| "Arise Black Man" review |
The first track on the album is Brand New Second Hand complete with false start. Brand New Second Hand is Peter's disparaging of the easy women of the Kingston ghetto's with a doo wop feel to it. A second cut of the track is used to close the album. First cut by the Wailers in 1964, Maga Dog features Peter showing his contempt for an old girlfriend, whom he derides with a series of uncomplimentary remarks, likening her to a malnourished mongrel. This cut provided Tosh with a major Jamaican hit in 1971, and producer Joe Gibbs further utilized it's rhythm on a number of releases, including Skanky Dog by DJ Winston Scotland and Bunny Flip's Maingy Dog, whilst Boney Dog and Fat Dog are instrumentals from the Now Generation. Peter later re-recorded the song in 1983 for his Mama Africa album. In 1969 the Wailers attended a recording session held by producer Bunny Lee at Randy's studio. Unfortunately "Mr Chatterbox" (a re-cut of "Mr. Talkative") failed to give the band the hit that they were hoping for, however Bunny Lee was particularly interested in Peter's skills as an organist and so the relationship between the two continued. Their collaborations resulted in the following recordings: The Crimson Pirate, Moon Dusk, Ambitious Beggar, The Return Of Alcapone, Sun Valley, Selassie Seranade, Pepper Seed and Romper Room. However, Peter had not intended for these instrumentals to be released, he was simply rehearsing upstairs at Chin Randy's whilst Bunny had left a tape recorder running next to the organ, after Peter had finished noodling away Bunny would say "that song good y'know, make we try something?". Peter never received payment for any of these recordings and didn't even see the records until five years after their original release. These instrumentals were credited to Peter Touch and gave the world a chance to hear Peter's growing abilities as an organist. At the close of 1969 Lee Perry released Rightful Ruler, a track that was recorded during the Wailers association with Scratch (although the track was recorded without Bob and Bunny). The song opens with Peter delivering a spoken introduction in Amharic, followed by it's translation in English, before U Roy launches into his tribute to H.I.M Emporer Haile Selassie for a very interesting and unusual duet. This is also reputedly U Roy's first ever recording. Recorded with Scratch in 1970 400 Years has Peter turning his attentions to mental slavery, 400 years on, it's about time black people rose up, a rallying cry for the oppressed. The Wailers liked the track so much that they recut it 2 years later for their debut Island album "Catch A Fire". Memphis shows Peter's developed talents as a melodica player, a recording that was originally featured on the Wailers Soul Revolution album. A follow on from the previous instrumentals featured on the album, this melodica cut was consistent with Peter's then current-moves. Among the other sides recorded by Peter for Joe Gibbs was Rudies Medley, cut during a period when medley mania was sweeping the Jamican music scene. The recording harks back to the rude boy recordings of the sixties. The medley includes snippets of Desmond Dekker & The Aces Rude Boy Train, and 007 before Peter closes with a section from I'm The Toughest, a song first cut for Coxsone Dodd in 1966. Aside from Maga Dog, Peter's best known song recorded during his collaboration with Joe Gibbs is Them Ha Fe Get A Beaten, a notable hit in Jamaica towards the end of 1971. The song features Peter once again repeating the need for the black race to rise up and fight against the wicked oppressors. Once again Peter later re-cut this song in 1978 for his first solo album on the Rolling Stones Record label; Bush Doctor. Joe Gibbs once again exploited the success of Them Ha Fe Get A Beaten by releasing a number of singles using the rhythm, the best of which was Reuben featuring top session organist, Winston Wright and leading percussionist Larry McDonald. Stop That Train is one of Peter's most famous recordings, the version included on this album is the original version that was recorded for Leslie Kong featuring the rest of the Wailers. A number of Jamaican artists had recorded material similar in melody and sentiment of Leave My Business prior to Peter's interpretation of the song which dates from 1972. A simple plea for privacy. Downpressor follows, a re-cut of the 1966 classic Sinnerman. Sinnerman was re-cut a number of times over the years by Peter and was one of Peter's best recordings. Backed by Bob and Bunny, Tosh sings of the fate of the oppressors on the day of judgement. The track features some wonderful keyboard interplay between Gladstone Anderson and Glen Adams. The Rasta-influenced Arise Blackman calls for the black people of the world to unite and rally to the Rastafarian faith. Recorded in 1971 for Joe Gibbs. A nice compilation album that pulls together a large majority of Peter's
early recordings, the majority of the album is available elsewhere but
the inclusion of Pepper Seed and Reuben do make this an album worth
picking up. PETER TOSH and FRIENDS Tracks: Brand New Second Hand, Maga Dog, Skanky Dog, Boney Dog, Maingy Dog, Fat Dog, The Crimson Pirate, Rightful Ruler, Moon Dust, 400 Years, Ambitious Beggar, Memphis, Rudies Medley, The Return Of Alcapone, Them Ha Fe Get A Beaten, Reuben, Stop That Train, Sun Valley, Nobody's Business, Selassie Seranade, Downpressor, Pepper Seed, Arise Black Man, Romper Room, Brand New Second Hand |
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Released
on May 16, 2000 by Trojan records comes a compilation of early Peter
Tosh recordings entitled Arise Black Man. The artwork is rather plain,
with the same photo of Peter enjoying a spliff being used on the front
and back covers, whilst the liner notes by Laurence Cane-Honeysett fill
just 2 pages, giving a brief run down on the tracks included. A large
majority of this collection was issued on the Bob Marley & Friends
"Roots of a Legend" release.