Peter Tosh Albums (14)
What The Critics Say
The JAD label has worked hard scouring out the corners of the Wailers' canon, from which they've created sumptuous box sets dedicated to the band's post-Studio One, pre-Island recordings, a complex era that the enclosed booklets carefully dissected, following the band from producer to producer and label to label. Now, with Can't Blame the Youth, JAD takes a look specifically at Peter Tosh's work with the Wailers and on his own during this period. Obviously, this 18-song set is not definitive -- Tosh composed and performed many more songs than are included here, including the one considered his solo debut, "Pound Get a Blow." However, this compilation does present a grand overview of the artist's oeuvre. Tosh's reputation as "The Toughest" of the tough was reinforced by songs like "Them a Fi Get a Beatin'," but it was militant numbers like the title track, "Arise Blackman," "Four Hundred Years," and "Here Comes the Judge" that singled the artist out as one of the island's top social commentators. In contrast to those blistering cultural numbers were surprising pop covers, ones not foisted on him by money-hungry producers but chosen by Tosh himself. Thus, listeners find a laid-back version of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" and a truly terrifying cover of "Little Green Apples." And the same singer who snarled out a vitriolic version of Bessie Smith's "'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do" (under the title "Leave My Business") composed and sang the pretty romantic ballad "Love." In later years, Tosh's own guitar would feature ever more heavily on his records, but back at this time he was attempting to pass himself off as a keyboardist. The last four tracks on this set, all instrumentals featuring a soloing Tosh on melodica, give ample evidence why the Wailer would never garner renown in this arena, but does offer more proof of his pop leanings. Time simplifies all, and the Wailers' legacy now boils down to the peaceful and loving Bob Marley, the devout Bunny Wailer, and the angry, militant Tosh. Can't Blame the Youth helps reveal a much more complex artist and person than such stereotyping allows. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Originally released with less than half the songs featured here, Complete Captured Live documents a Los Angeles concert from August of 1983. Although he is often accused of not living up to his potential, Tosh's fiery performance on this disc is a brash and powerful reminder of how good he could be when he was focused. Featuring material from his late-'70s/early-'80s period, his political motivations blend wonderfully with his band's tight and exploratory approach to the music. From the psychedelic breakdown that accompanies the emotional speech during "Rastafari Is" to the sweet Motown influence on the encouraging "Not Gonna Give It Up," Tosh has impeccable taste for delivery both as a composer and as a singer. The album doesn't begin nearly that strong, taking at least a few songs to warm up the group. But "Coming in Hot" brings the band to life, featuring incredible rock-influenced guitar and a bouncing rhythm that carries his forceful vocals perfectly. From that point forward, the album takes a sharp turn for the better and never looks back. The best material consists of his admonitions and advice for the downtrodden, like his gorgeous cover of the Temptations' "Don't Look Back" or the lifting plea for unity "Glass House." His enthusiasm toward sharing his convictions is infectious, making every up-tempo track spill over with joy while every political anthem burns with a tense energy. The last two songs provide excellent examples of both; "Get up Stand Up" is a raging call to arms that can barely contain Tosh's outrage, while "Mama Africa" ends the show with a touching love letter to his family's home country. His studio albums may be the best place to enjoy Peter Tosh the musician, but Complete Captured Live captures Peter Tosh the performer. With a crystal clear clarity, this reissue transcends the original album by leaps and bounds and inspires the joy, frustration, and desire for change that Tosh proudly documents in his music. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
'Peter Tosh Live at the Jamaican Music Fest 1982'
Release Date 1/22/2002
Tracks 11
Label Jad
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Live & Dangerous Boston 1976'
Release Date 7/3/2001
Tracks 11
Label Columbia/Legacy
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
This concert was recorded live on November 26, 1976, at the end of Tosh's first American tour. Concentrating on material from his Legalize It album (though, oddly, the song "Legalize It" itself is absent), it's a lengthy (75-minute) document of how he sounded at the time he was becoming known as a solo performer in his own right to international audiences. The fidelity is decent, and as was often the case with Bob Marley and the Wailers records in the 1970s, there's a rock tinge to the arrangements, particularly as the band included guitarists Al Anderson (from NRBQ) and Donald Kinsey (later leader of the Kinsey Report). The rhythm section is the famed pair of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, and Earl Lindo adds keyboards to the full sound. Like many a live album, it's a good addition to the collection of committed fans, though not the ideal place to get a sense of Tosh's prime. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
'Live at the One Love Peace Concert'
Release Date 7/25/2000
Tracks 8
Label Jad
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
