I picked up the first volume of this series back when it came out because its mixture of Caribbean-inspired bands and punk-inspired bands seemed an interesting mix. When all was said and done, the only stuff on it that remained remotely interesting was a live recording of the Skatalites’ “Latin Goes Ska” (which in turn was a ska take on Perez Prado’s “Pachito e-Che”) and a Heptones track. The “punk” rapidly degenerated into a mush of faceless faux-English fluff and the remaining ska tunes just weren’t that interesting. This has been pretty much the way things have been with these comps ever since. The standout tracks here come courtesy of Westbound Train and Chris Murray, the late Joe Strummer is repped by a live version of “Junco Partner,” and there is a pretty good punk track from the South Central Riot Squad, but the rest is pretty much disposable, courtesy of most of the bands that made previous installments about as interesting as watching cheese melt.
–jimmy (Hellcat)