Toots and the Maytals – Light Your Light
Reviewed by Sadie O., 9/4/07
Terrific Reggae in a range of styles by one of the masters. Some reworking of classics, some strictly roots, some totally new sounds. Unsurprisingly fine production and musicianship, and Toots is simply one of the greatest singers on the planet, regardless of genre. Check out the slide on track one, and the vocals on 5 – and the drums on 6, too. The liner notes, esp. track descriptions, are worth a look.
No FCCs detected. I like 1 and 4 best, but it’s all good…
1. ****4/4 strumming and slide intro, downtempo skank. Classic Toots vocals, and the slide makes for a really unusual, bluesy Reggae vibe.
2. **midtempo roots skank. Bonnie Raitt guests on vocals, nice harmonies between her and Toots. Odd lyrics about an underage girl… Raitt plays a bit of slide on this track, too.
3. **upbeat roots bubble – classic sound. No one can testify like Toots, whether it’s a lovelorn blues like this or Rasta gospel..
4. ****This is a great riddim – a bit uptempo and bouncy/syncopated. Get up and shake it!
5. ***a bit uptempo but a bit relaxed. Toots does all vocals, but in a style a bit reminiscent of Southern African vocals. Very nice…
6. ***uptempo roots bubble, more great self-harmonies. Horsemouth Wallace on drums – makes a bit difference!
7. *midtempo bubble with female backing vocals.
8. **uptempo bouncy roots bubble, cover of the Ray Charles classic.
9. **sweet and very mellow midtempo bubble with nyahbinghi overtones and acoustic guitar, female backing vocals.
10. ***shout out to Sir Coxsone – uptempo ska with rather odd vocalizations of the horn line of Guns of Navarone.
11. **solo vocal intro, very mellow downtempo skippy skank with a bit of nyahbinghi beat, interesting lyrics.
12. ***midtempo nyahbinghi, just drum and vocals for half a minute, then chorus from “Rivers of Babylon” – sweet chanting.