Defibrillator: Toots & the Maytals, "Funky Kingston" (1973)

From the opening four-on-the-floor groove of “Time Tough” all the way to the final notes of the warm Caribbean breeze that is “Sailin’ On,” Toots & the Maytals’ Funky Kingston astounds. Frontman Toots Hibbert’s voice is a force of nature, radiating incredible passion and unbridled joy. The band’s harmonies are impossibly precise and their playing has a near hypnotic quality, yet the songs maintain buoyancy, feeling light, effortless and utterly joyous. Standouts include (but are certainly not limited to) the title track’s menacing piano romp, “Pressure Drop” (perhaps the happiest song ever written) and the excellent opener “Time Tough.” Also worth special mention are the two covers, a reggae revamp of the Richard Berry classic “Louie, Louie” and “Country Road,” a startlingly refreshing take on John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” If you’re a reggae fan, you need to resurrect this album; if you’re not, you soon will be.