Dub 56, the Toasters 5th studio album. Some hail it as their best effort to date, but maybe just because it was released during the great rise in popularity ska music was getting in the United States, the year was 1994. The Toasters were touring with the power house line up, at least 3 horn players, keyboards and the return of Coolie Ranx to the microphone. (He had actually joined the band back in '88/'89 but the left after only a couple years). Plus Bucket had helped organize the Skavoovie tour which took the Toasters out on the road with the Special Beat, The Selecter and even the Skatalites on shows across the US. This was an important tour cause it was basically bringing together the 3 major movements of ska, the originators, the English resurgence and the US effort. Also Moon Ska Records was getting wider distribution including releases in Brasil Australia and Japan, so more people were getting their hands on Toasters cds than ever before.

If bought any of the earlier releases, you may be aware of some of the changes. 1993 saw the release of a limited pressing of some live tracks 'Live In LA' it was dubbed. Then the first Dub 56 release contained the standard 14 studio tracks. After touring for a year then getting back into the studio for the Hard Band For Dead sessions, Coolie left the band and Dub 56 was quickly repackaged adding the 'Live In LA' tracks, but removing the Coolie Ranx penned cuts. This is the version that stayed in print the longest and what most people own. Some European versions were released containing all studio and some live tracks, then a Japanese version was released that boasted the studio tracks plus some live tracks plus two remix tracks, one of which came from a 7inch put out on Stubborn Records.

When Megalith Records was formed, it was a goal of ours to eventually repress all the Toasters cds since they were physically going out of print for us. Skaboom went out, Thrill Me Up went out and This Gun For Hire will be out very soon. We kept finding old boxes of the first pressing of Dub 56, many people had paid way too much for that release from eBay pirates and such, so we threw them up on the site for $5 more as a way to get the disc into the hardcore collectors at a very fair price. Also we wanted to get this new version out, but wanted to clear house of all the old ones first. Last year we released this double cd set in Europe, but the pressing plant screwed up the discs, so we didn't import any of those to sell through the website and now we have moved to a different distributor over there, so things will be better!

Now comes time for the US version to hit, the cover art I updated slightly, adding the Danceteria marquee and spicing up the logo a bit. Also a tray liner art was created and new art for the two cd faces. So, what do you get with this new and final version of Dub 56? I think there are enough goody goodies here to entice every Toasters fan to buy this release, even if you have 5 other versions of it already!! First you get the entire original studio tracks, plus the 7inch remix, the Japanese only remix and two previously NEVER heard by anyone other than the guy who remixed it, Bucket and probably Matt Malles and maybe one or two other band members, plus me, remixes. That's just on the first disc...the second disc host 9 tracks from the 'Live In LA' including the unreleased live Coolie tracks, plus an entire live set from San Diego recorded on the same run of Skavoovie shows, again never heard by anyone in the general public! I think this is quite a nice package for all Toasters fan and ska fans alike.

This 2 disc set idea was conceived by Jeremy Patton and Bucket. We hope you enjoy all the unreleased bonus cuts, we sure as hell do! All music was captured straight from the original master DAT tapes and sequenced by Jeremy Patton.

Track List
Disc 1 : Studio Cuts + Remixes
Direction
Freedom
Mona
Dancin'
Dub 56
Sweet Cherie
Tunisia
Little Hidden Secrets
Marlboro Man
Ain't Nuthin'
Razor Cut
Legal Shot
Midnight Hour
Goody Goody
Dub 56 (Chat Mix)
Legal Shot (Dance Mix)
Legal Shot (Gangster Mix)
Ain't Nuthin' (Chorus Mix)

Disc 2 : Live Cuts
San Diego Cuts
Matt Davis
Too Hip To Be Cool
Social Security
Mona
Thrill Me Up
Legal Shot
Go Girl
East Side Beat
Pool Shark
LA Cuts
Weekend In LA
History Book
Decision At Midnight
Mona
Thrill Me Up
Legal Shot
Shebeen
East Side Beat