Light years ahead of their time, the Uptones were a pivotal band and a seminal one." The review notes the Uptones' rabid hometown following and strong influence on later ska practitioners. "San Francisco Chronicle" music critic Joel Selvin wrote of the Uptones in San Francisco Chronicle's list of top 100 Bay Area bands:  Along with Operation Ivy, the Uptones formed the core of the Berkeley ska-punk scene that paved the way for the likes of Rancid. A hard-edged, upbeat band that would have been huge if it hadn't been years ahead of its time  "Crawdaddy!" called "The Uptones Live!! 924 Gilman" album, issued in 1995 after the discovery of a DAT tape of a 924 Gilman Street show, "the best live ska record ever."