Another Historical Musical Breakthrough From Bob Marley
583556
While the first two Bob Marley & The Wailers full length albums&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Catch-a-Fire/dp/B00005KB9T/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Catch a Fire</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Burnin/dp/B00005KB9R/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Burnin</a>' did extremely well as the first records produced with Chris Blackwell,something clicked with them around the mid 70's. With the rise of punk and funk (no irony that those two genres have rhyming names),there was a sense of a number of different people making music that was not only different but socially rebellious from the mainstream. In in native Jamaica,Marley's Rastafarian spirituality and determined political stance reflected that to a point where reggae,the music he helped innovate and champion with the help of producer Lee Scratch Perry was becoming part of this new world of what I've often called people music. And considering the fact that three key members of the Wailers,including Peter Tosh,had left before the making of this album it showcased Marley's ability to rebound all the strong from just about any changes he would deal with.

  Hard for me to review reggae in a way since the very genre itself it defined by rhythms that don't generally change. But everything here definitely comes from two basic roots: the music of Africa and of African America. "Lively Up Yourself","No Woman,No Cry","Rebel Music" and the title song are all reggae and Bob Marley standards and represent an almost textbook example of the spiritual unity,Afrocentrism  and anti authoritarianism of classic reggae in every sense of the word. On other songs such as "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)","So Jah Seh",Bend Down Low",Talkin' Blues and the closing "Revolution" that message is bought even further to live by the inclusion of heavy gospel inspired organs and some slick rhythm guitar licks. All a potent reminder of how much reggae brings into it's nucleus from American soul and funk.

  The career of Bob Marley and the Wailers would change a bit after the release of this album. During this time even American acts such as The Jackson 5 were seeking Marley out (check out their "It's Too Late To Change The Time" to see how much of an influence Bob Marley had on the group and their songwriters). At the same time this was coming out of this band very organically. Of course as time would go on,some of the trappings of fame would have personal effects on Bob Marley's life. But he never changed his spiritual convictions or the musical mission he had started earlier. His overall intention was to use his growing fame to a broader audience to spread his message. And that's why it didn't matter if reggae didn't always seem very musically diverse: the rhythms were supposed to drive their messages home with a certain force. So melodically,rhythmically and most importantly lyrically this album is one of the most important for Marley and reggae in general.
4785761
I'm very tempted to launch straight into a track by track here, because Bob Marley genuinely needs no introduction. He remains one of the most iconic figures in the history of music, a political icon, Jamaica's most loved son, and reggae's biggest star (by a MASSIVE margin).
Released 1984.
Tuff Gong Records.
#46 on Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums Of All Time

Legend was issued originally in 1984, 3 years after Marley died from cancer. It quickly became the biggest-selling reggae album of all time, and it remains so to this day. Accordingly, the vast majority of the songs here have passed into the public consciousness so completely that you'll be able to sing the chorus to them despite never having knowingly heard them before.

