|
Winston Hubert McIntosh, better known as Peter Tosh
(baritone singer in the Wailers),
was an authentic product of the Jamaican ghettos.
His pride was already evident in I'm The Toughest (1966).
His early singles
Crimson Pirate (1969),
Sun Valley (1969),
Pepper Seed (1969),
The Return of Al Capone (1969),
Selassie Serenade (1969)
were influenced by psychedelic music.
His solo career took off in 1971 with Maga Dog, basically a
rewrite of the Wailer's Simmer Down.
A long series of singles, that included
Them Ha Fe Get a Beating (1972),
Arise Blackman (1971),
Black Dignity (1970),
Here Comes the Judge (1971),
No Mercy (1972),
Dog Teeth (1973),
Mark of the Beast (1973),
Can't Blame the Youth (1974),
Foundation, Whatcha Gonna Do (1975),
Ketchy Shrub (1977),
peaked with Legalize It (1974).
This led to his first solo album, Legalize It (1976), which crossed
over into rock music with Why Must I Cry,
Til Your Well Runs Dry and Burial, and to its twin release
Equal Rights (1977),
featuring the rhythm section of Sly & Robbie and containing
Stepping Razor and Equal Rights.
He returned to his reggae roots with Bush Doctor (1978).
Pick Myself Up (1978) was one of his best slow tunes.
Mystic Man (1979), including Rumours of War and Jah Seh No,
and the successful singles Buk-In-Hamm Palace (1980), Bombo Klaat (1980) and Nothing but Love could not hide his problems.
In the end, Tosh was becoming more famous for his troubles than for his music.
After Mama Africa (1981), it took six years for Tosh to recover enough
to record No Nuclear War (1987).
He was murdered a few months later.
|
(Translation by/ Tradotto da Damiano Langone)
Winston
Hubert McIntosh - meglio conosciuto come Peter Tosh, il baritono dei Wailers -
il tipico prodotto dei ghetti giamaicani. Lo spirito orgoglioso e combattivo
gi evidente in I'm The
Toughest (1966), e dal punto di vista
musicale i primi singoli sono influenzati dal rock psichedelico: Crimson Pirate (1969), Sun Valley (1969), Pepper
Seed (1969), The Return Of Al Capone (1969), Selassie Serenade
(1969).
La carriera di Peter Tosh decolla nel
1971 con Mag Dog, che praticamente
una rivisitazione di Simmer Down dei
Wailers. Una lunga serie di singoli - che include Them Ha Fe Get A
Beating
(1972), Arise Blackman (1971), Black Dignity (1970), Here
Comes The Judge (1971), No Mercy (1972), Dog Teeth (1973), Mark
Of The Beast (1973), Can't Blame The Youth (1974), Whatcha
Gonna Do (1975), Ketchy Shrub (1977) - coglie i maggiori frutti,
anche commerciali, con Legalize It
(1974). Il successo del brano apre le porte al primo album solista, Legalize It (1976), ibrido reggae-rock
con brani come Why Must I Cry, Til Your Well Runs Dry e Burial.
Segue poi la pubblicazione di Equal Rights (1977), album gemello del
primo, contenente Stepping Razor e Equal Rights, e con Sly &
Robbie alla sezione ritmica.
Il
ritorno alle radici reggae si concretizza con Bush Doctor (1978), contenente Pick
Myself Up, uno dei suoi migliori lenti in assoluto. Il successivo Mystic
Man (1979), con Rumours Of War e Jah Seh No, cos come i
fortunati singoli che seguono - Buk-In-Hamm Palace (1980), Bombo
Klaat (1980) e Nothing But Love (1981) - non possono per nascondere del tutto i problemi e
Peter Tosh diventa col passare del tempo pi famoso per i suoi guai che per la
sua musica. Dopo l'uscita di Mama Africa (1983) l'artista impiega anni
per rimettersi in sesto e registrare No Nuclear War (1987), per poi
finire assassinato a pochi mesi dall'uscita dell'ultimo album.
|
