Peter Tosh – Equal Rights (2xLP, Music On Vinyl, Orange Vinyl)

Peter Tosh's Equal Rights arrived in 1977 as the second solo album from a founding Wailer, and it remains the record most closely tied to his uncompromising political voice. Tosh was a committed advocate for human rights, and these songs make that plain: the title track insists that peace means little without justice, while "Apartheid" and "African" push his writing beyond personal testimony toward international solidarity. It is the album that established him as a major force in reggae in his own right, rather than simply a former bandmate of Bob Marley.

What makes Equal Rights last is how directly that message is carried by the music. Tosh revisits "Get Up, Stand Up," the song he co-wrote with Marley, and turns it into something leaner and more hard-edged, while "Downpressor Man" and "Stepping Razor" became defining statements of his militant, self-possessed style. Across the album, the blend of roots reggae drive and sharp, forceful singing gives the politics real weight rather than treating them as slogans.

This expanded edition also helps explain why the album has kept its reputation. Alongside the original record, the bonus disc gathers rare and previously unreleased material that had only circulated on dubplates, including alternate and dub versions that open up Tosh's sound-system afterlife. For vinyl listeners, that makes this less a routine repress than a fuller picture of one of reggae's most durable and debated albums.

Features

• 2xLP, 180g, Music On Vinyl, Orange Vinyl, Limited Expanded Numbered Edition
• Bonus disc with rare and previously unreleased tracks, including material previously only available on dubplates
• Limited to 3000 individually numbered copies
• Deluxe sleeve with linen laminate finish and 4-page booklet

Reviews

• among the handful of best, and most influential, reggae albums ever recorded. - AllMusic.com