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Peter Tosh: Legalize It

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: CBS Records
Released: 1976
Time:
 38:19
Category: Reggae
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.jamaicapage.com
Appears with: Bob Marley
Purchase date: 2002.04.13
Price in €: 8,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Legalize It (P.Tosh) - 4:35
[2] Burial (P.Tosh/N.Livingston) - 3:54
[3] What'cha Gonna Do? (P.Tosh) - 2:25
[4] No Sympathy (P.Tosh) - 4:35
[5] Why Must I Cry (B.Marley/P.Tosh) - 3:08
[6] Igziabeher [Let Jah Be Praised] (P.Tosh) - 4:37
[7] Ketchy Shuby (P.Tosh) - 4:53
[8] Till Your Well Runs Dry (N.Livingston/P.Tosh) - 6:09
[9] Brand New Second Hand (P.Tosh) - 4:03

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


PETER TOSH - Reggae Guitar, Arranger, Keyboards, Vocals, Background Vocals

DONALD KINSEY - Guitar
AL YASHA ANDERSON - Guitar
RAS LEE - Harmonica, Harp
ROBBIE SHAKESPEARE - Bass
ASTON BARRETT - Bass
CARLTON "Carlie" BARRETT - Drums
TYRONE DOWNEY - Keyboards
RITA MARLEY - Vocals, Background Vocals
JUDY MOWATT - Vocals, Background Vocals
BUNNY WAILER - Background Vocals

PAULINE MORRIS - Executive Producer
BRUCE DICKINSON - Reissue Producer
LEE JAFFE - Associate Producer, Photography
KARL PITTERSON - Engineer
JERRY SMITH - Engineer
CHRIS ATHENS - Digital Mastering
STEPHEN MOORE - Project Director
ROGER STEFFENS - Liner Notes
HOWARD FRITZSON - Art Direction
STEVE NEWMAN - Design
PETER SIMON - Photography
TONY MOTTRAM - Photography
FIN COSTELLO - Photography
ADRIAN BOOT - Photography
AARON ROSENBAUM - Packaging Manager
RETNA - Photography
PATTI MATHENY - A&R
DARREN SALMIERI - A&R

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1976 LP Columbia 34253
1990 CD Columbia 34253
1990 CS Columbia PCT-34253
2001 SCD Sony 65922



After years of being overshadowed by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh left the Wailers to pursue a solo career. Released in 1976, Legalize It is a bold statement that Peter Tosh had arrived and was a creative force in his own right. Although he explores some issues of spirituality, this is Tosh's most lightweight album in the sense that it is his least political. This is not meant as a criticism — in fact, Tosh's playfulness and joy ("Ketchy Shuby") only add to the album's charm. He does make political statements (the title track celebrates and promotes the use of marijuana), but they are done with a sense of humor and a melodic infectiousness that belie his sincere concern for the issues. Tosh incorporates many instruments and mixes slower ballads with upbeat grooving tunes. The album's highlight is "Why Must I Cry," a multi-layered song (co-written with Bob Marley) that conveys a sense of personal failure when fighting an uphill battle, whether it be against injustices of the world or within the confines of a relationship. Legalize It cemented Tosh's position as a giant in reggae, and the album is one of the best albums of the genre.

Vik Iyengar - All Music Guide
© 1992 - 2002 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



Reggae fans tend to fall either into a hawklike roots warriors category, à la Peter Tosh, or dovelike peace-and-rights-niks, à la Bob Marley. Most of us are armchair rebels, but Tosh's ongoing war against the corrupt "shitstem," as he dubbed it, was musical and personal: he endured many police beatings and jailings for speaking his mind and exercising his rights. He also battled for the herb, aka ganja or marijuana, and loved to thumb his nose at authority by taking the stage with a cigar-size spliff in hand to fuel his performance inspiration. Hence the title track of this 1976 Columbia Records. That and the album's other 8 tunes fairly roil with Tosh's prickly energy and roving intelligence, which is one good reason why they all endure as classic reggae boomshots. "Igziabeher (Let Jah Be Praised)" deserves special mention as prime musical testament to the depth of this Rastaman's spiritual passion.

