True Love

by Toots & the Maytals

Overview

The unstoppable Toots Hibbert had the distinction of christening Jamaica's greatest cultural export with his 1968 single "Do the Reggay." But for the all the love that roots holdouts and spring-breaking frat boys have given him over the years, Toots is far from a household name. True Love is the kind of all-star rehabilitation project that's become easier and easier in the digital era (just ask Carlos Santana): 15 chart-toppers ranging from Eric Clapton and Keith Richards to No Doubt and the Roots to Willie Nelson lend their voices to duets with Toots on favorites from the Maytals catalog. Few of them sound as if they were in the same room with the electric vocalist; some of them don't even seem to be on the same planet. But you can't deny the heart in this set. A still vital Hibbert is front and center, and the tracks are all recognizably ska and reggae. Even jaded listeners, wary of the name-dropping bonanzas these kinds of tributes often are, will have to admit that Eric Clapton's guitar sounds pretty good on "Pressure Drop," and the meeting of Bootsy Collins and Toots (and the Roots, on "Funky Kingston") has a certain unassailable logic. Chalk it up to the charismatic main man, and the durable material. The best Maytals songs are party jams, and numbers like "54-46 Was My Number" are solid enough to support all manner of intrusion, from Jeff Beck's relentless guitar ad-libs to Willie Nelson's trademarked behind-the-beat delivery of "Still Is Still Moving to Me" (which seems less a duet than a rhyming argument). For all that ornament, True Love underscores how powerful Toots is on his own -- perhaps the celebrity consensus convened here will earn the hardest-working Jamaican in show business the R-E-S-P-E-C-T he deserves.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/06/2004
Label:	V2 North America
UPC:	0638812718624
catalogNumber:	27186
Rank:	4766

Tracks

1. Still Is Still Moving to Me
2. True Love Is Hard to Find
3. Pressure Drop
4. Time Tough
5. Bam Bam
6. 54-46 Was My Number
7. Monkey Man
8. Sweet and Dandy
9. Funky Kingston
10. Reggae Got Soul
11. Never Grow Old
12. Take a Trip
13. Love Gonna Walk Out on Me@@Ben Harper
14. Careless Ethiopians
15. Blame on Me

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Toots & the Maytals   Primary Artist
Willie Nelson   Vocals
Ken Boothe   Vocals
U-Roy   Vocals
Jeff Beck   Guitar
Bonnie Raitt   Vocals,Slide Guitar
Ansel Collins   Organ,Piano
Pam Hall   Background Vocals
Trey Anastasio   Guitar,Vocals
Andy Bassford   Guitar
Bootsy Collins   Guitar,Vocals
Lloyd Brevett   Bass
Cedric Brooks   Tenor Saxophone
Hux Brown   Guitar
Dougie Bryan   Guitar
Eric Clapton   Guitar,Vocals
Paul Douglas   Drums,Tambourine
Sly Dunbar   Drums
Charles Farquharson   Organ,Piano
Richard Feldman   Guitar
Dean Fraser   Saxophone
Marcia Griffiths   Vocals
Terry Hall   Vocals
Carl Harvey   Guitar
Devon James   Guitar
Lloyd Knibbs   Drums
Bunny Wailer   Vocals
Robert Lyn   Keyboards
David Madden   Trumpet
Leon Mobley   Percussion
Dwight Pinkney   Guitar
Tim Pierce   Guitar
Brad Rice   Guitar
Keith Richards   Guitar,Vocals
Ronald "Nambo" Robinson   Trombone
Earl "Chinna" Smith   Guitar
Stephen Stewart   Organ,Piano
Uziah "Sticky" Thompson   Percussion
Jason Yates   Keyboards
Monalisa Young   Background Vocals
Shaggy   Vocals
Danny Axeman   Bass
Will Clark   Trombone
Rahzel   Vocals,Beat Box
Tom Dumont   Guitar
Gabrial McNair   Organ,Trombone
Gwen Stefani   Vocals
Ken Stewart   Piano
?uestlove   Percussion,Drums
Adrian Young   Drums
Tony Kanal   Bass
Ryan Adams   Guitar,Vocals
Mighty Mo Rodgers   Background Vocals
Leba Thomas   Background Vocals
Phil Jordan   Trumpet
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals   Guitar,Vocals
Kamiah "Little Klang" Gray   Piano
Oliver Charles   Percussion,Keyboards
Rachael Yamagata   Vocals
Jackie Jackson   Bass

Technical Credits

Willie Nelson   Composer
Ray Benson   Producer
Karl Derfler   Engineer
Clement "Coxsone" Dodd   Composer
Richard Feldman   Producer,Engineer,Executive Producer
Bryce Goggin   Engineer
Toots Hibbert   Composer
David Hinds   Composer
John Hudson   Engineer
Paul Q. Kolderie   Engineer
Leslie Kong   Composer
J.P. Plunier   Producer
Bob Rosa   Engineer
Jon Smeltz   Engineer
Stephen Stewart   Engineer
Tom Weir   Engineer
Anthony DeCurtis   Liner Notes
Gordon Dukes   Engineer
Kristin Callahan   Cover Photo
Todd Burke   Engineer
Rudolph Valentino   Engineer
Ted Paduck   Engineer
Mike Cacia   Executive Producer,Management
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals   Producer
Charlie Martinez   Engineer
Fab   Engineer
Kate Hyman   Executive Producer
Criss Burnes   Engineer
Fredrick Hibbert   Composer
Warwick Lynn   Composer
Alan Douglas   Engineer

Editorial Reviews

That Toots Hibbert's voice, drenched in Memphis soul and rooted in Jamaican gospel, is still a powerful instrument after four decades of performing is the first thing you notice while listening to this collection of duets with pop, rock and reggae artists. "Funky Kingston," featuring Bootsy Collins and the Roots is one of the best tracks here, retaining the loose, loopy groove of the original Maytals version, probably because, from Bootsy's opening invocation of "are you ready for some Toots, Roots and Boots," nobody seems to take things too seriously. Keith Richards manages not to sound too ravished on "Careless Ethiopians," while Ben Harper and Hibbert effectively ride an atmospheric, slow-burning arrangement of "Love Gonna Walk Out On Me" to emotional fulfillment. Hopefully True Love will bring the woefully overlooked Toots some well-deserved attention.

All Music Guide - Steve Leggett

The rockers sound plenty passionate, but it's Hibbert's silky phrasing and wrenching declarations that send these songs airborne.

Rolling Stone - Tom Moon

Rock-steady veteran makes his old hits as A-list duets.

Blender

The star power on hand, and Toots' own undiminished vocal ebullience, promises a winner.

Mojo

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