Roots Reggae (The Early Jamaican Albums)

AMG Review of Roots Reggae (The Early Jamaican Albums)

Steve Leggett
All Music Guide

Although the original incarnation of Toots & the Maytals (Toots Hibbert, Nathaniel "Jerry" McCarthy, and Raleigh Gordon) parted ways in 1981, between the years 1964 and 1974 they managed to assemble one of the most highly charged and distinctive bodies of work in the history of Jamaican music. Roots Reggae (The Early Jamaican Albums), released on Trojan Records, covers the period over six-discs and includes six of the seven Jamaican LPs the group released before signing with Island Records in 1975. Led by Toots' Kingston-by-way-of-Memphis lead vocals and the ragged call-and-response background singing of McCarthy and Gordon, the trio created gospel-fueled reggae classics like "Bam Bam," "54-46 Was My Number," "Monkey Man," "Sweet and Dandy," "Pomps and Pride," "Funky Kingston," "In the Dark," "Time Tough," and the immortal "Pressure Drop," all of which carried the stomp and wallop of the best and most enduring soul music of the day. Included here in CD-sized slip cover facsimiles are The Sensational Maytals, produced by Byron Lee and originally released in 1965, three LPs produced by Leslie Kong (Sweet and Dandy, Monkey Man, and The Maytals Greatest Hits), and two LPs produced by Lyn Warrick, after the group returned to Byron Lee's Dynamic Sounds Studios following the death of Kong in 1971 (Slatyam Stoot and Roots Reggae). A seventh Maytals' album, the early ska classic Never Grow Old, is absent from this set for contractual reasons. The material is remarkably consistent on these releases, and when you keep in mind that the 7" single has always been the preferred medium for Jamaican music, this run of albums is made all the more amazing. Had Toots & the Maytals never recorded another note, the music contained in this box set would have still assured them legendary status, and while they refined things somewhat after they signed to Island Records in 1975, the heart and soul of their reputation is based on what you'll hear on these six discs.