ALBUM: Bush Doctor (1978)
MVC Rating: 4.0/ $$$$
Fine reggae music. Tosh’s smooth as syrup baritone provided a nice contrast to Mick Jagger’s usual, well you know, Jagger-voice.
A Jagger-Tosh duet,(You) Got to Walk and Don’t Look Back was a hit single for them or ‘dem’ as we use the Jamaican vernacular — as in this lyric from the album: Dem ha fe get a beaten dem ha fe get a beaten/dem can’t get away
That song ‘Dem Ha Fe Get a Beaten’ is a call to fight the financial inequities in their country. The song starts:
Do (sic?) to unfavorable financial conditions/I’m unable to cope with this financial shituation (maybe not sic)/It’s causing an inflation upon creation
One way to stimulate the economy Tosh sings is:
Dem legalize marijuana, right here in Jamaica, Dem say it cure glaucoma/ I man a de Bush Doctor
Forty years later, Tosh’s words sound prophetic as states and countries around the globe decriminalize and legalize its use.
The album ends with a hymn of sorts with a spoken word recitation of the creation story (If you’re unfamiliar with Rastafarian religion, Jah = God.)
In the beginning was the word/And the word was with Jah/ And the word was Jah … Jah is my keeper/Jah is my health and my strength/So who shall I fear
Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare — the world’s best rhythm section, do their usual bottom best.