It's not hard to blow your horn about Toots & the Maytals [ tickets ]. After 40 years in the industry, Frederick "Toots" Hibbert and his band of merry music-makers are currently making some of the most inspired music in the reggae game.

Unlike some other Jamaican legends, Toots is thankfully getting his due rewards for his inspired work. A whole new generation of listeners has discovered the singer thanks to last year's "True Love" CD, a collection of duets with such musical titans as Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Willie Nelson and Phish's Trey Anastasio. That effort earned the band a Grammy for Best Reggae Album back in February, which came as no surprise given the award show's track record with all-star collaborations (see Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company" and Santana's "Supernatural").

"True Love" is a solid album, certainly worthy of its hype, but the best way to experience Toots remains in concert. On Thursday (4/21), the vocalist brought his eight-piece band into The Fillmore in San Francisco and delivered an absolute clinic on how to balance good vibes with great musicianship.

Toots, a strongly gospel-influenced vocalist, sounded like he was preaching a sermon at times as he dealt extremely passionate and intense versions of old and new songs. In particular, the version of "Reggae Got Soul" came across like something performed at a revival service as Toots stood at the edge of the stage, leaned into the crowd and directed his attention on individuals. "He's got soul and he's got soul and he's got soul," he said as he moved his finger from fan to fan. "Everybody's got soul."

An early highlight was a groovy rendition of the classic "Do the Reggay," a 1968 single by the Maytals that is credited by many for giving the genre its name. Nearly as good was the poignant "True Love is Hard to Find," performed on the new album with Bonnie Raitt, and "Still is Still Moving to Me," a track from Willie Nelson's fantastic "Across the Borderline" album that the cowboy and the reggae star rerecorded on "True Love."

In most instances, the guest stars weren't missed on the concert version of the "True Love" material. In fact, "Pressure Drop" was actually better without Clapton's pushy lead. The same, however, can't be said of "Sweet and Dandy," which truly missed Anastasio's fret work.

Toots gave 150 percent on this night--literally. He was scheduled to play 90 minutes, and he stayed on stage for an extra 45 minutes. That type of true love for the music is certainly hard to find.