Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Sep 4, 2020The old saying that the more things change the more they stay the same could be the throughline to “Got to Be Tough,” which, nearly two dozen albums in, is full of messages that will resonate with today’s listeners.
-
Aug 31, 2020The ska-reggae legend sounds stronger than ever on Got to Be Tough, his first album in more than a decade.
-
Aug 28, 2020Singing, however, is always what Toots has done best, and Got to Be Tough confirms that he takes a back seat to no one when he steps up to the mike, and its arrival is a joyous occasion.
-
MojoAug 26, 2020A joy. [Sep 2020, p.84]
-
Aug 28, 2020Hibbert’s voice certainly sounds older, perhaps even a little weaker, but it still has a communicative power that sometimes allows it to sit at the forefront of the music.
-
Aug 26, 2020The potency of Toots Hibbert's material is evidenced by the presence of his classic tune "Pressure Drop" in a current TV beer commercial. No single track on Got to Be Tough matches up to that song, but this is a solid offering from the 77-year-old.
-
Sep 3, 2020It may not rival his classic albums—and it never deludes itself into thinking it does—but Got To Be Tough captures Hibbert as committed as always, still giving it all he’s got.
-
Sep 14, 2020Toots may sing in a more confined register, but the exuberance and moaning soulfulness from his youth in the Baptist church remain splendidly intact on this vigorous final outing.
-
UncutAug 26, 2020The once robust voice is thinner but still gruffly effective. [Oct 2020, p.39]
-
Aug 26, 2020Though often overpowering and, by the end of the record, a little wearing, this palette provides a consistent buoyancy and energy – and there are plenty of times when The Maytals turn it to their advantage.