October 31, 1978 - Peter Tosh and Bush Doctor

I am embarrased to report that one of the songs in my timeline was mislabeled under 1988 instead of 1978! Thankfully it's just a one-off song that was mixed up and not a whole album, but it's a cool song that should have been heard a decade ago! On October 31, 1978, Peter Tosh (formerly of The Wailers) released his third solo album "Bush Doctor", of which I have only the title track. The title track is about legalizing marijuana in Jamaica and it even features legendary guitarist Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones! The song opens with Tosh saying "warning. The surgeon general warns cigarette smoke is dangerous" which seems a little out of place since the rest of the song is about weed and not cigarettes. After this odd opening things settle into a nice reggae riff and they go right into the chorus. There are some female back-up singers just like in The Wailers music and they ooh along while Tosh sings "to legalize marijuana, right here in Jamaica yeah". Richard's adds some cool guitar here and there to spice things up as well and Tosh continues singing into the first verse: "there'll be no more smoking and feeling tense. When I see them, I know I don't have to jump no fence." Being a stoner myself, I relate to these feelings and how much easier things would be if marijuana were legal. They continue to alternate the catchy chorus with short verses of Tosh singing about how things would be better and each one flows smoothly into the next in this cool reggae beat. I also like the line "there'll be no more need to smoke and hide, when you know you're taking a legal ride" which precedes the final chorus as things slowly fade to an end. I'm very sorry this song showed up a decade late, but I'm happy it was covered now as it is a cool stoner jam for sure.

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