Got to Be Tough (Toots and the Maytals album)
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| Got to Be Tough | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 28 August 2020 | |||
| Studio | Reggae Center, Jamaica | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:26 | |||
| Label | Trojan Jamaica/BMG | |||
| Producer | Toots Hibbert, co-producers: Nigel Burrell, Zak Starkey, Youth[1] | |||
| Toots and the Maytals chronology | ||||
| ||||
Got to Be Tough is a studio album by Jamaican reggae band Toots and the Maytals. It was released through Trojan Jamaica/BMG on 28 August 2020[2] and financed by Trojan Jamaica owner Zak Starkey, who also played guitar for the recording.[3] The album is the first studio release from Toots and the Maytals in more than a decade[4] and the first after an accident wherein bandleader Toots Hibbert was hit in the head with a glass bottle, leading to his hiatus from performing.[5] The lyrical content of the album is political, featuring pleas for unity among people.[6]
Got to Be Tough was the band's final studio release before Hibbert's death on 11 September 2020 due to complications from COVID-19.[7][8] After his death, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[9]
Critical reception[edit]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.1/10[11] |
| Metacritic | 74/100[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [12] |
| And It Don't Stop | A−[3] |
| The Arts Desk | [13] |
| Crack Magazine | 6/10[5] |
| Exclaim! | 7/10[14] |
| Gigwise |   [6] |
| NME | [15] |
| The Observer | [16] |
| Pitchfork | 6.5/10[17] |
| Rolling Stone | [18] |
Got to Be Tough was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an average score of 74, based on 10 reviews.[10] Reviewing in his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau said, "What I like about these [songs], and Starkey must have too, is how conscious they are. Having long favored danceable love songs, [Hibbert] spends most [of] these 36 minutes looking time tough in its ugly face. 'Just Brutal,' 'Warning Warning,' and 'Got to Be Tough'; bus fares, low wages, invisible pensions, and picking yourself up off the ground. But he's also proud to stand accused for feeding his enemies."[3] Tom Dibb from Gigwise wrote that the album "calls the world to task, and has them dancing all the while", describing it as "politically minded, brutally honest but maintaining the heartfelt and soulful nature of rocksteady and ska".[6] Variety magazine's Steve Bloom also applauded Hibbert's messages of optimism on songs that "alternate between reggae and R&B".[19]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Drop Off Head" | Frederick Hibbert | 3:52 |
| 2. | "Just Brutal" | Hibbert | 3:35 |
| 3. | "Got to Be Tough" | Hibbert | 4:06 |
| 4. | "Freedom Train" | Hibbert | 3:41 |
| 5. | "Warning Warning" | Hibbert | 3:54 |
| 6. | "Good Thing That You Call" | Hibbert | 3:02 |
| 7. | "Stand Accused" | Hibbert | 3:23 |
| 8. | "Three Little Birds" (featuring Ziggy Marley) | Bob Marley | 5:20 |
| 9. | "Having a Party" | Hibbert | 5:21 |
| 10. | "Struggle" | Hibbert | 5:12 |
| Total length: | 41:26 | ||
Personnel[edit]
- Producer: Frederick "Toots" Hibbert[1]
- Co-producers: Nigel Burrell, Zak Starkey, Martin "Youth" Glover[1]
Other - credits taken from AllMusic:[12]
- Nigel Burrell – drum programming, engineer, harmony
- Tomas Crow – engineer
- Lisa Davis – harmony
- Sly Dunbar – drums
- Latoya Hall-Downer – harmony
- Carl Harvey – guitar
- Frederick "Toots" Hibbert – bass, composer, drums, guitar, harmony, keyboards, vocals
- Leba Hibbert – harmony
- Stewart Hurwood – guitar technician
- Sharna Liguz – cover art concept
- Gavin Lurssen – mastering
- Bob Marley – composer
- Ziggy Marley – featured artist, vocals
- Dario Morgan – guitar
- Cyril Neville – percussion
- Max Noise – engineer
- Conrad Pinnock – saxophone
- Delroy "Fatta" Pottinger – engineer
- Michael Rendall – engineer
- Dwight Richards – trumpet
- Nambo Robinson – trombone
- Dave Sardy – mixing
- Sheldon Palmer – saxophone
- Sshh – editing
- Zak Starkey – editing, guitar
- Ringo Starr – tambourine
- Steven Stewart – keyboards
- Bruce Sugar – engineer
- Toots & the Maytals – primary artist
- Twiggy – harmony
- Dale Voelker – design, illustrations
- Hopeton Williams – trumpet
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Toots And The Maytals – Got To Be Tough (2020, Vinyl) - Discogs (see photos of the booklet)
- ^ Daly, Rhian (9 August 2020). "Listen to Toots And The Maytals, Ziggy Marley and Ringo Starr team up on Bob Marley cover". NME. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ a b c Christgau, Robert (13 January 2021). "Consumer Guide: January, 2021". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ Fine, Jason (18 August 2020). "A Reggae King Rises Again". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ a b Kalia, Ammar (28 August 2020). "A political and socially minded offering that's packed full of dub bliss". Crack Magazine. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Dibb, Tom (26 August 2020). "A political and socially minded offering that's packed full of dub bliss". Gigwise. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "Toots Hibbert, Reggae Star, Has Died". The Wall Street Journal. Associated Press. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ Meschino, Patricia (12 September 2020). "Toots Hibbert, Reggae Ambassador And Leader Of Toots And The Maytals, Dies At 77". NPR. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ "Toots And The Maytals Win 'Best Reggae Album' At 2021 Grammys". DancehallMag. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Got to Be Tough by Toots & the Maytals". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ "Got To Be Tough by Toots & The Maytals reviews". AnyDecentMusic. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ a b Deming, Mark. Review of Got to Be Tough at AllMusic. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ Oddy, Guy (12 September 2020). "Album: Toots & the Maytals - Got to be Tough". theartsdesk.com. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ Doole, Kerry. "Reggae Legends Toots and the Maytals Find Their Footing in the Modern World on 'Got to Be Tough'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ Clarke, Patrick (25 August 2020). "Toots And The Maytals – 'Got To Be Tough' review: reggae legends keep up the good fight". NME. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ Spencer, Neil (12 September 2020). "Toots and the Maytals: Got to Be Tough review – a muscular, uptempo final album". The Observer. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ Rytlewski, Evan (3 September 2020). "Toots and the Maytals: Got to Be Tough Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ Newman, Jason (31 August 2020). "Reggae Legend Toots Hibbert Roars Back With 'Got to Be Tough'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ Bloom, Steve (28 August 2020). "True to These 'Tough' Times, Toots and the Maytals' Latest Promises Things Will Be Alright: Album Review". Variety. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
External links[edit]
- Got to Be Tough at Discogs (list of releases)
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