This vinyl version has to be in everybody's collection!
1456443
A famous live album that deserves every accolade it has ever received. If you're looking for rock-solid, often amazing renditions of the classics, which were great to begin with, go here. The songs here have a funk edge that wasn't heard on the original studio album ("Positive Vibration"; "Punky Reggae Party"; "Concrete Jungle"), and they take risks with the arrangements, including a keyboard solo on "Stir it Up" and even a drum break on an overly trippy "Exodus". Lead guitarist Al Anderson also proves his mettle on several tracks, including "Concrete Jungle"; "Lively Up Yourself"; "Is This Love?"; "The Heathen" and "Rebel Music (3 O'clock Roadblock)". The solos on "Concrete Jungle" are particularly interesting, since they sound like Caribbean Hendrix. And Marley's straight-up soapbox protests - "War/No More Trouble"; "Rat Race"- are delivered with enough conviction to keep them from seeming like preaching. I mean, it's not easy to do that, because most people get so wrapped up in their cause that they forget to give us a decent hook or melody to work with. But this is Bob Marley we're talking about, one of the greatest protest writers ever, so he's very capable of it. Plus Marley lets his band jam on "Jammin'" (you think this was intentional?), and they really shine on it. Especially Al Anderson, not like that's a surprise or anything. I'm not in love with every one of these songs - "Exodus" is a disappointment, but it's not bad; and while "Kinky Reggae" isn't nearly as amazing as the faster version on Live!, it's hard not to get caught up in the slow, loping groove. Buy this immediately!
4515392
I first heard Bob Marley And The Wailers via the live single No Woman No Cry, a great all round performance.
However the whole live 7 + minutes on this CD is the ultimate Bob Marley sound.
Buffalo Soldier is another great song and there are several others.
To be honest if Bob had only recorded No Woman No Cry, that would have been enough for me to award 5 stars.
2485661
I'm not a reggae fan, but it doesn't prevent me from giving this album the 5-star rating it deserves. This is reggae at its best. Excellent recording quality and an excellent performance that will get anyone tapping their foot. Bob Marley's down-to-earth style never gets old and his energetic voice, coupled with some really nice percussion, a good groove, and backup vocals make this album a book you can't put down! Highly recommended.
3025880
This new digitally remastered version of Catch of fire is the best Bob Marley & The Wailiers have ever sounded on CD.  With classic tracks like Stir It Up, Kinky Reggae, No More Trouble and 400 years this is a must for any true Bob Marley & The Wailiers enthusiast.  The unreleased Jamaican version of Catch A Fire has a much more roots reggae feel to them then the Chris Blackwell, Island versions of the same songs and alone is worth the price of this two-disc.  I urge anyone you truly loves Bob Marely & the Wailiers to get this Double Disc Set, you won't regret it!
3497515
This is perhaps the rawest of the CD's of Marley's music that has surfaced since his untimely death in 1980. Mostly recorded at San Francisco's KSAN in 1973, we have some amazing versions of somewhat familiar tunes like "Rastaman Chant," "Bend Down Low" and "Kinky Reggae," etc. There is also Peter Tosh's interesting "You Can't Blame The Youth" with it's really thought-provoking lyrics, the title cut, which might surprise some people who still associate Marley mainly with "love and peace" songs like "One Love." The scorcher here is "Get Up Stand Up" with Peter Tosh delivering the original lyrics which were then considered too blasphemous and inflammatory for mass consumption. There are also interviews with Bob inserted between the songs, which require repeated listening for those unfaliliar with Jamaican patois.
802496
I love this CD!  Great music and excellent message!  Mumia Abu-Jamal is NOT a murderer but a brilliant journalist who was targeted by the Philadelphia Police Department for reporting on police brutality, and was railroaded to a murder conviction for SURVIVING a police officer's attempt to murder him.  It's too late to save Bob Marley but we can honor Marley's memory by freeing Mumia!<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Reggae-Free-Mumia/dp/B00004NS1H/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Reggae Free Mumia</a>
784343
Bob Marley and the Wailers are the reason why I started to listen reggae music. There are a lot of good reggae artists but this band is the LEGEND!!
2907076
This is the album that mixes today's hip-hop flavors with the original king of reggae music.  By using a combination of hip-hop beats and the original music, this album will become one of the hottest record's of the  year.  Bob would be proud of his son's masterful work on this tribute  album, bringing more notariety to the marley name, for today's generation.
1428876
This is reggae music for people who thought they didn't like reggae music, songs that cross musical borders. Jackie Mittoo had such a deft, versatile keyboard playing style that it truly was hard to pigeonhole him or categorize his sound. Yes, his music has roots in 1960s reggae and ska, but it also incorporates soul, jazz, and pop stylings too. The end result is a totally addictive sound.

I've lost track of how many times I've played this CD in my shop and a customer will ask either "Who is this playing?" ... or "Is that Booker T?" Indeed, Jackie Mittoo has a playing style that echoes the soulful riffs of Booker T's 1960s material, but he fuses that with other elements and influences to create his own distinctive sound. I'm not sure that it all qualifies as "groundbreaking" as the label raves, but it sure is an addictive pleasure to listen to.

