No Nuclear War [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Peter Tosh | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 30, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000068G1B
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,638 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The final album of reggae legend Peter Tosh's career could scarcely have been steeped in more irony. Long one of Jamaica's most radical and outspoken musical voices, the ex-Wailer spent long years of the '80s out of the spotlight only to return in late 1987 a seemingly changed man. Savvy in the ways of fusing Jamaican rhythms with Western pop styles, Tosh's efforts here often seem labored and decidedly overproduced, all too often mirroring the West's own tired and seemingly aimless pop formulas during the era. Even more jarring was the album's lyrical tone, a limp, can't-we-all-get-along pacificism that would have sounded noble coming from the mouth of a folk singer, but shocking from a man who'd long incited his countrymen to "Get Up, Stand Up" and fight for "Equal Rights." Instead Tosh stalked a nuclear straw man on the title track (has there ever been a pro-nuclear war pop star?) and espoused world peace with tired Lennonisms like "Come Together." There are hints elsewhere that Tosh was trying to find a way to reconcile his past musical adventures with contemporary trends, but it was not to be. On September 11, 1987, Tosh and six of his friends and musical associates were massacred by gunmen in the star's own home. – Jerry McCulley

Product Description

9 TRACKS: 1) No Nuclear War 2) Nah Goa Jail 3) Fight Apartheid 4) Vampire 5) In My Song 6) Lesson In My Life 7) Testify 8) Come Together 9) No Nuclear War (Single Version)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting and Monolithic, February 26, 2005

By 

Spencer Pennington (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Nuclear War (Audio CD)

With 1987 came Peter Tosh's final album, "No Nuclear War," released just days before his death on September 11th, 1987 due to his murder by a friend.

The album opens with an amazing, powerful title track dedicated to the end of Nuclear War and the Cold War Era, as Tosh fortells a coming Armageddon bathed in death and nuclear weaponry. Tosh recounts past wars and their leading up to the final war: a Nuclear fallout. Delivering a similar message in brighter tones is "Come Together," a plea for unity and an end to war and racism, one of the topics that Tosh is so well known for. Closing the album is a shortened single version of the title track.

Second is Tosh's "Nah Goa Jail," another of his world-famous pro-ganja anthems dictating the legalization of marijuana and the ceasing of the arrest of Rastas who dilligently use herb. This is followed by a reamke of Tosh's old "Apartheid," from the "Equal Rights" album of 1977, called "Fight Apartheid," on this album.

Tracks five and seven, "In My Song," and "Testify," are both delightful, uplifting, joyous testaments to the power of God and Tosh's need to express his thanks. Here, Tosh's happiness and joy shine through clearer than on any of his previous albums.

Finally, the albums most signifigant and haunting track is "Lessons In My Life," a song about Tosh's stance on friends, whom he believed would often betray you, as he so illustrated here with the lines:

"Always be careful of mankind
Be careful of mankind

They make promises today
But tomorrow change their mind"

And:

"Always be careful of my friends
Be careful of my friend

Money can make friendship end
It makes friendship end"

Tragically and eerily, Tosh was murdered by a friend in a robbery just days after the release of the album. While this may not have been Tosh's most chart-topping album, it was his most profound. This is a masterpiece, Tosh's final work of art to the world, summarizing each of his core principles. This is a visionary, final chapter in one of the World's great legacies. Rest in peace, Peter. Thank you for the years of beautiful music.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars limp?, July 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: No Nuclear War (Audio CD)

How dare some random jack call Tosh's lyrics limp! Notice Fight Apartheid is on there too, not exactly the most pascifist of songs. Perhaps No Nuclear War isnt the best of Tosh's albums, but only due to the fact than all the others are amazing as well. I definitely recommend it to anyone who remotely likes reggae, and put forth that nobody can truly call themselves a reggae fan who would dis Tosh. Also, anyone tired of the fight for peace against horrible tyrants like the american government need not bother listening to Tosh, reggae, or any music at all, just go ahead and join the robot army.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peter Tosh's Final Masterpiece, April 14, 2003

By 

"magadogx13" (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Nuclear War (Audio CD)

My first Reggae album.....I went from Black Sabbath to Peter And Bob almost overnight, and spent the next ten years listening to almost nothing but Reggae Music! It's hard for me to pick one Tosh album and say "This one is the best" cuz they're all killer!But this is probably my favorite for more reasons than the music though. Mama Africa is up there too!
ME NAH GO TO JAIL FOR THE GANJA....CUZ I BOUGHT IT FROM AN OFFICER....I think it may have been those very words that did it for me.I cant believe nobody has rated this cd??? Every song on it is great, especially the last one....Vampire. Buy this cd, if you dont love it then you got serious problems mon!& If your new to Reggae, it's a perfect place to start. Peter Tosh was one of the coolest people to EVER walk this planet and every thing he touched is gold.....Jah Rastafari Long live Rashaad Muhamed, Bobby Hardin, and Peter Tosh! Oh yeah & Free Mumia!