Vinyl Monday!! The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Lets Face It & The Rascal King

Ska.  When you hear the term Ska, what comes to mind?  The answer depends on how old you are, and to a degree, what you classify ska as.  I could do an entire post on what Ska is, where it came from, where it went, what happened to it, and why it's thankfully no longer mainstream.  (Thank you Gwen Stefani)  Instead, I'm going to talk about one of the groups that made it mainstream.  At their best, they created an aggressive form of Ska that was approachable to even the most tuned out 90's crowd.  At their worst they were the hardest Ska-core band period.  1997's Let's Face It from Boston's own Mighty Mighty Bosstones was an exposition in power Ska.  

In an era dominated by so many different kinds of sub-genres of music gaining in popularity, each one had it's definitions.  To that end, each one had a popular voice, a real voice, and an underground.  For example;

Grunge
Popular: Nirvana
Real: Soundgarden
Underground: Mudhoney.

For Ska
Popular: No Doubt
Real: Sublime
Underground: Aggrolites 

The Bosstones were one of the few artists that kept true to the roots of Ska while energizing a fan base of hard core, (Ska-core)  with soaring anthems, power brass, and high energy rhythm.  This album show's that effort off in grand fashion.  It's the groups 5th studio album and easily one of, if not the best one they ever produced.  Being certified platinum and presenting 3 of their biggest singles since their inception as a group in 1983, kinda makes this one of the most legit albums of that era of music.  The album starts off hitting you hard with the intro from Noise Brigade and only goes deep from there.  Check out Royal Oil and The Rascal King for something that again depending on your age will either send you head trippin' back to the 90's or wanting to do some serious downtown Boston drinkin' with your college crew.  

Speaking of The Rascal King.  Apparently it was released as a single.  What you see in the picture above is a release of both the original Lets Face It & Rascal King on Vinyl.  I stumbled on these sealed, again at Deja Vu Records in Natick MA.  If you can find ANY Ska on vinyl I recommend you snatch the fuck out of it and really try to experience it.  You'll never feel it quite the way you did 15 years ago otherwise.