Tighten Up, Vol. 88  (Audio CD) 
by Big Audio Dynamite

"Just Play Music!" was a huge single for them and remains one of their best songs. It has the right amount of dance bounce, horns and movie soundbytes. It also explains Mick Jones' philosophy on the group and music in general. "Other 99" is a great song too and shows up on the Greatest Hits.

The "Tighten Up" series was a "best of" series of records put out by Trojan Records, a reggae imprint. What a great way to show respect to the genre by naming this "...Vol. 88". There are some other party stompers on this album including the leadoff track "All Night Long" but the main bulk are midtempo songs that tell stories. I think this is why most people never gravitated to this album. A few songs retell the story of the mixed-race-mixed-style band that is Big Audio Dynamite and they are amusing if you get the joke. "Tighten Up Vol. 88" is the best of these songs. It's really a hidden gem and it's too bad it doesn't appear on either of the Greatest Hits CDs.

The wordplay and tomfoolery are abundant like "Esquerita" where he pokes fun at Little Richard for stealing Esquerita's whole schtick: "well now Preacher what you got to say?" and Imelda Marcos in "2000 Shoes"; he pokes fun at astrology in "Mr. Walker". The beat is fun and I love my rock music with bits of irony.

You can find this one in any cutout dust bin at the record store. If you're into BAD at all, this deserves another listen!

0 of 3 found the following review helpful:

The worst of the originals  Mar 18, 2004
Ok, im sorry, but i have to say this "Tighten up vol.88" is probally the Original BAD's worst album, it is ok, but maybe just a bit inconsistant.
it lacks the spark "This is Big Audio Dynamite" and "NO. 10 Upping Street" and the great dance beats of "Megatop Phoenix".
Maybe BAD's own little Sandinista? Ok, it is no where near as good as Sandinista.
But casual BAD fans should stear clear of this album, the hardcore BAD fans... well they should allready own it :D

Best Tracks:- "Other 99", "Just Play Music" and "Funny Names"

1 of 2 found the following review helpful:

Big Audio remains DYNAMITE!  Nov 10, 2003
Man, for some unexplainable reason when "Tighten Up" first came out I didn't care much for it. Played it a few times and just couldn't grasp the material. Now it's 15 years later (can you believe??) and the material is absolutely incredible. Brilliant even. This seems to be the case with ALL of B.A.D.'s output, but this album in particular seems to be the most underrated. Each song is like a long lost old friend, and it's gotten to the point where I have to hear SOMEthing off of this CD everyday.

My faves? "Mr. Walker", "Champagne" and the incurably hummable "2000 Shoes".

It's the great Wooga Wooga of all Rooga!

3 of 4 found the following review helpful:

TUV88  Aug 31, 2003
No, this album may not be for everyone, but it is still brilliant! If you liked their previous two albums you will like this one too. And all the others that came after for that matter. BAD's body of work, so far, had been incredible no matter which ablbum you listen to or what there name was at the time (Big Audio Dynamite, Big Audio Dynamite II, Big Audio).