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Critic's Review
Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide
It became clear only in hindsight that of all the checker-boarded crew, Bad Manners was closest in spirit to their Jamaican predecessors. It wasn't merely that the band played an undiluted and unadulterated ska, nor that they, unlike the rest of the pack, were the only group to feature a full horn section; no, it was their dizzying dips into covers' territory where they and their Jamaican inspirations thought as one. R&B, jazz, and pop were all fodder for the Jamaican scene, while everything was grist for the Manners' mill -- ska classics, pop hits, rock, and rockabilly -- the baldheads ground it up and spit it back out in perfect ska style, taking the genre into new regions of music where even the Jamaicans never dared (or thought to) tread. Twenty-eight years since their formation in 1976, the lineup has changed, but Buster Bloodvessel has lost none of his enthusiasm for the music and the songs. Don't Knock the Bald Heads, recorded at a club in Essex, London, in 2004, finds Bloodvessel and his latest mates running through an exhilarating and tight set comprising their own hits, their cover smashes, and a slew of fan faves (although a couple listed on the case are missing). Check out the bonus soundcheck footage, though, to catch a storming take on "Lorraine," which doesn't make the show. Also included is a long, fascinating interview with Bloodvessel himself, talking about his early days, running down career highs and lows, and providing insight into the man who held Manners together through it all. An excellent gig (as always), the band barrel on much to the delight of fans new and old.