One of the most ferocious performances of the artist's career, Peter Tosh was initially ambivalent about appearing at the Peace Concert, held in Kingston on April 22, 1978. There was little peace to be found in Jamaica at the time, and as Tosh has famously said, "I don't want no peace, I want justice." That line, of course, comes from one of his most powerful songs, "Equal Rights," one of seven numbers he played that night. The rest of the set was equally militant, opening with the thunderous intro to "Igziabeher," across "400 Years," "Stepping Razor, and "Burial," and closing with an extended jam through "Legalize It" and "Get Up Stand Up." The Revolutionaries, appearing under the alias Word Sound and Power, accompanied the singer, storming across the songs. Afterwards, Bob Marley would take the stage for his set, and famously bring the leaders of Jamaica's two warring political parties onstage to shake hands. In that moment, Marley's legend as a unifier and peacemaker was sealed for all time. But iconoclastic images aside, it was a gesture he quickly came to rue, better to have put bullets in both their heads, he'd later admit. Marley the ambassador; but it was Tosh who preached the true word that night. Between songs, the singer eloquently spoke at length, soundly condemning both the government and the opposition, demanded an end to police brutality and oppression, and a beginning to the building up of the country and its poverty stricken inhabitants, and insisted that farmers be allowed to grow ganja and the people be able to smoke it in peace. And as for peace itself, "Peace is the diploma you get in the cemetery." Tosh's words caused a firestorm, at least in the press, the crowd met them with shouts of approval. This album offers up Tosh's set in its entirety, speeches and all. The liner notes vividly recreate the events leading up to the concert, as well as the set itself. And to drive home the singer's points, transcribes his words in full, although reproducing them in both English and patois is just a bit patronizing. Five months later, Tosh was arrested for drug possession and beaten so badly he required 30 stitches to close up the wounds to his head. But even that would not quell his fire and incendiary message. Nothing would. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
As the debut album on the Rolling Stone label in 1978, Bush Doctor benefited immensely from the involvement of Jagger and Richards, as well as the publicity inherent in the high-profile nature of the release. Thankfully, Tosh was up to the challenge, and although there are moments that are less roots than anything he had previously recorded, Bush Doctor is no slick sellout. It's bolstered by his incredible Word Sound & Power band featuring the legendary Sly & Robbie rhythm section along with lead guitarists Mikey "Mao" Chung and Donald Kinsey (fresh from his stint with Marley). Although the cover of the Temptations' "(You Gotta Walk) Don't Look Back" single featuring Jagger's duet with Tosh seemed like an obvious ploy at crossover radio play, the rest is more roots conscious, and only slightly less compelling than some of ex-bandmate Bob Marley's work. The horns on "Moses -- The Prophet" seem like sweetening, but the title track, "I'm the Toughest," "Stand Firm," and a remake of an old Wailers' track "Dem Ha Fe Get a Beatin," complete with I-Threes-style backing vocals, are some of Tosh's best songs. Only the original album's closing track, an ambitious but overwrought retelling of Genesis with Handel's "Messiah," is a major misstep. Yet even here, Tosh is pushing boundaries, adding bird and thunder sound effects to his soft guitar strumming accompaniment. It's interesting but few will want to hear it more than once. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
His valedictory album has "Lesson in My Life," strangely foreshadowing his murder by a "friend." ~ Roger Steffens, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Captured Live is a good, but unremarkable, latter-day live concert from Peter Tosh that finds the reggae superstar running through many of his most familiar songs. For hardcore fans, it's worth a listen, but most others will be satisfied with the better live records and collections already on the market. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Peter Tosh's most "accessible" solo album, Mama Africa would also be his best seller outside Jamaica, the only one of his albums to break into the U.K. Top 50 and even push into the bottom reaches of the U.S. chart. Toning down the rhetoric, Tosh concentrated on the music, self-producing an album that sounds fantastic from start to finish. Of course, he had help from a boatload of friends, with two separate aggregates of musicians providing backing; Carlton "Santa" Davis and Lebert "Gibby" Morrison fuel one grouping across most of the album, with Sly & Robbie firing the other. There's a fabulous horn section, a clutch of superb backing singers (including the Tamlins, who accompany Tosh on three songs), and some superb guitar work from Donald Kinsey. The album itself revisits the past while also looking to the future. The updated songs are particularly creative, with the Wailers' "Stop That Train" totally revitalized through an incredible mix of styles, brilliantly blending R&B, nods to Motown, a faux slide guitar, and a steady reggae beat. Even more astonishing is Tosh's stunning take on "Johnny B. Goode," a U.K. Top 50 hit that boasts an intricate rhythm, brass accents, sumptuous keyboards, and Kinsey's soaring guitar on a song that builds and builds into an absolute crescendo of sound. There's also a fine revisit of "Maga Dog," one of Tosh's nastier songs. But that has little on "Peace Treaty," whose laid-back beat and chirpy melody can't hide Tosh's gloating. Yes, listeners remember his admonition that peace will only be found in the grave, and the cease-fire declared by the gangs would never last. But as gunfire echoes across the track, should the treaty's collapse really be the cause for celebration? To judge by Tosh's triumphant I told you so, apparently it is. On a more positive note is the urban meets Kingston sound of "Not Gonna Give It Up," boasting the Tamlins at their best, and more great guitar licks. The title track is even more infectious, a rocker with a Caribbean flair and a light Afro-beat, as Tosh muses eloquently about his beloved continent. Every track on the album is just as memorable in its own way, as the artist combines styles, genres, moods, and atmospheres across songs old and new. Not Tosh at his most revolutionary, but an album filled with music that remains unforgettable. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide
