Redstar 73 Records – Mad Butcher Records – KOB Records
http://www.redstar73.com

For fans of: Traditional ska

I almost feel as though I have been living under a rock. I hadn’t even heard of The Orobians until I was asked to review this CD, but it turns out this release is a combination of three previous releases from the Italian band who have their beginnings in 1997. It is a monster CD of 20 tracks and a booklet of as many pages. The booklet, outlining the band’s history, is a nice touch and you can’t help warming to them with their rather broken English translation of the Italian text.

This is a predominantly an upbeat traditional ska album with a combination of instrumentals, English and Italian language songs. The strength of this record lies largely with the arrangements and interesting choice of songs. The Love Theme from “The Godfather” is an excellent example of not only an interesting song choice, but of the warm sense of familiarity you get with this album. It’s the presence of such tunes as Napoleon Solo (Lynn Tait) and Old Rocking Chair (Jackie Opel and Coxsone Dodd) that give the album its feel. Their cover of the Prince Buster/Eric Morris Money Can’t Buy Life is a definite highlight as far as the vocal tracks go, as is Some Things are Better Left Unsaid.

Favourite tracks: Money Can’t Buy Life, Napoleon Solo

Overall: I wouldn’t necessarily be drawn towards an Italian band that focuses on traditional ska covers of movie themes and JA tunes, but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a great overview of the band – perhaps more bands should look at re-releasing the best of past recordings.

Orobians Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/theorobians
Redstar 73 Records - http://www.redstar73.com
Mad Butcher Records - www.madbutcher.de
KOB Records - http://www.kobrecords.com

If you want your ska, reggae or soul record reviewed please contact Glen for the address to send it to.