Toots & the Maytals – Rastaman
Toots & the Maytals – Premature
Toots & the Maytals – Everybody Needs Lovin’
This Sunday, August 7th, I’m hosting both Melting Pot and Reggae Central, Chuck Foster’s excellent show that runs just before mine on KPFK from 2-4pm. As much as I love being on KPFK and doing Melting Pot, Chuck’s show is so good and so diverse in it’s approach to “reggae” that I rarely, if ever, play Jamaican music. This week I get to play 2 hours of Jamaican Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae and more and I’m really looking forward to it.
Given that, I thought I’d dig deep with one of my favorite Jamaican artists and LPs. Reggae Got Soul is often obscured by the various versions of Funky Kingston and perhaps understandably so since the latter (which in the US included tracks from the UK album In The Dark) features some all-time classics in “Time Tough,” “Funky Kingston,” and a personal fave “Got To Be There.” But much like John Coltrane’s Crescent (an album often overlooked and obscured under the giant shadow cast by A Love Supreme), Reggae Got Soul is a fantastic LP that deserves to be heard (despite it’s rather crappy cover art) and heard often.
The album begins with “Rastaman,” which is basically a mash-up of two prior big songs for Toots & the Maytals, “Bam-Bam” and “She Will Never Let Me Down,” updated to fit the righteous Rastafarian sentiments of the mid-1970s. What always stood out to me was the way the song begins, with the stately piano notes, the vocals and cymbals, to an ever so funky “blink and it’s gone” break between bass, drums and the seemingly ever present trombone of Rico Rodriguez. It seems so sample worthy, but it’s such a subtle break I doubt anyone will ever do anything with it…
Virtually all the songs are winners, showcasing Toots Hibbert’s soul drenched vocals and great vocal arrangements with the Maytals. The backing band is indeed one of the most soulful reggae outfits, with some very clear influences from Stax and Muscle Shoals, particularly in the guitar lines from “Hux” Brown. I’ve just chosen a couple of my faves, but any of the tracks would more than do. “Premature” is also in some ways a rework of a prior song, kind of a different telling of “Sweet & Dandy,” much more of a cautionary tale, with a super sweet and soulful style (and another nice soul-styled opening break). “Everbody Needs Lovin'” slows the tempo down but that only increases the inherent soul in the overall sound. Top notch material from one of the few groups, particularly at this time, that could have rivaled Bob Marley & the Wailers.
Cheers,
Michael