Toots and the Maytals: True Love : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

All-star duet albums are great and all, but let's get one thing straight: Toots Hibbert doesn't need any help. The reggae pioneer owns one of the genre's great voices, has recorded more than his share of Jamaican classics and, in four decades of regular touring, has earned a rep for turbocharged live performances.

That said, True Love is a Santana-style duets project in which Hibbert invites an impressive lineup of rock royalty, including Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Ryan Adams and No Doubt, to jump in as he and his band revisit his greatest hits and overlooked gems. A gracious host, the fifty-seven-year-old allows his guests plenty of room to shine: Adams gets the good verses on "Time Tough"; Rachel Yamagata, a sultry-voiced up-and-comer, slithers into the spotlight of "Blame on Me"; and Clapton, whose guitar has been quiet on his own recent recordings, is encouraged to take over "Pressure Drop."

Still, without even trying, Hibbert steals the show. His spry, easygoing "54-46 Was My Number," which features Jeff Beck, contains several scat-vocal eruptions, and the Shaggy-Rahzel tandem on "Bam Bam" evolves into a dizzying three-way vocal exchange. The rockers sound plenty passionate, but it's Hibbert's silky phrasing and wrenching declarations that send these songs airborne. Even if you have true love for the original versions, this collection is worth a listen.