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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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