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Saturday, August 31, 2019

Album Review: Toots and the Maytals - Funky Kingston (1972)

I never thought I would hear a band that would give The Wailers a run for their money.  Well, here I am.  A great reggae band, with a great reggae album.  Funky Kingston by Toots and the Maytals is nothing short of brilliant - each song a catchy reggae hook, and not a single song on it to find fault with.  Yes, Catch a Fire by Bob Marley & The Wailers is often considered to be the best reggae album, and it really is a great album.  But as far as I'm concerned, it's nowhere near as good as this. I could almost play Catch a Fire from start to finish without skipping a track - almost, but this album deserves your attention from the beginning of "Time Tough" to "Sailin' On."  There's also a remake of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" in the form of "Country Roads" - same basic song, but with lyrics reworked to reflect the band's Jamaican roots.  Deciding which songs here are the best is really a difficult decision to make - "In the Dark", "Time Tough", "Louie, Louie" and "Country Road" are my picks, after a bit of deliberation.  If you're keen on getting into reggae, or perhaps delving even further into it, this album is a great starting point, along with the aforementioned Catch a Fire.  A brilliant album.  A


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