180g audiophile. With bonus album of rare and unreleased dub mixes.
"This record is definitely the best album Peter Tosh ever made. Its songs cover all the familiar (and recurrent) topics (except herb!) Tosh was known for dealing with: black consciousness, pan-africanism, rasta faith, social injustice - but in a lyrically slightly more inspired way than on most of his other records. Although, inspired: note that 3 of the 8 tunes on this album are re-workings of older songs (Downpressor was recorded by Lee Perry in 1971 as already a reworking of the older Sinner Man tune; Stepping Razor dates back to 1967, and added to that there's the classic 1973 Marley/Wailers anthem Get up Stand up), which leaves us with only 5 original new songs. But the good news is: Tosh' music has never sounded better than on this album, his first collaboration with the legendary riddim twins Sly & Robbie who - accompanied by Wailers' musicians like Tyrone Downie, Al Anderson and Wia Lindo, as wel as Bunny Wailer - provide a dense, hot musical backdrop that is rootsy and funky at the same time, thanks to the tight riddims and the rich clavinet, guitar and percussion arrangements. Some may consider the predecessor of this lp, the debut "Legalize it", his one and only timeless classic, and surely that one has its couple of standout songs, but while "Legalize it" also has its weak moments "Equal Rights" is certainly the most consistent one. So it's just a pity that it only has 8 songs - especially since Tosh' music never managed to reach the same standards afterwards, as from its successor "Bush Doctor" he developed a much more slick and commercial sound in an attempt to reach a mainstream audience and to become an international pop star."
Track list
Side A
Get Up, Stand Up
Downpressor Man
I Am That I Am
Stepping Razor
Side 2
Equal Rights
African
Jah Guide
Apartheid
Side C (Dub Versions)
Dub-pressor Man (Dub Version)
I Am That I Am (ShaJahShoka Dub Version)
Heavy Razor (ShaJahShoka Dub Version)
African (London Sound System System Dub Plate)
Side D
Jah Guide (Dub Plate)
Hammer (ShaJahShoka Dub Plate)
Blame The Youth (Dub Version)
Babylon Queendom (Dub Version)
Vampires (Dub Version)