Elena Oumano - Amazon.com



During the mid-1970s, Peter Tosh was arguably the most powerful and controversial voice in reggae. Considered a prophet by those who embraced his politically charged songs of freedom, the former Wailer released his first two solo works in 1976 and 1977.Legalize ItandEqual Rightsare among the most crucial reggae albums ever released. Having reissued the records as a part of the label's Reggae Spirit series, Columbia-Legacy has expanded these landmark recordings by releasing them in beautifully revamped editions. Legalize It prevails to this day as one of the all-time great stoner records, due to its rabidly expressive advocation of the spiritual and mystical wonders of ganja. The new version features one bonus track, an instrumental take of the song "Ketchy Shuby." Equal Rights, considered by many to be Tosh's best studio effort, contains two previously unreleased tracks -- live versions of "Pick Myself Up" and "African," recorded during his historic 1982 world tour. Smoke it up, kid.

Ron Hart - Jul 19, 1999
CMJ New Music Report Issue: 627
© 1978-2002 College Media, Inc., Inc. All Rights Reserved.



It's taken awhile, but an American label has finally seen the light and taken the plunge into reggae.

More than a decade ago, Peter Tosh formed a vocal trio, the Wailers (then called the Wailing Rudeboys), with Bob Marley and Bunny Livingston. On Legalize It Tosh is backed by the Wailers' instrumental quintet and two of the I-Threes—Rita Marley and Judy Mowatt—who replaced Tosh and Livingston when they quit the band about a year ago. Legalize It is the first Wailers album without Bob Marley, and it shows how much the Wailers have missed the sonorous, strictly moral vocals and chopping rhythm guitar of Tosh and the uplifting harmonies of Livingston.

"Legalize It," an endorsement for the smoking of herbs, was the reggae single in Jamaica in 1975. It was instantly banned by both Jamaican radio stations, which only made the song more popular. Deep and authoritative, Tosh demands: "Legalize it and I will advertise it" while the singers coo in agreement. It's a wonderful, impassioned performance comparable to Wailers hits like "400 Years" and "Get Up, Stand Up," which Tosh also wrote.

"Why Must I Cry," a Marley/Tosh collaboration, recalls in its high harmonies the old Wailers; "Igziabeher (Let Jah Be Praised)" is an esoteric Rastafarian testament; "Ketchy Shuby" is a characteristic reggae sex chant; and "Burial" and "Till Your Well Runs Dry," both written with Livingston, are flawless examples of Tosh's very Dread world view. Only the overproduced "No Sympathy," whose slickness shows that in reggae more is less, mars an otherwise strong set.

The basic reggae unit is a vocal trio (the Maytals, the old Wailers, Burning Spear, the Heptones and dozens more) made up of a lead and two harmony singers. The Mighty Diamonds, currently the most popular group in Jamaica after Burning Spear, is the newest and youngest of the trios. If record charts weren't banned in Jamaica because of intra-industry violence, the Diamonds' brilliant singles, like "Right Time" and "Have Mercy," would have been on top all last winter. Right Time is simply one of the finest reggae LPs ever released. "Why Me Black Brother Why" is a touching, elementally lovely plea for peace. "Them Never Love Poor Marcus" pursues the Garvey cult revived by Burning Spear. "I Need a Roof" is a Kingston shanty dweller's lament delivered in ska terms. This release marks the Diamonds as one of the hardest and culturally tough reggae outfits to come out of Jamaica since the Wailers.

The great U-Roy is the prime representative of reggae disc jockey music, called "dub" or "version." When a single is released in Jamaica, its flip side is a remixed version of the original without the vocals, enabling the disc jockey at a dance to "skank" or "toast" over the single, layering his own comments, squawks and demented vocal riffs into the music. It is claimed that U-Roy invented this, but a host of imitators (like I-Roy and current champion Big Youth) put him into retirement, from which he emerged like a triumphant grand master last year to record this album.

