Time Tough: The Anthology [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Toots & The Maytals

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 18, 1996)
• Original Release Date: June 18, 1996
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B000001E9D
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,910 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The 30-year career of Frederick "Toots" Hibbert and his Maytals is in many ways the story of Jamaican pop music. A ska originator who adapted early '60s soul into an original and irresistible island groove, Toots slowed ska's staccato chops and shuffle beats to create a midtempo rock-steady. As the '70s approached, Toots's music eased even more and evolved into reggae (with his 1968 single "Do the Reggay," he even named the genre). Through the '70s and '80s, as other styles appropriated reggae, Toots pulled in the opposite direction to bring funk, R&B, rock, and pop into his music. The two-disc, 41-track Time Tough: The Anthology, which extends from Toots's earliest single, 1963's "Six and Seven Books of Moses", to his 1988 album Toots in Memphis, covers all of the reggae survivor's transformations. More than Toots's lack of rastaman dreadlocks, what distinguishes him from countrymen Bob Marley and Peter Tosh is his continual embrace of American music. Throughout his career, his comfort with mainland forms worked both for and against him. On Disc One's early singles ("54-46 That's My Number," "Sweet & Dandy"), Toots's crooning and the Maytals' classic soul hooks make for first-rate ska and rock-steady. Disc Two, though, documents how, while Marley turned reggae into protest music, Toots remained largely apolitical and recorded pale versions of American hits like "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (yes, John Denver) and "Spiritual Healing" (reworking Marvin Gaye). By the '80s, his embrace of slick R&B ("Just Like That") and use of Memphis musicians made his sound at times barely recognizable as reggae. Disc One's glory, though, easily compensates for Disc Two's late-career shortcomings; Toots's rightful place in reggae royalty was secured long ago. --Roni Sarig

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential From A Reggae King , September 21, 2005

By	Original Mixed Up-Kid "jg" (New York United States) - See all my reviews

OK, the track "Sit Right Down" is missing..nothings perfect but this collection comes close...you got way over 2 hours of prime stuff here from the early sides to his later R and B infusion..Toots was called many things..but for your newbies..he is a reggae style Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett with the groove of Calypso and the sound of funky Kingston..Marley may have been king but Toots was the performer at the palace..high energy,soulful grooves and that famous keyboard came from him,that keyboard riff which Paul Simon duplicated on his opening of "Mother Child Reunion"..his tribute to reggae...
These performances so influenced the UK punkers ie:the clash,The 2 tone Specials that they covered them themselves...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time ain't so tough listening to the Toots-man, June 21, 1999

By	M. Shah (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

Toots? What can I say? I first was touched by his voice and music on "The Harder They Come" soundtrack and was so hooked, I had to buy SOMETHING else...but I was scared, because, as you might know, sometimes anticipation ruins things. Little did I know I would be amazed beyond belief. "54-46", "It's You", "Take Me Home, Country Roads", although I don't dig all of the material, the stuff that's good SCORCHES!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Toots CD, May 29, 2006

By	Johnny Hodges (Clark Fork, ID United States) - See all my reviews

In the beginning, there was Sam Cooke. Following in that groove were Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye. Toots' reggae is rooted in the soul/R&B vein, and no one did it better. This first CD features his older material with more of a traditional soul sound: highlights include the seminal "Do the Reggay", the underdog themes of "Pressure Drop" and "Time Tough", and the Memphis horns sounding anthem "Reggae Got Soul". CD#2 features love songs, positive: "My Love is so Strong", sad: "Just Like That" and anger: "Chatty Chatty". Then the songs start to take on a more spiritual bend: "Careless Ethiopians", "Spiritual Healing" and the drop dead gorgeous "Peace, Perfect Peace". Not a clinker in the collection. And the sound quality of the remastering reveals The Voice better than any other Toots recordings I've heard. The excellent bands he worked with are revealed in detail; you can hear each player, whereas the original recordings tended to slur the instruments together. The variety and quality of the selected tracks make this highly listenable front to back.