Redlightby The Slackers

If you are looking for a proper introduction to this New York based group, then look no further. The Slackers are a ska band in the same sense that the Rolling Stones are a blues band. True, they play traditional Jamaican styled ska but they also play other authentic forms of Jamaican music as well, from instrumental reggae to sweet rocksteady and even dub. This album is their second proper LP, and by the band's own admission, their first true Slackers album stylistically. Lines are drawn from such diverse styles as New Orleans boogie woogie, latin boogaloo, jazz, and even bossa nova straight through to the Slackers gritty but soulful Brooklyn infused take on all things Jamaican, and the results are pure ear candy. 'Married Girl' finds band leader Vic Ruggiero relating a sordid tale of forbidden love gone wrong ("we threw your husband in the river, lord it made me kind of shiver..."), alternately jumping from the street corner soul of a 50's doo wop single right into the urgent tempo of 60's ska. Another standout is the title track, which finds Ruggiero trading verses and sharing harmonies with vocalist Marq "Q-Maxx 420" Lynn. A perfect example of the band playing the slowed-down rhythm of rocksteady, this song will have you singing it's melody long after the album is over. There really is not a band track on this album, and it is one that will reward the listener with repeated listens. From the moment the album takes off with the blazing Skatalites styled intstrumental 'Cookin' For Tommy' right until the final song 'Come Back Baby' where virtuoso sax man David Hillyard lulls you to sleep over acoustic guitar, "Redlight" is an album to get lost in, and perhaps not want to be found.