Skatalites – Ska-boo-da-ba LP For Cheap

In his all too brief involvement in the Jamaican music business Justin Yap left his mark producing some of the best ska ever made, and SKA-BOO-DA-BA is perhaps the most coherent LP in that genre. Derived from a single 18 hour session at Studio One in November 1964, Justin and brother Ivan laid on food, drink and ganja: as Justin tells it This was a monster session and it turned out the greatest recording for me . The highlights were the five original compositions by Don Drummond – Marcus Junior , The Reburial , Confucious , Chinatown and Smiling along some well-chosen cover versions. Two from the Duke Ellington book: Ska-Ra-Van a take on the classic Caravan and Surftide Seven , Ellington s In A Mellotone . Title track Ska-Boo-Da-Ba is a version of Bill Doggett s 1958 King US 45 Boo-Da-Ba . China Clipper and Ringo (titled Ringo Oiwake ) are taken from Arthur Lyman s Taboo LP. The last track on this fine LP, Lawless Street , is a feature for Roland Alphonso.