Peter Tosh — Legalize It | Reggae's #2 — Or Should He Be #1?

Peter Tosh — Legalize It | Reggae's #2 — Or Should He Be #1?

Author: Nate Bridges & Brandon Niznik June 9, 2026 Duration: 2:25:24

Reggae Summer Vol. 2 kicks off with Peter Tosh's 1976 debut, Legalize It — and we've got a guest. Brian Wallace, aka Dub Robot, returns for his second appearance on the show (he joined us last year for Exodus): a saxophonist, engineer, and the man who taught us reggae in the first place. Brandon's pick is the first solo album from the Wailer who never softened the message — recorded with what's essentially the Wailers minus Bob Marley, including Bunny Wailer, Rita Marley and Judy Mowatt. It sounds like a loose jam played to perfection, and it exists in two very different mixes: the bone-dry original Jamaican mix and the lush, Spector-ized version polished at CBS in New York.

We dig into Tosh's place as reggae's perpetual "number two" and the argument that he could have been number one, the Wailers split and the management feuds behind it, Al Anderson's New York guitar overdubs, the guitar Tosh built himself, the surprisingly forward-looking synth work, and the difference between Tosh's confrontational, specific protest and Marley's universal approach. Plus our standout songs, including the Bob Marley diss track hiding in plain sight, and Brian's deep cuts off the dub plates.

Email blackmarketreggae@gmail.com and leave a comment to be read on a future episode.


There’s a particular kind of conversation that happens when two working musicians sit down to really listen-not just hear, but dissect and appreciate the layers of a record. That’s the space Playback with Black Market Dub occupies. Hosted by producers Nate Bridges and Brandon Niznik, this podcast leverages their combined experience recording artists across many genres to inform a deeper dialogue about music. The format is elegantly simple: each episode, one of them selects an album, and together they review, debate, and unpack it. They go beyond track-by-track reactions, placing each work within its broader musical lineage, cultural moment, and historical significance. Whether it’s a foundational classic or a contemporary release, Nate and Brandon’s discussions are rooted in the technical and artistic choices that give an album its character. You’ll hear the insights of practitioners who know what it’s like to be on both sides of the glass, making this more than casual criticism-it’s a masterclass in attentive listening. The result is a consistently engaging and thoughtful exploration of why albums matter, delivered with the easy rapport of two friends who have spent a lifetime thinking about sound. Tune in for a music podcast that feels like sitting in on a great, informed conversation between creatives.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 39

Playback with Black Market Dub
Podcast Episodes
The Heptones – Night Food (feat. Devin Morrison & Joanne Highland) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:11:31
The best Jamaican vocal trio? It's Week 5 of Reggae Summer, and Brandon's pick is The Heptones' 1976 Island album Night Food — their Studio One classics re-cut at Harry J's studio into a lush, international-facing set.We…
Toots And The Maytals — Funky Kingston | The Funky Soul of Jamaica [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:29:07
This week its Toots and the Maytals' Funky Kingston, and we're joined by John Roy — of Unsteady and the A100s, founder of Smoke and Mirrors Sound System, and the man behind Escape Hatch Records — making his second appear…
Beck — Sea Change | The Breakup Album Everyone Misreads [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:51:15
Nate picked it (and is going through a breakup as we record this), Brandon was the engineer on a week of rehearsals with this exact band years ago, and we both arrived at the same hot take: Sea Change is not actually a s…
Supertramp - Breakfast In America | When Nerds Ruled Rock 'n Roll [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:06:05
Brandon picked it, Nate had never really listened to it, and our guest, Patrick Simon (musician, audio engineer, and Brandon's bandmate of a bazillion years) is a full-on Supertramp nerd. So we're putting Breakfast in Am…
Michael Jackson — Bad | Was This Michael's Last Good Album? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:56:30
We did it — we put Michael Jackson on Playback.This week, Nate picked Bad (1987) — Michael Jackson's seventh album, his third and final collaboration with Quincy Jones, and the impossible follow-up to Thriller. The album…