It's impossible to criticize the music on any Skatalites disc; without them, the course of Jamaican music would probably have been very different. Largely because of that importance, music is littered with Skatalites compilations, some exceptional, some awful, but most, like this, fairly average.... [+] Expand

It's impossible to criticize the music on any Skatalites disc; without them, the course of Jamaican music would probably have been very different. Largely because of that importance, music is littered with Skatalites compilations, some exceptional, some awful, but most, like this, fairly average. There are definite good points here, like their version of "You Can't Sit Down," which would morph into the Specials' "Ghost Town," and their take on Duke Ellington's "Caravan." Most of the cuts here come from the time they recorded for Justin Yap -- considering that the original Skatalites were only together 14 months, they did a lot of recording for a lot of people -- and while all the material might not be wonderful, the performances are, like Don Drummond's "Marcus Junior." The trick is to not consider Nucleus of Ska a greatest-hits collection (which it doesn't purport to be), because the truly classic tracks and takes aren't on this. But that doesn't lessen the enjoyment of Tommy McCook and Roland Alphonso's sax, Don Drummond's scintillating trombone, and one of the tightest and most inventive rhythm sections ever to emerge from Jamaica. Accept this on its own terms, and it will pay you ample rewards. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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