Toots & the Maytals

Anyone who had the pleasure of catching Toots & the Maytals live in the '70s or '80s will attest to the fact that they didn't hesitate to go that extra mile on-stage. Without question, they had one of reggae and ska's finest live shows -- in fact, you could say that singer/leader Toots Hibbert was as tireless a showman as James Brown or George Clinton. The band's vitality is beautifully captured by this superb album, which came out in 1980 and documents a show at the Hammersmith Palais. True to form, Hibbert spares no passion on performances of hits that range from "Funky Kingston," "Pressure Drop," and "Monkey Man" to "Get Up, Stand Up" (not to be confused with Bob Marley's song), "54-46, That's My Number," and "Time Tough." Thankfully, this album isn't the only documentation of a Toots & the Maytals show -- the Genes CD An Hour Live (which was recorded live at the Reggae Sunsplash Festival in 1982) is also a gem. [Island released a remastered version of Live in 2004.] ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide