Search - Skatalites :: On the Right Track

"Without the killer grooves and syncopated horn blasts of the always wonderful Skatalites, life on this planet would be a far duller thing." -- L.A. Daily News "The Skatalites are Jamaica's answer to the Motown house band and Booker T. & The MG's combined." -- Rolling Stone "The Skatalites took influences from jazz, calypso and US rhythm `n' blues to help create the sound that dominated Jamaican sixties music ... This is a must have album for anyone interested in Jamaican music and a great introduction for those who wish to learn." -- BBC.co.uk "More than a band, The Skatalites were and are an institution, an aggregation of top-notch musicians who didn't merely define the sound of Jamaica, they were the sound of Jamaica across the '50s and '60s." -- All Music Guide "The second wave of ska produced some good bands and some great music, the third wave fewer, but if you want to really hear the music played with respect for its deepest roots, you need to go to the source, and that is undoubtedly The Skatalites ... The band is more musically sophisticated than many of its contemporaries were and than pretty much all of its present day imitators are." -- PopMatters Recorded in Byron Bay in 2006, On the Right Track mixes the coastal island vibes of Australia's and Jamaica's hippest towns with a heavy jazz influence. Among a myriad of reissues and compilations, this album stands out as having the best new original material on an international Skatalites release since 1964. Studio sessions were held in the style of a classic jazz session, much like the "one-take" upbringing Studio 1 provided the group in the early days. From the late '50s into the '60s, The Skatalites transcended popular music, introducing and defining Jamaican music and culture to the world. Combining the best of American boogie-woogie with R&B, jazz, and big band swing, The Skatalites created the up-tempo syncopated island beat dubbed "ska," which evolved into rocksteady and reggae. The original backing band for Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Toots & The Maytals, these two-time Grammy nominees have toured extensively worldwide since the '80s.