The Maytals From The Roots 180g Import LP

Toots Hibbert, Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" Mathias founded The Maytals in 1962. The Jamaican musicians became one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups and helped popularize reggae music during the Sixties. Their 1968 single "Do The Reggay" was the first song to use the word "Reggae", resulting in the Oxford English Dictionary crediting Toots and The Maytals in the etymology of the word "Reggae".

Following their signing to Island Records in 1973 they recorded and released their fourth album, From The Roots. The album was recorded with Leslie Kong and features some of The Maytals' most explosive tunes, while their predilection for gospel is still audible.

The record was cobbled together from odds and ends of tracks recorded between 1969 and 1970 for Leslie Kong's Beverley's label, and while it doesn't contain any of the more famous Kong-produced cuts, it still exhibits the Maytals' trademark Jamaican version of gospelfervor, led by lead singer Toots Hibbert's barn-burning vocal style. Arguably this album, along with its Kong-produced predecessor, 1970's Monkey Man, contains the best and most explosive tracks in the Maytals' discography.