Toots and The Maytals - Sweet And Dandy (2024) [Hi-Res]

Review by Steve Leggett

Although the original incarnation of Toots & the Maytals (Toots Hibbert, Nathaniel "Jerry" McCarthy, and Raleigh Gordon) parted ways in 1981, between the years 1964 and 1974 they managed to assemble one of the most highly charged and distinctive bodies of work in the history of Jamaican music. Led by Toots' Kingston-by-way-of-Memphis lead vocals and the ragged call-and-response background singing of McCarthy and Gordon, the trio created gospel-fueled reggae classics like "Bam Bam," "54-46 Was My Number," "Monkey Man," "Sweet and Dandy," "Pomps and Pride," "Funky Kingston," "Time Tough," and the immortal "Pressure Drop," all of which carried the stomp and wallop of the best and most enduring soul music of the day. Sweet and Dandy brings together the best tracks from those crucial years, including several sides produced by the great Leslie Kong, arguably the most sympathetic to the Maytals' sound.

Tracklist:
1-1 - Monkey Man [3:45]
1-2 - Pressure Drop [2:58]
1-3 - I Shall Be Free [4:05]
1-4 - Bla, Bla, Bla [2:43]
1-5 - Just Tell Me [2:26]
1-6 - We Shall Overcome [3:29]
1-7 - Sweet And Dandy [3:00]
1-8 - Scare Him [2:31]
1-9 - Alidina [2:30]
1-10 - I Need Your Love [3:10]
1-11 - "5446" - That's My Number [3:27]
1-12 - Oh Yea [2:43]