The Maytals – Monkey Man LP

Description

For those reggae fans who took so quickly and proudly toReggae Got Soul,Toots & the Maytals‘ 1976 debut for Island Records, these sides on Trojan may prove to be quite a shock. What is contained on this re-release ofMonkey Man,the Maytals‘ true debut album from 1971, is just how raw and immediate the group’s sound was. Having cut the first single that mentioned reggae music in 1968 with “Do the Reggay,” and coming back with another winning single in “Sweet and Dandy” a year later,the Maytalsbeforethe Wailerswere the first Jamaican band to distill soul and ska into something very different, something that would change music forever on the island. Among the highlights onMonkey Manare “Peeping Tom,” the deepOtis Redding-inflected “Gold and Silver,” a delightfully bastardized version of “Give Peace a Chance,” and the classic reggae scorcher cum ska barnburner “Pressure Drop,” made infamous bythe Clashsome seven years later. This is highly recommended, no, necessary for any fan of early, authentic, unsmoothed-over roots reggae. -All Music Guide