Scrolls of the Prophet - The Best of Peter Tosh

Is it just me? Or am I the only one who ever find his last name funny? A mixture of the Brit slang "toss" and the local "Toceng" (toch), am I the only one thinking of self-abuse when I see his name?

That aside, this comp will do for the time I'm waiting for my future gf to pass me the downloaded "Legalize It". At first listen, the complexity of the harmonic interplay of the bass and guitars is way beyond anything that Marley can muster. The similarities between the both of them are there, though, as it's a high probability that Marley wrote on the guitar and as stated in the liner notes, Tosh taught him how to play. Anyway for all its complexity, the melodies are instantly accessible even if the lyrics have a harder edge that may not suit the commerciality of the tunes. I would say that if the melodies were given Burning Spear's mantra-esque repetitiveness, they would fit the mood of the lyrics more.

This one has a glaring omission in "Stop That Train" but otherwise, all the good ones are here, even if I preferred the Wailers' "Downpressor Man" (on "Soul Rebels") rather than the more mechanical version here. There's some synthy poppy rocksteady on "(You Gotta Walk and) Don't Look Back" with Jagger guest starring. "Fools Die" is a pleasant migration away from reggae, and the live acoustic "Get Up Stand Up" just shows how venomous he can be towards his forced Christian upbringing.

I dunno, this is my first Tosh excursion but believe you me, I'll be checking out more of his stuff.