Sanctuary Records Group - Trojan
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The Best of Toots and the Maytals Sweet and dandy
Released on 19 May 2003.
"Focusing on their post Coxsone, pre-Island period, this collection gathers 25 of the group's most popular Ska, Rocksteady and Reggae tracks from the sixties and early seventies and by so doing, perfectly iullustrates why Toots & The Maytals remain one of the most popular acts on the Reggae scene. Included are numerous Jamaican and international hits, Festival song winners and perennial dancehall favourites. Quite simply, no finer single introduction to the work of this legendary group has ever been issued!"
Distinctive gospel tinged vocals of Toots Hibbert and kicking off with the perennial favourite 54 46 was my numberwhich still makes you bounce either in the 1968 or 1970 versions both of which feature here. No Toots retrospective can be complete these days without Monkey Man. From rocksteady we get driving funk of Funky Kingston complete with screaming sax.
If any track typifies Toots it is Pressure Drop, distinctive passionate vocal, driving beat, chugging rhythm, call and response terrific stuff. But the hits kept coming with the sweet fast Sweet and Dandy, Peeping Tom and Bla Bla bla
One of the if not the first tracks to use the word Reggay(e) in 1968 was the rocksteady tune of that title. Nice rhythm but the vocals are more distant and less upfront and never been a track that has particularly done it for me. Aldina, Scare Him and Water Melon are also from this period. The earliest cut on show is Bam Bam.
US influences are very prominent with Toots and on Johnny Coolman not only is it Mr Pitiful by Otis Redding it actually sound like Otis as well. It's you is very Doo Wop.
For me the best Toots tracks are those that actually made it, those that we all know and love, some of the others, included here for completeness in this retrospective, are not quite so good.
54 46 That's My Number |
Monkey Man |
Funky Kingston |
Pressure Drop |
When I Laugh |
Sweet And Dandy |
Do The Reggay |
Pomps And Pride |
Just Tell Me |
Johnny Coolman |
Bam Bam |
Louie Louie |
Bim Today (Bam Tomorrow) |
It's You |
Alidina |
Doctor Lester (aka African Doctor) |
One Eye Enos |
It Was Written Down |
Water Melon |
Pepping Tom |
Scare Him |
Bla Bla Bla |
(Take Me Home) Country Roads |
Struggle |
54 46 Was My Number |
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