The Toasters

In Retrospect (2003)

Adam White

More than anything else, this compilation can be described as simply "necessary."
The longest running ska band in the US has been increasingly absent from record
stores since Moon Ska went under. In Retrospect remedies that, collecting
21 of the band's choice material from 1985's Recriminations EP
to 2002's Enemy Of The System. Of course that leaves little room
for anything other than the most obvious choices, but having all this material
in one place is a huge plus.

Of course some of the band's best known singles show up here, including
"East Side Beat," "Don't Let The Bastards Grind You
Down" and "New York Fever." The Toasters have revisited many
songs throughout their career, so the versions of some tracks included here will
be cause for debate amongst their fans. This is especially true with a pair
of re-makes form 1987's Skaboom. "Talk Is Cheap"
is the Hard Band for Dead version while "Weekend In L.A."
is the recording from 1997's Don't Let The Bastards Grind You
Down. It's interesting to note that regardless of trends the Toaster's
history is quite consistent. There is little differences in style between 85's
"Razor Cut" which came on the heels of the UK 2-Tone scene and "2-Tone
Army" from the height of the mainstream's obsession with 3rd wave
revival. This solid direction adds the flow of In Retrospect.

This is a very listenable "best of" as the tracks have been appropriately
sequenced and aren't simply left in chronological order. Despite the 18-year
span in which the original records were recorded there's no obvious jumps
in production or mixing from song to song. I'm convinced that to a Toasters-novice
not familiar with the band's past, this album could play though without them
ever realizing it's collection.

There isn't really a lot to say about the Toaster's In Retrospect.
It's a faithful representation of the history of one of the most important
American ska bands ever. There's no better introduction to the Toasters
than this.