Are American 'Third Wave' bands really ska?

Chapter ten in Neville Staple's book 'Original Rude Boy' talks about the so-called Third Wave of ska - bands like Rancid and No Doubt that came out of the United States in the 1980s and 1990s. But I've heard plenty of 2Tone purists say to me that...well...are these bands REALLY ska outfits? They don't look like it. They don't sound like it. So they can't be ska bands at all.

But then you can say - well, The Specials and The Beat developed the sound of earlier Jamaican ska combos - and music should never fossilize. All musical genres need to develop and grow. The US Third Wave bands are just as ska as the 2Tone groups that influenced them a quarter of a century ago.

On balance - I think the 'Third Wave' is a legitimate extension of ska. That many of those who sneer at it are stuck in a nostalgic time warp. And it alienates many American ska fans to discover that fans in the UK look down their noses at them. After all, Neville produced and played with Rancid, No Doubt and Unwritten Law - was he mistaken to do so?