Deal’s Gone Bad – Good Deal of Good Music
If you haven’t heard them, you’ve probably at least heard of them if you are paying attention to the ska music scene these days. Chicago’s Deal’s Gone Bad are one of the bands that has decided to stay the course of more traditional soulful ska rather than speed up the tempo and hit the distortion pedal. In my opinion, it’s difficult to be successful playing this style of ska, for two reasons – 1. You may not immediately appeal to listeners who are unfamiliar with ska music’s extensive timeline and evolution. 2. It’s more difficult to write fresh, quality songs due to the fact that you’re tapping into a musical niche that has been performed for over 40 years by musicians the world over.
On the other hand, if you can flex some musical prowess and find ways to inject creativity and originality into more traditional ska, you can really stand out amongst the crowd -especially when playing at festival-type shows (and what ska show is not booked at a “ska fest”?) full of young bands still trying to hash it out.
If you like your ska in the vein of Skatalites, Hepcat and Aggrolites, you’ll find 2007’s “The Ramblers” a necessary addition to your ska music collection. The album mixes ska and reggae with a strong dose of good ol’ soul and delivers on every track. My favorite – Track 7 – “Rough and Ready.”
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