I am on record as stating that I think Peter Tosh’s departure from the Wailers was not good for the Wailers. Tosh is, to me, the better songwriter. (Shock! Horror!) Not melodically, necessarily. (Really, I should say “of course”. Who has more hits, Marley or Tosh?)
Tag: Roots Reggae
Natty Dread (1974) by Bob Marley and the Wailers
I am on record as saying the best songwriter in the Wailers was Peter Tosh and, a few Marley solo albums later, I’m not sure I have changed my mind. But this record, the first without Tosh I believe, is definitely doing more than some of his later records to convince me I might have …
Burnin’ (1973) by The Wailers
If I had to put money on it without listening to their entire catalogue, I would probably wager than Burnin‘ is the best original Wailers album; it has two of their most iconic songs on it, and the quality of the rest of them feels higher than some of the other albums I’ve heard. Regardless …
Mama Africa (1983) by Peter Tosh
Tosh has apparently switched up his guitar for a clavinet (though I guess this happened a while ago) and there seems to me a corresponding change in sound from his late ’70s record, but maybe just haven’t listened to enough.
Catch a Fire [Jamaican Version] (1973) by Bob Marley and the Wailers
I generally rag on Marley for his lyrics. I find most reggae lyricist to be not that great, but I find Marley in particular to have been over-hyped. Once you listen to Peter Tosh (who only wrote two of the songs here) it’s hard to take Marley this seriously as a lyricist. So I thought. …
Two Sevens Clash (1977) by Culture
Though I find myself with some vestige of my childhood superstitions – I still knock on wood, unfortunately – I have fought my whole adult life to rid myself and my life of superstitions as much as possible. So I found the Mayan apocalypse stuff to be utterly ridiculous and I find every single fringe …
Police and Thieves (1977) by Junior Murvin
The thing I like more about Junior Murvin’s debut album, Police and Thieves, compared to some other Lee Perry-produced reggae albums from this period (1977 in particular) is that Murvin is more of a songwriter than some of his contemporaries. The songs are more memorable to me, not just because of the hooks – as …
Herat of the Congos (1977)
On account of my podcast, I am finding myself immersed in 1977 reggae right now more than I could ever have imagined. And so I’m learning more about reggae than I have wanted to for some time. (I imagined myself becoming a reggae/dub fan in my early ’20s – what white male young adult doesn’t? …
Equal Rights (1977) by Peter Tosh
Here’s my hot take: Peter Tosh is a way better lyricist than his former band-mate, and much more famous person, Bob Marley. I’ll make a possibly more preposterous claim, based on my ignorance of reggae in general: Tosh is one of the best lyricists in the history of reggae and, to my ears, the only …