Mama Africa (180 Gram Vinyl) [Import]

Personnel: Peter Tosh (vocals, Clavinet); Donald Kinsey (guitar, background vocals); Steve Golding, Micky "Mao" Chin, Darryl Thompson (guitar); Dean Fraser (saxophone, horns); David Madden, Arnold Brackenridge, Junior "Chico" Chin (trumpet); Ronald "Nambo" Robinson (trombone); Keith Sterling (piano); Byron Allred (keyboards); Lebert "Gibby" Morrison, Robbie Shakespeare (bass); Carlton "Santa" Davis, Sly Dunbar (drums); Sticky Thompson, Scully Sims (percussion); Betty Wright, Dorrett Myers, Pam Hall, Audrey Hall, Raymond Hall (background vocals). Recorded at Dynamic Sound Studios, Kingston, Jamaica in 1983. Includes liner notes by Roger Steffens. All tracks have been digitally remastered. This is part of EMI Records "Peter Tosh Remasters" series. Released nearly five years before his violent death at the hands of thieves in 1987, MAMA AFRICA was the last studio album of new material released in Peter Tosh's lifetime. From his days as one of the original Wailers in the '60s, Tosh was one of Jamaican music's most outspoken and controversial artists. Though his former partner Bob Marley never shied away from political or social statements himself, Tosh eschewed Marley's gift for metaphor and parable in favor of such explicitly political slogans as the legendary "Legalize It." MAMA AFRICA features the similarly plainspoken anti-nuclear "Peace Treaty," complete with falling-bombs sound effects. The single, a reggae remake of "Johnny B. Goode," was a radio success. While it might seem on the surface to be a crass commercial move to remake a rock classic, Tosh's sly, dread-filled delivery makes plain the racial and social subtext of Chuck Berry's lyrics.