A Day on the Town

The Burial was formed in Yorkshire in 1981. They broke up in 1988 after recording this one and only album. They did release 4 other songs on comps which I just might have.

I can't be bothered to look for them right now but you can expect that I will post them when I can.

Read more about them HERE



1 Never Too Late
2 Gift
3 Wrong Impression
4 Sheila
5 Holding On
6 A Day on the Town
7 40 Years
8 P.S. Slightly Confused
9 Changes
10 Just Above My Head

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The Suspects - 99 Paid

This post is by request.

1 Thanks Johnny
2 Caffeine
3 Freedom
4 The Dance
5 A Minor Hell
6 Another Day Another Dollar
7 The Nod
8 Sizzle
9 Lies are Free
10 Right on Time
11 The Dub
12 The Bad One
13 Charlie's Creepy Song
14 Big Truth

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Off the Shelf - Made in Australia

This is Off the Shelf's only full-length. It was released on the UK label Skank Records in 1989. Prior to this they had one other release, an EP from 1985 called the Thief 7" with 3 tracks: Thief / Dr. Raju / Off the Shelf.

Some members later went on to form the band Dr. Raju

Here's their video for the instrumental "Buscrash"


1 Off the Shelf Tonite
2 Thief
3 Dr. Raju
4 Ms. Jamaica
5 Rough and Tough
6 Jimmy Jazz
7 Buscrash
8 Johnny Too Bad
9 Never Again
10 Rough and Tough (dance Mix)

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rare 80s ska mix tape

There are lots of good things that I have on tapes and whatnot that I don't have cover art for (or even pictures of the band or anything else in some cases) so I wanted to come up with something for these posts. I drew this guy a while back. He was based on a photo in an old magazine of one of the members of Madness. Which magazine and which member I don't remember. You'll be seeing more of this guy in the future. Whenever you see him you'll know you're in for a special treat of something quite rare.

That being said I have for you a great selection of rarities that was contributed by a regular anonymous Tone and Wave contributor just yesterday. With just a couple of exceptions I myself have never heard of any of these songs until now.



The track titles are not listed in this download so you'll have to copy and save this tracklist here.
DIY ideals in the internet age.


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Baby Snakes - Broken Toy 7"

This was sent to us by our new friend Rikard. I know quite a few of you have been after this for a while - as I have. We are in debt to him for this great contribution. When I asked him if their was anything he was looking for he asked about "Potato 5 - Live at Gaz's". I have personally never known about this cassette until now, but if any of you have it could you please spread the wealth...

A - Broken Toy
B - Two of a Kind

...also included in this download is the song "Ormen" which was on their original 4-song demo. The other 3 songs were sung in English but this is the only one sung in Swedish ('Ormen' is Swedish for 'snakes'...the Baby Snakes were a Swedish band you know). It was considered by many to be the best song off of that demo as evident in this article:


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...again, much thanks to Rikard!!

Marco On The Bass - Tone and Wave podcast

I've been considering doing a podcast for a while now but never got around to it. Marco On The Bass has been presenting some great rarities in podcast form for a few sessions now. His next one was going to be on American ska bands from 1979 to 1989. He invited me to select some bands to add to his already perfect list. Here's what I came up with, or, rather, what we came up with:

MARCO'S SELECTIONS
1 Heavy Manners - Taking the Queen to Tea (Chicago, 1982)
2 The X-Streams - Rhythm of Life (Arizona, 1980)
3 The Boilers - Coeur A Voil (New York,1988)
4 Bim Skala Bim - Jah Laundromat (Boston,1985)
5 The Nails - Transcontinental Ska (New York/1980)
6 The Terrorists - Love Is Better Now 12" (New York,1981)
7 The Untouchables - Tropical Bird (Los Angeles,1983)
8 The Hoovers - I Got You Babe (San Francisco,1980)
9 The Uptones - Outback Master (San Francisco,1983)
10 Blue Riddim Band - Nancy Reagan (Kansas City,1982)

TONE AND WAVE'S SELECTIONS
11 The Plugz - Touch for Cash (Los Angeles, 1981)
12 The Donkey Show - Insomnia (San Diego, 1989)
13 Camper Van Beethoven - Skinhead Stomp (Redlands, California, 1985)
14 Talk Back - Rudy (Southern California, 1984)
15 Kill Me - Mr. Potato Head (New York 1985)
16 The Young Executives - Original Sin (Washington, 1982)
17 Cryin' Out Loud - Live It Up (Hoboken, NJ, 1985)
18 Crazy 8s - Find Myself a Sunny Spot (live) (Oregon, 1988)
19 Eddie Vedder - Reggae Woman (California, 1988)

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Check out Marco On The Bass for more information on his selections.

