Pressure Drop: The Definitive Collection (2-CD)

Product Description:

Toots & the Maytals: Toots Hibbert, Henry Gordon, Nathaniel Mathias (vocals).

Liner Note Author: Rick Glanvill.

With their heavy soul influence, Toots & the Maytals--consisting of vocalists Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, Nathaniel "Jerry" Mathias, and Henry "Raleigh" Gordon--were reggae pioneers. They melded American R&B harmonies to shuffling Jamaican rhythms in the 1960s and expanded the genre's parameters with unusual cover tunes in the '70s. PRESSURE DROP: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, is a two-disc set that presents 49 Maytals tracks primarily recorded between '64 and '75, including successful early singles such as the percussive "Bam Bam" and incarceration tale "54-46 That's My Number" (based on Toots's real-life jail time for alleged drug possession).

By 1968, the group settled into a string of hits, most notably the energetic "Pressure Drop" (later covered by the Clash) and "Monkey Man" (subsequently performed by the Specials). In the '70s, Toots & the Maytals garnered attention for their funky take on the rock & roll classic "Louie Louie" and an inventive, gospel-tinged rendition of John Denver's "(Take Me Home) Country Roads." Though there are many Maytals collections on the market, PRESSURE DROP is one of the finest overviews of the trio's first decade.