Legalize It Exclusive LP

A Newbury Comics exclusive color vinyl pressing.

Reggae fans tend to fall either into a hawklike roots warriors category, la Peter Tosh, or dovelike peace-and-rights-niks, la Bob Marley. Most of us are armchair rebels, but Tosh’s ongoing war against the corrupt “shitstem,” as he dubbed it, was musical and personal: he endured many police beatings and jailings for speaking his mind and exercising his rights. He also battled for the herb, aka ganja or marijuana, and loved to thumb his nose at authority by taking the stage with a cigar-size spliff in hand to fuel his performance inspiration. Hence the title track of this 1976 Columbia Records. That and the album’s other 8 tunes fairly roil with Tosh’s prickly energy and roving intelligence, which is one good reason why they all endure as classic reggae boomshots. “Igziabeher (Let Jah Be Praised)” deserves special mention as prime musical testament to the depth of this Rastaman’s spiritual passion.

Album is foil-stamp numbered.