Search - Various Artists :: Live From Planet Ska : The Best Of British Ska Live

Well worth it, for all it's ups and downs

Daniel Telfer | Chicago, IL United States | 09/01/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This isn't exactly the kind of CD that drops your jaw if you're a perfectionist, but I have a pretty big collection of ska CDs and this still fits in nicely.A couple tracks are, admittedly, not the rarest. The live track of "Too Much Too Young" is available on many Specials American releases, and I have another compilation CD with this version of "Mirror in the Bathroom". Also, die-hard fans might be a little huffy because there are tracks on here from 90's reunion concerts by the Special Beat and the Selecter. But if you just want great, energetic live tracks straight from the second wave, this is worth the money. At only 16 tracks, it's not the longest compilation. But the editing is seamless! The crowd chanting and cheering is mixed in perfectly between songs, and it feels like an All-star concert with the bands taking turns. The Bad Manners tracks give a great feel for their fun live show: Buster's intro for "Lip Up Fatty" still cracks me up.And yeah, some famous singles aren't on here (I would have loved a live cut of Concrete Jungle or maybe even a Madness track), but listening to it I get a geniune feel that the bands are having a blast and that the label wanted you to feel it."