Includes the songs "Gangsters", "Rudi, A Message To You", "Nite Club", "Too Much Too Young (Live)", "Guns Of Navarone (Live)", "Rat Race", "Rude Boys Outta Jail", "Maggie's Farm", "Do Nothing", "Stereotype", "Ghost Town (12" Vers.)", "Why?", "Friday Night, Saturday Morning", "Racist Friend",and "Free Nelson Mandela (Ext. Vers.)"0 CD

One of the most important albums on the mighty 2 Tone label – and part of a huge ska revival on the British scene that would send ripples through modern music for years to come! And sure, the words "ska" and "revival" in the same sentence can often make most folks wince – but The Specials here work at a time long before the mode was reduced to cliche – and during a punk rock period when their contributions were especially vital – presented beautifully here on an album that's also produced by a young Elvis Costello! There's no overdone jams, no schlocky frat boy modes, just hard-edged London ska with a strong nod back to Kingston roots – on titles that include "A Message To You Rudy","Do The Dog", "It's Up To You", "Doesn't Make It Alright", "Concrete Jungle", "Monkey Man", "(Dawning Of A) New Era", "Too Much Too Young", and "Gangsters". CD

Music from the Specials, the Beat, the Bodysnatchers, Rico, the Swinging Cats, the Higsons, JB's Allstars, Madness, and more – 44 tracks total! CD

A brilliant return from the Hot 8 Brass Band – a New Orleans combo who take tradition into some great funky new territory! As you'd guess from their name, the instrumentation is heavy on brass – played with a gritty, soulful edge – in the way you'd find during some street performance in a corner far from the mainstream Quarter – sometimes accompanied by ensemble vocals, and almost always driven by these great rhythms at the bottom – more than funky enough to set even the heaviest horns on fire with their energy. Titles include "Bingo Bango", "Fine Tuner", "Steamin Blues", "Can't Hide From The Truth", "New Orleans (After The City)", and a nice remake of The Specials' "Ghost Town". CD

A big big crossover album from the UK ska scene of the early 80s – built upon the ashes of the older Specials group, but still with plenty of the dark edges we'd come to expect in Jerry Dammers work! There's a bit more electric instrumentation at the bottom of the tracks, but the sound is still relatively in the ska-styled groove of the original Specials work – although sometimes maybe inflected with a more straightforward dancefloor bounce, too – which is what really helped some of these tracks get traction at a larger level beyond the ska scene. Over the years, the record's become as classic as the earlier Specials sets – and really lives up to its classic-styled cover image too! Includes the big tracks "Nelson Mandela" and "Racist Friend" – plus "Break Down The Door", "Alcohol", "War Crimes", "Bright Lights", and "Night On The Tiles". CD

Music from the Fall, Stiff Little Fingers, the Runaways, Madness, the Specials, Squeeze, the Beat, the Slits, 999, the Crack, and much more. CD