"
Pressure Drop" is the title of a song recorded in 1969 by
Toots & the Maytals for
producer Leslie Kong. The song appears on the Maytals' 1970 albums
Monkey Man (released in Jamaica by Beverley's Records) and
From the Roots (released in the UK by
Trojan Records). "Pressure Drop" helped launch the band's career outside Jamaica when the song was featured in the
soundtrack to the 1973 film
The Harder They Come, which introduced
reggae to much of the world. The song later appeared on the
K-Jah West radio station in the video game
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, released in 2004.
The same year, Rolling Stone rated the song #446 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Cover versions
The first
cover showed up by
Robert Palmer on his second
solo album, the aptly titled
Pressure Drop released in
1975.
The song was next covered by The Clash. They included the song as the b-side to their 1979 "English Civil War" single, and can also be found on their compilation albums Black Market Clash, released in 1980, the 1994 Super Black Market Clash, and the 2006 Singles Box. The Clash's version of "Pressure Drop" is also featured in the Nissan Rogue commercials and is used as the theme to Air America Radio's "Sam Seder Show."
Izzy Stradlin covered the song on his solo album Izzy Stradlin & the Ju Ju Hounds.
The Specials do a cover of the song that is featured in the film Grosse Pointe Blank.
The Oppressed covered the song on their album "Music For Hooligans"
Joxe Ripiau feat. Fermin Muguruza covered the song in Basque on their album Positive Bomb released in 1996.
In 2003 Keith Richards recorded a rendition of "Pressure Drop" with Toots and the Maytals; it was released in December 2007 as the B-side of Richards' iTunes re-release of "Run Rudolph Run".
Irish singer-songwriter David Kitt also recorded a cover of this song on his cover album entitled The Black and Red Notebook
Notes
References
- Gilbert, Pat (2005). Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash. 4th edition, London: Aurum Press.
- Gray, Marcus (2005). The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town. 5th revised edition, London: Helter Skelter.
- Green, Johnny; Garry Barker (2003). A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash. 3rd edition, London: Orion.
- Gruen, Bob; Chris Salewicz (2004). The Clash. 3rd edition, London: Omnibus.
- Needs, Kris Joe Strummer and the Legend of the Clash. London: Plexus.
- Topping, Keith (2004). The Complete Clash. 2nd edition, Richmond: Reynolds & Hearn.