''Willis'' is an album by the

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

band

the Pietasters The Pietasters are an American eight-piece ska/soul band from Washington, D.C., with additional members from Maryland and Virginia. History In 1990, Stephen Jackson and Chris Watt met at Virginia Tech, through mutual friend Tal Bayer, who was a ...

, released in 1997. It was released during the mid- to late-1990s ska explosion, and reached No. 44 on the Heatseekers chart. The album's first single was "Out All Night". The band supported the album by touring with the

Cherry Poppin' Daddies The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing music, swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry (Oregon musician), Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous ...

Production

The album was produced and engineered by

Brett Gurewitz Brett W. Gurewitz (born May 12, 1962), nicknamed Mr. Brett, is an American musician and record producer, best known as the co-founder and guitarist of the Punk rock, punk band Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records ...

. It contains covers of

the Outsiders The Outsiders may refer to: Literature and stage * ''The Outsiders'' (novel), a 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton * ''The Outsiders'' (musical), a 2023 musical based on S. E. Hinton's novel * ''The Outsiders'' (play), a 1911 play by Charles Klein * ...

' "

Time Won't Let Me "Time Won't Let Me" is a garage rock song that was recorded by the Outsiders in September 1965. The song became a major hit in the United States in 1966, reaching No.5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the week of April 16 of that year. It is ran ...

" and

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1973 as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas) were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s as a major act for Motown Records. Formed by friends Annett ...

' "Quicksand".

Critical reception

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' wrote that "the Pietasters mix soul and garage-rock just like any frat-party band of the last four decades ... It's a venerable party-rock formula, but rendered fresh by not only the ska-derived musical accents but also the band's solid songwriting and sheer verve." The ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

'' thought that "the playing throughout is gloriously sloppy; the tone, pointedly ironic ... This is ska without regrets."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that the band returns "to their roots of '60s pop, soul, and Motown R&B, all fueled by a syncopated beat."

Track listing

# "Crazy Monkey Woman" (Eckhardt/Goodin/Jackson) – 2:38 # "Out All Night" (Eckhardt/Gurewitz/Linares) – 3:16 # "Ocean" (Eckhardt/Goodin/Jackson) – 3:38 # "Fat Sack" (Eckhardt/Goodin/Jackson) – 2:40 # "Stone Feeling" (Eckhardt/Linares) – 4:06 # "Higher" (Eckhardt/Goodin/Jackson) – 4:45 # "

" (Tom King/Chet Kelly) – 3:06 # "Without You" (The Pietasters) – 3:23 # "Crime" (Eckhardt) – 5:02 # "Quicksand" (H. Lewis/K. Lewis) – 2:46 # "Bitter" (Eckhardt/Goodin/Jackson) – 3:53 # "New Breed" (Jimmy Easter) – 2:59 # "Moment" (Eckhardt/Goodin/Jackson) – 3:45

Personnel

* Stephen Jackson - vocals * Tom Goodin - guitar * Todd Eckhardt - bass guitar * Rob Steward - drums * Alan Makranczy - saxophone, backing vocals * Jeremy Roberts - trombone, backing vocals * Toby Hansen - trumpet * DJ Selah - additional vocals on track 4 * Caroline Boutwell - farfisa * Dave Pinkert - Hammond, B-3, Wurlitzer electric piano *

Andy Kaulkin Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. Founded by Andy Kaulkin, Anti- first gained attention by releasing Tom Waits's Grammy Award–winning ''Mule Variations'' in 1999. Other veteran recording ...

- piano * Carlos Linares - additional trumpet on track 7, creative consultant *

- producer, engineer * Don Cameron - assistant producer * Paul Dugre - assistant producer * Joe Breuer - assistant producer * Paul Naguua - assistant producer * Maurice Iragorri - assistant producer * Milton Chan - assistant producer

References

{{Authority control 1997 albums The Pietasters albums Epitaph Records albums