* 11 originally from the album "Better Luck", but this is a remastered version that has never been released (a Tone and Wave exclusive)
*12 from the Unicorn Records release "Bali Island" 6-song EP
*13 from the album "Telephone Free Landslide Victory"
*14 from the album "When Drums Talk" (Talk Back performed this song live in the movie 'Pretty in Pink' but were not featured on the soundtrack)
*15 Kill Me was not a ska band, but a comedic funk band made up by members of the Toasters. They released only 1 6-song EP which I do have but I cannot post because it was released on Moon and Megalith will raise a stink if I do (even though they're probably never going to sell it).
*16 as far as I know the Young Executives only released one 12" EP. This was the only ska song on that recording, but they included more of a ska influence in their live set. The other 3 songs were pretty damn good though. I have the full EP and I will post it if anybody's interested. It's worth having if you are into the 80s post-punk sound.
*17 I will be posting Cryin' Out Loud's only recording in the next few weeks. It's a 4 song 12" recorded before Don Brody formed The Marys.
*18 This is a live version of a song that was originally on Crazy 8s 2nd album - 1985's "Nervous in Suburbia"
*19 Eddie Vedder recorded lots of music before he was asked to sing for Mookie Blaylock who, of course, later became a little-known band called Pearl Jam. This song isn't bad, but it's not very good either. I included it mostly for the novelty of it.

The Erector Set 7"

The Erector Set was a band from Brighton, Massachusetts who recorded this 7" in 1980/81.
The song 'Inside out' was on the 1998 Jump Up Records compilation 'Death of an American Skathic'. They also did the live song 'G.I. Jump' on the first American Skathic. Aside from that I know of nothing else they've recorded.



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The Trojans - Live Double Feature

Live at Gaz's Rockin' Blues August 31st, 1989.
1 Lava
2 Anti-Racist
3 Summertime
4 You Were Meant for Me
5 It Don't Happen no More
6 My Last Meal
7 Rude Rude Rudy
8 The Last Rhino
9 Rainbow Warrior
10 Gaelic Ska
11 Meskal
12 Zulu
13 The Train is Coming
14 Berlin Wall

DOWNLOAD "LIVE AT GAZ'S ROCKIN' BLUES"

Live at The Notting Hill Carnival, London August 31st, 1987
1 Zulu
2 Bluesy Ska
3 Ringo
4 Good Friends
5 Music's Got Soul
6 Gaelic Ska
7 Jericho Battle

DOWNLOAD "LIVE AT NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL"

Here's their video for "Gaelic Ska"




If you do not have their album "Celtic Ska" you can get it here:
Idle Minds Inc. Blogspot

The Details - The London Marathon (Keep on Running)

Another rare 7" from the UK 1981.

A - Keep on Running
B - Run'ins Version

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Reluctant Stereotypes - The Label

I have been looking for this album for quite some time and it was just posted on a blog called Mel the Bells Rare Shit. New wave/ska/dub/punk-reggae from 1980.
Do yourself a favor - get it HERE and remember to leave a comment on that site.

Skapa - Ska Party

You may remember Skapa's song 'Ska Polka' from 'Skankin' Round the World vol.5'. They were a band fom New Zealand that formed in 1988. They have only one full length called Easy Street from 1992 that was only released on cassette (no I don't have it...I've been desperately looking for it for years) that features 8 studio and 7 live tracks.

This is their first recording. It's a 4 track EP from 1992 called 'Ska Party' that was only ever released on cassette.

For more info go HERE

1 Easy Street
2 It's Your Round
3 Ska Polka
4 Easy Street (extended version)

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All the thanks in the world to those who've helped me with these recent posts!

Mark Pessin - La Lecon de Ska

French ska fans of the late 70s / early 80s might remember Mark Pessin and the Skaliburs, but, unfortunately, the rest of the world may never know them due to the fact that they have nothing in recorded form to prove that they ever existed except for this one record. Luckily this day and age the 7-inch version of this single is almost constantly offered on ebay which will make Mark Pessin's name a little more familiar to ska fans - if nothing else. If you have ever searched rare ska on ebay then you have most likely seen this before, but I present this great recording to you now in it's rarer 12" extended form.

A - La Lecon de Ska
B - Pate d'Porc

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