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I have always had the impression that ska and all its derivatives are among the genres towards which music lovers hold the most prejudices and that are generally taken the most for granted. Leaving aside the actual truth of this statement and the possible causes, I have noticed that here on Debasio there's little or nothing (correct me if I'm wrong), and the same goes for Caribbean music in general. So I'll take it upon myself.
Ignoring the origins of the genre and the Jamaican identity building from the late '50s and especially after the independence in 1962, Toots and the Maytals (initially just The Maytals), are among the greatest, the most prolific, and the most everything in this genre.
Forget Marley's career, the British and European ska wave, and today's gimmicks; here we are in the heart of the Jamaican spirit, of which the Maytals are one of the abundant fertile bellies.
In this album, the third of their career and released in 1969, there are at least 3 of the greatest and most beautiful songs that have come to light on the island. For those familiar, it's enough to mention the frantic "Pressure Drop," the protest song "54-46 (That's My Number)"—which was later recorded in its more famous version the following year with a changed title—and the track that gives the album its name. From nods to skiffle and beat, which were emerging precisely in those years, to the r'n'b reinterpretations and the calypso echoes, this album has an infectious energy and serenity. You'll never hear it spoken of as a milestone, partly because the fetishism for the album as a cultural and value-driven unit isn't typical of this genre. However, on one hand, that's good because the expression "milestone" makes my balls disastrously drop to the ground, but on the other hand, it doesn't do justice to a work of great importance and a genre that is sun, laughter, that is the face of a nation at the peak of a major political and cultural shift, but which also carries within it the seeds of protest, poverty, the rude boy culture and ghettos, and the renewed need for expression.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Monkey Man (03:45)
I go to bed
But sleep don't come
get up in night
couldn't find my feeling
no
early in the morning
mercy, it's just the same situation
early came the landlord yeah
just knock knock knockin on my door
he knockin up on my door
I got 400 months rent to pay
and I can't find a dollar
(Chorus)let me let me tell you time tough
every thing is out of of sight it's so hard
so hard so hard
time tough everything is going higher and higher
sister lee cannot bear it
I gotta leave it all exited now
02 Pressure Drop (02:57)
Hmm hmm hmm, yeah... [3x]
It is you (oh yeah)
It is you, you (oh yeah)
It is you (oh yeah)
Cause a pressure drop, oh pressure
Oh yeah pressure drop a drop on you
I say a pressure drop, oh pressure
Oh yeah pressure drop a drop on you
I say when it drops, oh you gonna feel it
Know that you were doing wrong.
Hmm hmm hmm, yeah... [3x]
I say a pressure drop, oh pressure
Oh yeah, pressure drop a drop on you [2x]
03 I Shall Be Free (04:04)
I know, oh yes I know
I know, oh yes I know
I'm going to live to see everyone free
I know, oh yes I know
I know, oh yes I know
I'm going to live to see everyone free
I read the bible and I heard a song they sing
Oh lord I heard them singing
They're singing Amen
But this is a little secret I know
So I got to tell you all that I know
I know, oh yes I know
I know, oh yes I know
I'm going to live to see everyone free
Everyone shall be free
I say faith can move mountains and love can set it free
Faith and love combined and that's the way we have to be
No one's from creation, it's each man's destination
True Love and faith we all must have every day
We will never grow old
Everyone shall be free
05 Just Tell Me (02:24)
Just tell me that you really love me true
Then I will know just what to do
Just tell me that you're in love with me
And I will know that you want me dilligently
There is nothing in this world that I wouldn't do for you
There is nothing for you to pray to force me to do
Won't you tell me that you love me true
And I will know just what to do
Because I, I, I, I, I love you
Sing it again
La la la la la la la la la la
07 Sweet and Dandy (03:00)
Etty in the room a cry
Mama say she must wipe her eye
Papa say she no fi foolish
Like she never been to school at all
It is no wonder
It's a perfect pander
While they were dancing in that bar room last night.
Johnson in the room afret
Uncle say he must hold up him head
Aunty say she no fi foolish
Like a no time fi him wedding day
It is no wonder
It's a perfect pander
While they were dancing in that bar room last night.
One pound ten for the wedding cake
Plenty bottle of cola wine
All the people them dress up in a white
Fi go eat out Johnson wedding cake
It is no wonder
It's a perfect pander
While they were dancing in that bar room last night.
09 Alidina (02:29)
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alidina lazy, lazy
Alidina crazy, crazy
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Just the week before last week I saw you
Standing at the man's shop corner looking inside
And you Alidina won't go do the work
Alidina lazy, lazy
Alidina crazy, crazy
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Just the day before yesterday I saw you
Walking down the long train line doing nothing
And you Alina won't go do the work
Alidina lazy, lazy
Alidina crazy. crazy
Alidina, go on, go do the work
So if you want to look sweet girl you will have to work
And if you want to look nice girl you will have to work
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alidina lazy, lazy
Alidina crazy, crazy
Alidina, go on, go do the work
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