Houston's Dilemma - Live at Corner Hotel

Houston's Dilemma? Who on earth is that?? Only those totally obsessed with Australian ska will recognise this name. The Adelaide band did not produce any recordings and only played a handful of gigs. In fact, the only evidence I could find of their existence is here. Plus this bootleg recording from a friend in the crowd at their performance in Melbourne on 4 January 2003...

Due to this obscurity, I hereby proclaim this is the best band you've never heard of. Please stand by for a gushing review, because this little bootleg recording is one of my all-time favourite CDs. (by the way, I'm not sure if the song names are correct, aside from the songs where the lead singer introduced them by name)

As the production process consisted of a guy standing in the crowd with a handheld MiniDisc recorder, one must be willing to accept it's going to be pretty lo-fi. The trumpet is a lowlight, both regarding the tinny sound and many split notes. Also, the vocals, while loud enough, somehow sound very distant. On the plus side, the balance between instruments is very good.

Despite how I've labelled this post, I don't know if it is really a "ska album". Ska is certainly a constant throughout the album, yet it also contains many other ingredients. Surf rock is used for Intro, a spaghetti western feel for Shame on Me and Four Steps, and early rock'n'roll for Rocketship, Lock Your Door and Got the Wrong Number. These are all genres I really dig, and their integration here works fantastically well.

There are a couple of outright ska songs: King For a Day slows things down for an early ska style, while Zombie Skank ends their performance with a fast-tempo third-wave ska number (ie The Toasters). It manages to nail all of the elements (verse, pre-chorus, chorus, hiphop-esque half tempo breakdown) perfectly, without sounding generic or cookie cutter.

Favourite songs

Intro, World Gone By, Rocketship, Shame on Me, Lock Your Door, Got the Wrong Number, King For a Day, Four Steps, Zombie Skank (yes, every single song!)

Worthwhile?

An all-time favourite!