Trojan Jamaica, the new reggae label co-founded by Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son and drummer for the Who and others) has unveiled a track from the forthcoming compilation, Red, Gold, Green & Blue: a cover of the early Fleetwood Mac song “Man of the World,” performed by the legendary Toots and the Maytals. Red, Gold, Green & Blue will arrive July 12.
Produced by Youth (U2, Paul McCartney) at Trojan Jamaica Studios in Ocho Rios, “Man of the World” sees frontman interpreting the blues number, written by former Mac guitarist Peter Green.
Watch “Man of the World” performed by Toots and the Maytals
Pre-order Red, Gold, Green & Blue at the link below.
Red, Gold, Green & Blue marks the first release from Trojan Jamaica, co-founded by Starkey and Sharna “Sshh” Liguz, his bandmate in the group SSHH. The collection features reggae artists performing classic blues, R&B and early rock ’n’ roll songs that first inspired the reggae revolution. “Man of the World” was preceded by a series of track releases, including Mykal Rose’s “I Put A Spell On You” (originally performed by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins) and an exclusive Rob Jevons remix of Bo Diddley’s “Gunslinger,” performed by Big Youth, both of which are available now for streaming and download. In addition, the official “I Put A Spell On You” companion visual, featuring a solo from Jamaican guitar great Ernest Ranglin, is streaming now.
Watch “Gunslinger (Rob Jevons Remix)” performed by Big Youth
Red, Gold, Green & Blue also includes Freddie McGregor, Phylea Carley, Kiddus I, Andrew Tosh, Robbie Shakespeare and Sshh, taking on songs by Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson, Peter Green, and Johnny & Shuggie Otis. Backing throughout the 13-track LP comes from a lineup of legendary musicians, including Starkey (guitar), Sly Dunbar (drum), Robbie Shakespeare (bass), Tony Chin (guitar), Cyril Neville (drums), Michael Rendall (keyboards, organ), and Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace (drums, organ).
Sshh, Toots Hibbert and Zak Starkey
The story of Trojan Jamaica began in 2016 when Starkey and Australian-born artist/producer Sharna “Sshh” Liguz united as SSHH, teamed up to reinvent the seminal song “Get Up Stand Up” (Bob Marley and Wailers’ co-founder, Peter Tosh) performing alongside Eddie Vedder and Carlton “Santa” Davis, George “Fully” Fullwood and Tony Chin of the pioneering reggae backing outfit known as Soul Syndicate. A video of the performance made its way to Jamaican entrepreneur Kingsley Cooper who immediately invited Starkey and Sshh to perform at the November 2016 opening of the Peter Tosh Museum in Kingston. Another invitation followed in 2017, inspiring the duo to begin work on what would soon become Trojan Jamaica.
Related: Zak Starkey has long occupied the position originated by the great Keith Moon
“We felt so warmly welcomed and at home in the musical community that we stayed and recorded all the music that has become Trojan Jamaica,” says Starkey in a press release. “We’re committed to presenting local artists together with international musicians who, like us, have been inspired by roots culture.”
In addition to Dunbar and Shakespeare, musicians contributing to the album include drummer Cyril Neville (the Meters, the Neville Brothers), guitarist Tony Chin (of the Soul Syndicate) and keyboardist Michael Rendell (the Orb, Pink Floyd).
“I find both reggae music and American blues to be similar with a different approach,” Starkey told Jamaica Observer last year. “Very cleverly, Jamaican music is ‘up’ music with a serious message. U.S. blues has a very similar message in the words but the music can be harder or more ‘down’, but both rock just as hard.”
Toots and the Maytals are currently on tour. Get the dates here and purchase tickets here.
Watch “I Put A Spell On You” performed by Mykal Rose
2 Comments so far
Jump into a conversation“Man of the World” is not a Fleetwood Mac song. It is a Peter Green song.
A Peter Green song that was recorded by Fleetwood Mac when he was a member.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_of_the_World_(song)