Mystic Man was the second album in Peter Tosh’s promising, but ultimately thwarted bid for the recognition he so richly deserved by joining the label of much bigger stars: Rolling Stones Records. Released in 1979, as his fourth solo album after 15 years at the top of reggae, it was a reminder that Tosh had once been the most likely breakout star from The Wailers, several years ahead of Bob Marley. It was he who initially revealed a completely distinct voice among the group’s three key members; he who first released numerous singles with his name fronting the group – even if record labels often erroneously printed it as “Peter Touch”; and he who sounded the fiercest among the wailing Wailers. Tosh should have been a major star worldwide.
Listen to ‘Mystic Man’ here.
Burning with soul fire
Mystic Man had most of the qualities that could have delivered such status: strong songs, authenticity, presence and attitude, the necessary reggae rebel militancy, and, as its title suggests, a certain mystique. What the album didn’t possess was an obvious pop smash: the nearest candidate was Buk-In-Hamm Palace, an alluring disco thumper kicked in by a Robbie Shakespeare bass intro akin to the opening B-line to Roxy Music’s Love Is The Drug. However, its “Light your spliff, light your chalice” chorus and scathing anti-royalty lyric was always going to terrify mainstream radio. But make no mistake: the album rocks with further gems.
