Wanted Dread & Alive [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: Peter Tosh
Artist: Robbie Shakespeare; Sly Dunbar; Jon Faddis; Gwen Guthrie; Lew Soloff
Engineer: Geoffrey Chung
Producer: Nigel Reeve; Peter Tosh
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Peter Tosh (vocals, arranger, guitar, keyboards, percussion); Gwen Guthrie (vocals); Mikey "Mao" Chung; Pee-Wee (flute); Dean Fraser (alto & tenor saxophones); A. Brackenbridge, D. Madden (trumpet); Nambo (trombone); Lou Marini, Jon Faddis, Lew Soloff (horns); Robbie Shakespeare (bass); Sly Dunbar (drums); Iziah "Stick" Thompson, Noel "Scully" Sims (percussion); The Tamlins (background vocals). Recorded at Dynamic Sound Studios, Kingston, Jamaica in 1981. Includes liner notes by Roger Steffens. All tracks have been digitally remastered. This is part of EMI Records "Peter Tosh Remasters" series. Personnel: Peter Tosh (vocals, background vocals); Gwen Guthrie (vocals); Dean Fraser (alto, tenor saxophone); D. Madden (trumpet); Nambo (trombone); Jon Faddis, Lew Soloff, Lou Marini (horns); Sly Dunbar (drums); The Tamlins (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Geoffrey Chung. Liner Note Author: Roger Steffens. Recording information: Dynamic Sound Studio, Kingston, Jamaica. Arranger: Peter Tosh. Not many singers can sing "I am wanted by the evil forces" without sounding paranoid, but with Peter Tosh, you believe it. By 1982, Peter Tosh had been brutalized by the Jamaican police more than once. His chief crime was speaking out against the forces of oppression in his native land. As the wanted poster on the cover indicates, WANTED DREAD OR ALIVE finds Peter Tosh in a typically combative mode. The record begins with both guns blazing on the menacing "Coming in Hot." The mood lets up on the uncharacteristically schmaltzy "Nothing But Love," a duet with soul diva Gwen Guthrie, and on the laid-back "Reggae-Mylitis," a sort of dreadlocked cousin of "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu." But in general, this is dark stuff indeed. He inveighs against the wickedness of Babylon on the chilling "Cold Blood" and the crisp, powerful title track. A rock-solid backing group, including the legendary rhythm section of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, supplies sympathetic support to Tosh's gruff, impassioned vocals. On "That's What They Will Do," Tosh sings of friends' betrayal, eerily presaging his death at the hands of a former companion in 1987. Peter Tosh's final album for the Glimmer Twins' imprint label found him continuing to relish his image of urban bandit, as the Wild West-style wanted poster graphics aptly illustrate. So does the slinky title track, which comes off as a downmarket "I Shot the Sheriff," yet done with panache. "Coming in Hot" is a classic statement of intent, while "Nothing But Love" is an inspired reggae-pop crossover affair that marks one of the few times he ever shared the mike with someone else. "The Poor Man Feel It" and "Cold Blood" retread Tosh's pessimism and scorn toward the political landscape. The former song is crippled by a numbingly obvious hook that wouldn't give Bob Dylan sleepless nights ("gotta find a solution to all the pollution"), though its heartfelt compassion shines through. "Reggaemylitis," on the other hand, reads like a clunky roots response to "Boogie Fever," but is good, mindless fun (not a word often associated with Tosh). The longer tracks provide the most compelling moments. "Rastafari Is" would be a deadly dull roots religious lecture without the mantra-like hand percussion, organ, and lead guitar lines bobbing and weaving throughout its six minutes. "That's What They Will Do" fires a shot across the bow at people who Tosh feels have betrayed him, with lead guitarist Darryl Thompson firing off some spiffy countrified licks. "Fools Die" is the biggest surprise, bearing little relation to Tosh's recorded output. The track builds on a simple pad of acoustic guitar and electric piano, while Pee-Wee improvises soaring flute lines behind an impassioned Tosh plea for humanity to clean up its act. It's a daring departure and an impressive mood piece; such gestures would have gone a long way elsewhere, too. There's a nagging sense of little new ground being broken, which won't bother the diehards; after all, they're the ones who keep stuff like this in print. ~ Ralph Heibutzki

Along with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh was a founding member of Jamaican reggae legends the Wailers. With his rough-and-tumble sound and image, Tosh gave the early incarnation of the Wailers an edge that was informed by ska and its "rude boy" lifestyle. Splitting from the group in the mid-1970s, Tosh embarked on a solo career with the pro-marijuana album LEGALIZE IT. Sadly, in 1987, Tosh was gunned down during an incident at his home in Kingston, ending the life of a reggae innovator.

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