Funky Kingston is the 1973 album by Toots & The Maytals, the record that first carried the Jamaican group's music to a British and international audience. This Music On Vinyl reissue restores the original eight track Jamaican and UK album on 180 gram audiophile vinyl.
Two Albums, One Title
Two different records carry the name Funky Kingston. The first was issued in Jamaica and the UK in 1973 on Dragon, a subsidiary of Chris Blackwell's Island Records. A second album, sharing the same title and the same sleeve artwork, was assembled for the United States in 1975 on Mango, compiled from three earlier Maytals albums; it is that American compilation that appears on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list. This pressing is the original 1973 eight track album, not the 1975 American selection.
The Album
The Maytals had been consistent hit makers in Jamaica through the 1960s and gave the genre its name with the 1968 single "Do the Reggay". When the music for Funky Kingston was recorded, reggae was still little known outside Jamaica. Chris Blackwell tailored the group for the international market, as he would do with The Wailers the following year, but kept his additions light; the most notable is a set of horn overdubs by the Ghanaian band Sons of the Jungle. The songs take in the difficulties of working class and country life in Jamaica alongside a run of American rhythm and blues covers: Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", Ike Turner's "I Can't Believe" and the Shep and the Limelites standard "Daddy's Home". The title came from a suggestion by Blackwell, who had noted the crossover success of "Funky Nassau" in 1971.
Recording
Recorded in 1972 at Dynamic Sounds Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, and at Island Studios in London. Produced by Warwick Lyn, Chris Blackwell and Dave Bloxham, with vocals from Toots Hibbert, Raleigh Gordon and Jerry Matthias. Sleeve design by Visualeyes.
Pressing and Packaging
A single LP pressed on 180 gram audiophile black vinyl, manufactured and distributed by Music On Vinyl for Universal Music and released in June 2019 as part of the label's Selected Reggae Classics series. The sleeve reproduces the original 1973 artwork, with the tracklist and credits printed on the reverse.
Tracklist
Side One
- Sit Right Down
- Pomps And Pride
- Louie, Louie
- I Can't Believe
Side Two
- Redemption Song
- Daddy's Home
- Funky Kingston
- It Was Written Down
The "Redemption Song" here is a Toots Hibbert composition, credited to F. Hibbert on the record label, and is not the Bob Marley song of the same name.