Maytals

Toots And The Maytals

Toots And The Maytals - That's My Number - Orange Street

All the big names in the reggae business have greatest hits sets out

on a multitude on labels. With groups like Toots and The Maytals where

do you start. Some think of them as a ska group, others a reggae

group. This selection deals with there reggae output for producer

Leslie Kong and is of great appeal to me. 19 tracks including massive

hits like '54-46 That's My Number', 'Sweet And Dandy', 'Pressure Drop'

and 'Monkey Man'. But once you add the lesser known gems like 'Bam

Bam' and 'Bla Bla Bla' 'One Eye Enos' this set becomes truly

essential. This music broke reggae music internationally - its the

music at its very best.

The Maytals - From The Roots - Trojan - 1970

From the early days of the music right up to the mid-seventies The

Maytals provided reggae music with yet another important strand

essential to its very existance - Soul/Gospel. When Toots when into

one, it was a very different type of anger to that of Bob Marley or

Justin Hines. Just think of '54-46', no other reggae artist could have

made that record - it was so intense. This album produced by Leslie

Kong is a true reggae album and contains some truly amazing songs. All

sung with that intensity.

Toots & the Maytals - Funky Kingston - Dragon - 1973

Three years down the line, the intensity was still there, but it was

no longer matched by rhythms that were in step with the music. This

album recorded at Dynamics and Island Studios in London and produced

by Warwick Lyn, Chris Blackwell, and Dave Bloxham. And was very good

in one way, being very well produced. Yet it was out of time. The

Maytals had shown with songs like 'Screwface Underground' that they

had adapted to the heavier rhythms. This album needed to have those

heavier rhythms

Toots & The Maytals - In The Dark - Dragpn - 1974

Another big budget album, with some wonderful songs including the

likes of 'Time Tough', 'Take A Look In The Mirror', 'Revolution' yet

another cut of '54-46' here titled '54-36' and the title track of the

album, which must one of the best songs Toots as ever wrote.

Production on the album comes from Warrick Lyn, Neville Hinds and

Carlton __e. And Athough in places it's a lot harder than 'Funky

Kingston', on some tracks it' a lot softer. Dynamic Sounds isn't

really the best place for Toots to be at this time.

Toots & The Maytals - Reggae Got Soul - Island - 1976

The mid-seventies reggae boom made it almost certain that Toots and

The Maytals would once again renew their relationship with Island

Records. 'Reggae Got Soul' was the result. This is the best set out of

the lst three, even though like the last two soundwise, it's in a time

warp. This time warp works well though. It's like they took the late

sixties sound of reggae music and reworked it. 'Rasta Man',

'Premature' and one of The Maytals early hits 'Six And Seven Books'

are the best tracks to be heard here.

The Maytals - Do The Reggae 66-70 - Attack - 1988

It was about time, Trojan, finally issued a Maytals compilation worthy

of its name. On this LP you will find 16 great tracks from one of the

all time great reggae vocal groups. Even though it can be argued that

the Maytals were at their best in the Ska era, no one was better than

them in the Reggae era, no one. They were the sound of reggae music.

In the same way as Leslie Kong was the No.1 reggae producer of the

era. He produced 15 of the tracks on then album. The only problem with

the LP is the sound quality.

The Maytals Life Could Be A Dream - Studio One

If Coxsone Dodd could muster up more albums like this, instead of

reissuing the same selection, 'Life Would Be A Dream'. All the tracks

come from the ska era. Yet the attraction here is not music, as good

as it is. It's those wonderful harmonies of Toots, Jerry and Raleigh.

They can sing the most innocent sweet songs and make them sound so

full and interesting. With regards to production Coxsone shows the

full range of Ska styles. It's a shame the violinist present on some

tracks, didn't get more work.