Maytals

This release collects two of Toots & the Maytals' finest releases of the mid-'70s: Funky Kingston, generally viewed as their finest album, and its follow-up, In the Dark. This is some of the finest music of the rocksteady era, and with improved sound over the individual album releases, a great place to start for Toots & the Maytals or the rocksteady movement in general.

For those who don't want or can't afford to plonk out for the Toots & the Maytals' Time Tough: The Anthology, The Very Best Of provides the perfect solution, distilling down that two-CD, 41-track set to a single 19-song disc. There are a few subtle differences, however; for starters this set boasts two different versions of the band's reggae smash "54-46, That's My Number," as well as the original ska version of their Jamaican Song Festival winner "Bam Bam," unlike the anthology, which included only a later remodel. However, the "Never You Change" found on this set is not the trio's original ska hit, but a reggae-fied remake. The rest of the album pulls directly from the anthology, with the disc divided almost evenly between the trio and a solo Hibbert's pre- and post-Island career. Thus, for those who prefer the Maytals' ska and/or reggae hits, this is not the collection for you, as there are much better compilations of those periods. But for fans looking for a larger overview of both the band and Hibbert himself, this is an excellent place to start.

Legendary Jamaican artist Frederick “Toots” Hibberts returns with his first studio release in more than a decade. Got To Be Tough is an energizing provocation that renews the near six-decade career of the man who launched a new sound and genre with his 1968 release, Do The Reggay.

Toots & The Maytals - Reggae Got Soul (1976) {Island Records - 2015 Expanded Reissue CAROLR019CD}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 486 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 175 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 77 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2015 Island Def Jam / Caroline | CAROLR019CD
Reggae / Rocksteady / Ska / Roots Reggae

A classic moment from Frederick "Toots" Hibbert – a set that's maybe his equivalent to some of the key Island Records albums of the 70s from Bob Marley & The Wailers! Like those, the production here is top-shelf – handled partly by Joe Boyd, who brings a very respectful vibe to the set – and perhaps even goes for more of the soulful currents in Toots' vocals than before – at least in ways that might cross over more to American and British audiences than in the early days. Hibbert really seems to take to the spirit of the moment, and rises up with these beautifully expressive passages – of the sort that he may never have hit this well again!