Toots & Maytals - SKA FATHER Vinyl

Toots & The Maytals: Toots (vocals, percussion); Rad Bryan, Hux Brown, Carl Harvey (guitar); Dean Frasier, Nambo Robinson, David Madden, Johnny Moore (horns); Winston Wright, Robbie Lyn, Harold Butler (keyboards); Family Man Barrett, Jackie Jackson, Mikey Chung (bass); Winston Grennan, Paul Douglas (drums); Skully, Carrot (percussion); Leba Hibbert, Raliegh Gordon, Jerry Mathias (background vocals).
Buring Brass: Pam Fleming, Jenny Hill, Nilda Richards (horns).
SKA FATHER was nominated for a 1999 Grammy for Best Reggae Album.
Frederick "Toots" Hibbert is believed by many to have been the first to coin the word REGGAE with the release of his early 60's hit "Do The Reggay." With over thirty-five years of performing under his belt, Toots has been dubbed the Godfather of Ska, and the appropriately titled 1998 release SKA FATHER shows him keeping right in step. As one would expect, the record is dominated by a bright uptempo pace and the characteristic sound of ska: accelerated, jerky guitar and drum lines which create a taut rhythmic structure by emphasizing the off-beat.
Light, propulsive drumming powers catchy pop-song melodies like "Pressure Drop," "Do You Believe" and "Broadway Jungle '98." There are song structures and backup vocals reminiscent of Motown (by way of Kingston) in "There's A Right And A Wrong Way," and gospel leanings in "God Bless You." The disc ends with three dub versions of earlier tracks; fine backup singers and horns are added to flavor the stew. Though these cuts lack Toots soulful, emotional vocals, their danceable appeal adds to a strong album of traditional ska songs by one the genre's originals.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Pop