The 2 Tone Collection: A Checkered Past

In 1993, EMI released the nifty A Checkered Past compilation featuring almost every A-Side 2 Tone released. The notable exceptions were The Specials' Ghost Town single, of which the title cut is present but the additional double A-Sides appeared on a separate Specials compilation, and Elvis Costello's I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down, which was pressed and very briefly available, but not considered an official release as it was officially issued by Elvis' then new label, F-Beat. It even featured a single released as a giveaway with initial UK pressings of More Specials and a B-Side released only in the Netherlands.

2 Tone was the brainchild of Jerry Dammers, founder of The Specials and considered by many to be responsible for the British ska revival of the early eighties. Without him, there would have been no Specials, no Selecter, and The Beat and Madness may have had significantly different career paths. That said, I don't want to make it sound like the man could do no wrong. The first disc of A Checkered Past is pretty indispensable, featuring most of the 2 Tone classics, while the second focuses closer on Dammers' politically minded releases. Yeah, there are great songs like Ghost Town and Nelson Mandela, but you also get things like The Boiler, which I have no explanation for how it became a single. Easily one of the most messed up records I've ever heard, it's the story of a girl with low self esteem who gets picked up by a guy who spends money on her and flourishes her with lavish attention, all with the expectation of getting exactly what he wants, which I'm sure I don't have to spell out. It's creepy, depressing and ridiculously disturbing, being not so much a song as a spoken narrative of this girl's lack of esteem and eventual terror. Who in their right mind would think this is single material? I can see it as the disturbing B-Side or something, a message-song of some sort, but the A-Side? Did this even get radio play?

Anyway, this comp has been out of print in the US for quite a while. Most if not all of these cuts are available elsewhere, but as a collection they are sorely missed. I'm assuming the market just isn't present here for such a release, although I don't see it available in the UK. I love label collections, and while this one probably should have been three discs so as to include the B-Sides, it's still required listening. It's worth noting that many of 2 Tone's singles were double A-Sides, so it's not that they released THAT MANY singles, but there are technically that many A-Sides.


The 2 Tone Collection: A Checkered Past

Disc One
Part One
Part Two

Disc Two
Part One
Part Two


The track listing for this collection is so long and convoluted that I'm simply directing you to it's page at Discogs.com. Don't worry though, if you're expecting your favorite 2 Tone classics, a la Rat Race or On My Radio, they are here and in their original versions!