Some sort of cosmic destiny must have brought Bad Manners (the original uncouth skanksters -- the only band from the 2-Tone scene to survive 1980 with their back-beat intact -- the "ska 'n' b" messiahs who proselytized an indifferent, pop-oriented marketplace for years after the demise of the Second Wave) together with "real-ska"-central, Moon Ska Records. As the original perpetrators of the "ska 'n' b" sound, Bad Manners come to Moon Ska as a sort of long lost uncle to fellow Moonskaians like Skinnerbox and The Skoidats. The 13 all-new songs on Heavy Petting continue Bad Manners' long standing rhythmic, soulful approach to ska. A track like "Black Night" has that sort of gritty, growling mood that can scare you right out of your seat and on to the dance floor. The title song is catchy with a bit of flavor on the afri-pop tip. Certain tracks ("No, No, No" and to some degree "Liverpool and Birmingham") almost seem to look back wistfully to the Magnet/2-Tone days of the late '70s. True ska fans shouldn't miss this one.
Bad Manners Heavy Petting Moon Ska Records CD
			Review by Noah Wane

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