Musical Nostalgia - Dandimite

The year was 1997, that golden time when ska shows were still plentiful in STL and many of my friends hadn't scattered to the four winds.  I didn't have any ambition or future plans and a lot of things still had a newness to them.  I remember first hearing about Dr. Ring-Ding on St. Louis's ska radio show, Ska's The Limit and liked whichever song it was they played.  Then my friend Steve proceeded to have Dandimite on the cd changer in his car every time I rode with him for the next four or five eternities.  After several listens, I was hooked.

There are certain difficulties involved in seeing a German ska/reggae/rocksteady singer and trombone player live, especially if you don't live in a city like New York or Los Angeles.  Years went by and Dr. Ring-Ding stayed on my radar and I finally made the pilgrimage to Chicago with Ska Greg in 2008.  Ring-Ding was a really nice guy and seemed genuinely touched that we drove all the way from St. Louis to see him with the intention of driving back the next day.  I said "It's not that big of a trip.  You came all the way from Germany."  I've had some interaction with him on MySpace and Facebook since, as recently as last Tuesday when I posted "How long does it take a cheap bottle of gin to get cool in the freezer?"  Dr. Ring-Ding responded shortly after I pressed enter with "About twenty minutes." 

Anyway, my favorite Dr. Ring-Ding CD is Dandimite.  It stands the test of time a lot better than other ska records from back in the day.

1. Phone Talk    
2. Dandimite    
3. Big Man    
4. Medley: Save Bread/Save a Toast
5. (What Me) Money Back
6. Bellevue Asylum    
7. What a Day    
8. Green Pepper    
9. Rudeboy Style    
10. Knocking on My Door    
11. Got My Boogaloo    
12. Gloria    
13. One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer    
14. Latin Goes Ska    
15. Stay Out Late    
16. Free Spitrit    
17. Top Notch Version    
18. Man in the Street

Reggae legend Derrick Morgan does guest vocals on a couple tracks.  I'd try to name a track as my favorite but it would wind up being a five or six way tie.  I will say that his version of Latin Goes Ska is as good as the Skatellites' version and Man on the Street is better than the Skatellites' version.