Legalize It
| Legalize It | ||||
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| Studio album by Peter Tosh | ||||
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Publication |
1976 |
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| Label (s) | EMI | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP |
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Title (number) |
9 |
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running time |
39 min 04s |
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| occupation |
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Studio (s) |
Randy's Studio (Kingston) and others |
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Legalize It is a roots reggae album by Peter Tosh that dates back to 1976. The title song is considered to be one of the musician's most famous songs. The album was indexed in Germany since 1980 , but was still openly sold. Indexing was formally lifted in 2005.
Track list
- Legalize It - 4:40
- Burial - 3:53
- Whatcha Gonna Do - 2:25
- No Sympathy - 4:33
- Why Must I Cry - 3:04
- Igziabeher (Let Jah Be Praised) - 4:35
- Ketchy Shuby - 4:56
- Till Your Well Runs Dry - 6:07
- Brand New Second Hand - 4:03
content
In the title track Tosh propagated (meaning a marijuana-Minister) in simple terms to as self-appointed "Minister of Herbs" marijuana drug consumption, noting that many diseases alleviated so and broad sections of the population would use the drug. At the time of publication, cannabis and cannabinoids had barely the status they enjoy as medicines today. The cover of the album shows Tosh smoking in the middle of a marijuana plantation. He calls for the drug to be legalized ( “legalize it, and I will advertise it” ). Tosh draws on his experience in combating pain and coping with grief after a serious car accident in 1972 in which his partner was killed and he suffered severe head injuries. Not only the title track, but also other tracks on the album openly or allegorically deal with “ soft drugs ”. Musically solid roots reggae is offered, and reviewers particularly praised the excellent solo guitar.
review
Immediately after its release, the album was a great success and proved that Tosh, who had previously worked with Bob Marley for twelve years , was also able to convince solo both conceptually and musically. Peter Tosh released other albums of similar content in a row, with Bush Doctor again being a hit. Its chorus line “Legalize Marihuana” seamlessly follows on from “Legalize it”; Peter Tosh became the foremost musical protagonist of the advocates of soft drugs. Conservative radio stations boycotted Tosh. Only two years after the release of his solo debut "Legalize It" he was still in the opening act for the Rolling Stones in 1978 , on whose label some of his albums were also released.
"Legalize it" was classified and indexed as harmful to young people in 1980 by the Federal Testing Office for writings harmful to minors together with Tosh's single Get Up, Stand Up . The rights holders CBS and Sony , however, continued to openly sell and promote the album in the standard repertoire. There was an increasing number of discussions that expressed a broad lack of understanding for indexing. Countless new editions have appeared since the record was released, including many within the oldie series or as “nice-price” editions. The indexing was not formally lifted until May 2005.
Due to its great sales success, the album is still considered a milestone in roots reggae 30 years after its release and Peter Tosh, who died in 1987, is one of the main protagonists of the genre.
With "Legalize It", Peter Tosh created the slogan of a movement that advocates the legalization of cannabis products. At least since this album it was clear what was meant by “Legalize it”, even if the title line does not explicitly name the material to be legalized.
CD reissues 1999 and 2004
In 1999 the album was reissued as a CD by Sony Music, digitally remastered and even received a bonus track with the instrumental version by Ketchy Shuby (previously unreleased). With the same track listing, the recording appeared in the Spiegel Edition - The Vinyl Classics series in 2004 as a black CD with vinyl grooves on the label side. The CD case is also in a cardboard slipcase, which has a cutout on the right front side through which the vinyl groove look can be seen.