Dread in a Babylon is a fine introduction to the many charms of dub reggae. Roy's patented mojo screams sound like a severely goosed parrot. "Runaway Girl" is prototypically moronic (in dub that's good), while the gemlike "Chalice in the Palace" postulates a ganja session with Elizabeth II—the chalice is the flamboyant, very Dread goats-horn or coconut water pipe. And in case any fevered listener wants to try a little toasting, the final cut is an instrumental led by Augustus Pablo, one of Jamaica's leading sessionmen.

Dub music is banned on Jamaica radio for obscure reasons, but as I-Roy put it: "It's easier for a camel to pass through needle's eye, than for version to die."

STEPHEN DAVIS - RS 220
© Copyright 2002 RollingStone.com
 

 L y r i c s


LEGALIZE IT

Warning..
The surgeon general warns:
Cigarette smoking is dangerous,
dangerous, hazard to your health
Does that mean anything to you?
Then legalize marijuana
Right here in Jamaica
Dem say it cure glaucoma
I am a de bush doctor
So there'll be
No more smoking and feeling tense
When I see dem a come
I don't have fi jump no fence
Legalize marijuana
Down here in Jamaica
Only cure for asthma
I man a de minister
So there'll be no more police brutality
No more disrespect for humanity
Legalize marijuana
Down here in Jamaica
It can build up a failing economy
Eliminate the slavish mentality
So there'll be no more illegal humiliation
No more police interrogation
Legalize marijuana
Down here in sweet Jamaica
Only cure for glaucoma
I man a de bush doctor yeah!
And there'll be no more need
To smoke and hide
When you know you're taking
A legal ride
Legalize marijuana
Down here in Jamaica
it's the only cure for glaucoma
I man a de minister...


BURIAL

Them want I(2x)
Be com'a them funeral
Them claim say(2x)
Them are the general
(2x)

What a big disgrace
The way you rob up the place
Rob everthing you can find
Yes you did
and you'll even rob from the blind

you must see want i fe
com'a com'a funeral
and i no go
no one burial
yet you want i
com'a com'a funeral
make your friend come claim say, claim say
you are the geni???

now we know the truth
yes we do
find you
wearing the boot
of taking people's business on your head,yeah
so might as well you be dead

(chorus)

let the dead bury the dead now
and who is to be fed, be fed
i ain't got no time to waste on you, no,no
i'm a livin man, i got work to do
right now

this man and that man
yes they are the same man
you taught us this just as well
that the rich man heaven is the poor man's hell
you must see want i fe com'a com'a funeral
natty no go no one burial
yet you want i
com'a com'a burial
make your friend come claim say
you are the geni....


WHATCHA GONNA DO

mama mama them hold papa
said them hold him for smoke ganja
if me never jump two fence them hold me too
so tell me mama
whatcha gonna do

oh mama whatcha gonna do now
oh mama whatcha gonna do
(2x)

next week next week
case to case
him have a dread judge to face
him a fe i to live in space
or make the doctor them work 'pon him face

oh mama whatcha gonna do now...

next door neighbor
them hold your son
said them find him with one gun
and it's no need him start to mention
him going to get a definite attention

oh lady whatcha gonna do now
oh lady whatcha gon' do
oh lady whatcha gonna do
say want some lady
whatcha gonna do

the cops them say he know nobody
so him ha fe remain in custody
him see the babylon im stand upon a screw
so him never know it was the curfew

oh lady whatcha gon' do now
say want some lady
whatcha gonna do
oh lady whatcha gonna do now
oh lady whatcha gon' do

no bail lady
whatcha gonna do now
say want some lady
whatcha gonna do now...


