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Equal Rights (CBS, 1977)

Equal Rights is a pretty good example of why Peter Tosh doesn't do a lot for me.  Even though he has a thick, distinctive voice, many of his songs just aren't that appealing, as they lack either strong melodies or strong musical hooks.  Thus, they don't stand out and sound just plain average.  Although "Get Up, Stand Up" is a good tune, it's been played so much that its effect is nil.  Similarly, Tosh includes updated versions of "Stepping Razor" and "Downpressor Man," but their familiarity likewise detract from their impact (I've never thought that "Stepping Razor" is a great song anyway.).  The best tracks here are the musically spirited "Jah Guide" -- with its funky wa-wa guitar and imperial horns -- and "I Am That I Am."  The rest is fairly innocuous.

*Alternate Review*

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Bush Doctor (Rolling Stones, 1978)

*GUEST REVIEW*
For 1978's Bush Doctor, Tosh hooked up with Mick and Keith from the Rolling Stones to produce another solid set of great songs once again featuring his unique and penetrating personality. Correctly, Tosh felt that Bob Marley's music did not necessarily teach the entire message of Rastafari, so he tried repeatedly throughout his career to get the same exposure, though he failed. It is understandable why: his message is pathologically anti-social, as was he. However, the album does not open up with that perspective. "(You Gotta Walk) and Don't Look Back" is a positive and beautiful pop-reggae masterpiece featuring guest vocals from Mick Jagger. It is as good as anything the Stones ever put out and ranks up there with Tosh's greatest. "Pick Myself Up" is a heart-warming song that reminds us that anytime we fall, we can always "start all over". The instrumentation includes a sublime eBow melody that is uncharacteristic of reggae music. "Bush Doctor" opens up with a cheesy introduction from Peter talking about the surgeon general and cigarette smoke. It is basically a "Legalize It" part two, which I personally enjoy more than the original due to the fact that the melody is less derivative and that it focuses more on the social problems prohibition causes. The set ends with "Creation," which opens with the famous "King of Kings" from Handel's Messiah. The song itself, however, is an acoustic guitar-driven hymn that gives praise and gratitude to Jah. Every track is good, though only those mentioned above are as good as anything on Equal Rights. Again, the production features Sly and Robbie, who by this point were in as good a spot in their relationship with Tosh they would ever be. Though more subdued than anything they did with Black Uhuru, their work here is confident and tight. They hold down sweet riddims that Tosh adds clav to. Also there are points where you hear Sly beginning to experiment with new sounds in the way that he exploded with on Black Uhuru's stuff. It is a great place to finish off your Peter Tosh collection, as it is his last great album before his music's quality became diluted.

- Trammell Scruggs

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The Toughest (Heartbeat, 1996)

This is an interesting collection that gives a uniquely in-depth look at the early works of The Wailers with Peter Tosh handling lead vocals.  The Toughest is split into two sections, the first 13 tracks being produced by Coxsone Dodd between 1963 and 1966 and the last 6 by Lee "Scratch" Perry around 1970-71.  Much of the album, then, is comprised of ska and rock steady cuts, some with poor sound quality (as on an early version of "Maga Dog").  The best of the '60s Studio One stuff is probably the traditional tune "Sinner Man" (one of four remakes here, along with "Amen," "Shame and Scandal," and "Don't Look Back"), its mournful, prophetic melody powering it along.  Nice original tracks (most of which Tosh wrote) from these early years include "Rasta Shook Them Up" -- which marked one of the Wailers' first mentions of Rastafarianism in song -- and "When Your Well Runs Dry," and early version of Tosh's "Till Your Well Runs Dry."   Other early versions of tunes he'd later re-issue dominate the 6 Perry-produced tracks, the best of which are the hiccup-rhythmed "No Sympathy," and the nice and easy "Secondhand" (AKA "Brand New Second Hand"), and another version of "Sinner Man," re-titled "Downpresser" (AKA "Downpressor Man").  Of course, being recorded later and under the tutelage of "Scratch" Perry, these latter tunes are slower, funkier, and distinctly more "reggae" than the ska and rock steady cuts.

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Arise! The Best of Peter Tosh (Music Club, 2001)

When I saw this album, I couldn't help but ask "Why?"  I mean, do we really need another Peter Tosh compilation, with no less than 10 "best of" albums -- headed by Honorary Citizen, The Toughest, Dread Don't Die, Scrolls of the Prophet, and Arise Black Man -- released since 1996?  Listening to Arise, I wonder if the "best of" moniker is a misnomer, as tunes like "Legalize It," "Get Up, Stand Up," "Stepping Razor," "Don't Look Back," and "Equal Rights" are nowhere to be found.  Instead, this collection focuses on Tosh's early work -- 9 of the 15 tracks feature him singing lead for the Wailers -- recorded mostly between 1969 and 1972 and produced by legends Joe Gibbs, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Leslie Kong.  Aside from "Rudies Medley" -- a medley of "007," "Rude Boy Train," and "I Am the Toughest" performed by Tosh and the vocal group the Soul Mates -- there is little here that is particularly rare or that sets Arise apart from the glut of Tosh compilations.  Someone needs to explain to me, though, why are there so many?  I realize he's marketable, but it's not as if he was the most prolific artist around.  And I swear, if I hear "Maga Dog" or "Them a fe Get a Beaten" one more time, someone will haffe get a beating.

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Live & Dangerous: Boston 1976 (Legacy, 2001)

*GUEST REVIEW*
The 2001 release of this blazing 1976 set was a pleasant surprise for Peter Tosh fans. Live and Dangerous is a much darker, more aggressive record than Captured Live, Tosh's better-known live release. With the exception of "Ketchy Shuby," the set's closer, Tosh is pure fire and brimstone on this record, chanting down Babylon with classics like "Igziabeher" (in a fantastic extended version), "Mark Of The Beast," and "Babylon Queedom," one of the highlights. The detailed liner notes by Tosh's former manager Herbie Miller detail the racism Tosh and his Word, Sound and Power group faced on their first trip to America. In fact, many of Tosh's onstage, between-song raps with the crowd are based around racism and the civil rights struggle, and with, frankly, a dream group of backing musicians (Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, Wire Lindo, Tarzan Nelson, Al Anderson and Donald Kinsey), his rage at the 'shitstem' is expressed through music as well as words. Tosh has his detractors, and although I'm a big fan, I can understand the complaints that he's more suited to harmony vocals than lead...but Peter Tosh is the kind of singer that NEEDS to be heard live. The passion and rage that are often missing from his studio work are far more prevalent in his concert recordings. My main criticism of this record, however, is that some of the lesser tracks are often two minutes (or more) too long. The jammy extensions work perfectly with tracks such as "Igziabeher" and the moving "Burial" (clocking in at over 8:00), but some of these tunes were originally three or four minutes long for a reason. Extending them to almost 10 minutes might have been engaging at the concert itself, but on record they seem a little thin.

- Sam Thompson