NO SYMPATHY

i can't find

(chorus)
no love
no sympathy
what kind of love
they've got for me

i'm on my way
to happiness
where i can find
some peace and rest

when i'm in troubles yeah
only me only me feel the pain
no one good word of advice
from any of my so-called friends

chorus

might as well might as well
i get out of hell
hell could never be made for me
so i'm gonna search search
'til i'm free

no love no love

(chorus)

i can't find no love
no no sympathy
what kind(3x) of love
they got(3x) for me

they don't love themself
so they can't love no one else
(2x)

i just can't find(3x) no love
i can't find(3x) no sympathy
i can't find(3x) no love at all
what kind of love(3x)
people got for me

i'm searchin'


WHY MUST I CRY?

why must i cry
these tears from mine eyes
(2x)

making believe you love me only
was my great sin whoa(3x)

but i will never fall in love again
'cause only my heart feels the pain

why must i trod
this lonely(2x) road
why must i carry
this heavy(2x) load

making believe you love me only
was my great sin(3x)
mmm my great sin

i'll never fall in love again
'cause only my heart feels the pain
feels the pain
sad pain

i will never fall in love again
'cause only my heart feels the pain
feels the pain
why must i cry these tears from mine eyes(2x)..


IGZIABEHER

igziabeher
let jah be praised
negusa neghast
let jah be praised
me don e-ah lamb

let jah be praised
let him be praised(3x)

he watereth the hills
from his chambers
and the earth is satisfied
so satisfied
he maketh the grass to grow for animals
jah made the herb for man(3x)

fret not thyself
because of evildoers
neither be thou envious
against the workers of inequity
for they shall soon be cut down
cut down like grass
and they shall wither like corn

let jah arise
and let all his enemies be scattered
let them that hate jah
now scat up shut up butt up and flat up
as the smoke was driven away
jah, drive them away
as the rocks melted
let them be melted jah-jah

igziabeher
let jah be praised
you don e-ah lamb
let jah be praised
negusa neghast
let jah be praised
let him be praised(4x)

ahh...lightning
earthquake
brimstone
for the fire

i said lightning
brimstone and fire
igziabeher

weakheart scat up shut up flat up and butt out
i feel it
weakheart feel it
kill them dead before them spread...


KETCHY SHUBBY

come make we play some
ketchy shuby
and when me shuby
you feel ketchy

and when you're ketchy
don't make it drop
'cause if it drop
it will pop

and if it pop
no one can mend it
'cause if they mend it
you can easily bend it

chorus
so we ah go
ketchy, ketchy
shuby shuby
tonight
all night long
(2x)
tell me if you like it

it don't take too long to learn
just you do as i say
i may only take one hours or two
and by the next time you will know what to do

chorus

repeat first 3 verses

chorus
your mama don't like it
ketchy(2x) shuby(2x) tonight(kksstn)
your papa don't like it
(kksstn)
long time i'm waitin
(kksstn)
get you right where you're

(kksstn).....


TILL THE WELL RUNS DRY

you said you loved me
and then you left
you broke every promise
you win every bet

(chorus)
you never miss your water
till your well runs dry
so tell me tell me
whatcha gonna do
when your well runs dry....

listen to me darlin'
you cheat and you lie
now you come a runnin
runnin, wanting second try

chorus

sat down and sighed
and i heard you packin
i watched you pass by me
but you said nothin'
not one single word but i know
you're gonna miss me
and you're gonna be blue

chorus


BRAND NEW SECOND HAND

you're only acting like
you are somebody
but i don't no say
you know nobody

you're only a show off
your painted face, yeah
but underneath that face
your just a disgrace

(chorus)
you're just a brand new second hand gal
no man no wan' no
brand new second hand gal
you better go back around so
you're just a brand new second hand gal

you think it's the dress you wear
that make you a lady
get that out of your mind gal
you must be crazy

mama used to tell me
long time ago yeah
not everything you see glitter is gold

chorus

see you watch them pass i
well hidy-tidy
but them no-no say
you very nasty

look 'pon you footback
look how them tough, yeah
and you chaw bone favor
spanish town handcuff

chorus

dick know 'bout you
and tom do
and harry just 'round the corner
know 'bout you too

he got a police buk
and take it for fun, yeah
them must see no-no say
you judge two gun

chorus
...that man fe idiot
you're just a brand new second hand...you're wicked

fool ya, you fool ya...

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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