The instrumental songs on this CD compilation are taken from Mittoo's work at Studio One, during the time he worked there as a songwriter, arranger, and recording artist from 1965-68. However, nowhere in the track listings or in the booklet that comes with the CD, are there any specific dates listed for each song. Presumably, Mittoo wrote all of these songs, but again the lack of detail for the song credits leaves you guessing. Other than those slightly odd omissions, the booklet has a short essay about Mittoo's recording career, tragically cut short at the age of 42 in 1990.

For fans of organ/keyboard playing greats such as Booker T,  Jimmy Smith, and Reuben Wilson, the music on this CD will be a revelation, if not a sheer listening pleasure. Reggae fans will like it too, but by no means do you have to be a reggae fan to appreciate this great instrumental music.
1430191
Where this album ranks in the list of Bob's music depends on your view. Here are three perspectives: Musical, Commercial and Political. Musically, reggae purists see it as weaker than it's predecessor -'Natty Dread'. That album was upbeat, positive, classic roots reggae with an emphasis on heavy bass and drum rhythms. An album loved in Jamaica because of it's tunes you could skank to. Generally good reggae meant that you could dance to it; lyrics were really not that important. 'Rastaman Vibration' started to change that and eventually most of Bob's music was listened to as much as it was danced to. Anyway, this album is bluesy, jazzy, downbeat.
Commercially it was a success because this was the album that the Wailers finally penetrated the US market with. 'Roots, Rock, Reggae' was a top ten hit, interestingly achieving one of the lines from the song - "we're bubbling on the top 100/just like a mighty dread" and ironically falling short on another line "play I on the R&B/want all my people to see." Credit for the albums breakthrough, starting in the big markets like N.Y., L.A. Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago, is due to airplay it received on rock radio, not R&B and soul stations.
Politically now. For anyone in Jamaica in the 1970's, this album (and later ones) served as the background music that seemed to either explain or foretell the significant events of the period. It was the backdrop to everything that was going on around us, and a lot was going on. You had your 'isms' - the ruling Peoples National Party (PNP) was introducing Socialism and the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) felt that they had to defend Capitalism. People felt strongly enough about their positions that they fought for them and citizens were increasingly getting caught up in it. An election was set for December to decide matters. The Government declared a national State of Emergency, some people were detained, there were some restrictions on what could be said and done, and some literature and music was banned. A term used to describe the times will create a vivid mental picture for anyone who was there - We were 'under heavy manners' In retrospect it's ridiculous to think that this album by Bob Marley could ever have been seen as inflammatory and a threat, but it was. 'War' 'Crazy Baldheads' 'Who the cap fit' and 'Rat Race' with it's lines "political violence fill ya city/Don't involve Rasta in your say say/Rasta don't work for no CIA" - all four songs were banned from the airwaves. Strange and maybe ironic because those are the four best songs musically and are the ones from the album that are considered classics.
1404593
Good DVD, great interviews, great full concert and extra material. It's hard not to like any Bob Marley related things! I literally have played this everyday in my car since purchasing it. It's good to see all the fans' reaction and how they appeared to have truly enjoyed themselves.
4416252
In the 1960's at the confluence of the streams of Jamaican independence and the messianic Rastafarian religion, there came a once in a lifetime musical genius who was born, if not in a stable, then in similarly unpromising surroundingss in the mountains of the Jamaican hinterland.
This is a very detailed book that explains a great deal about Bob Marley's background and career. Now I can tell you what a "goverment yard in Trenchtown" (from the lyrics of No Woman, No Cry) means and I know what Duppy Conqueror means. I did not know these things before.
This is certainly not a fan biography, or even a hagiography. In fact Marley does not even come across as a particularly likeable or admirable person. Perhaps there is a reason for this. I have a couple of CDs that have interviews with Bob Marley. It seems to me that Marley was not particularly articulate in person, and that what he had to say was all said in his songs. The author had many interviews with Marley in his lifetime, but none of them seem to have been very profound.
There is something about the style of the author that I don't particularly like, a certain like of directness or reference points, if you like. In a way he admits this in appendixes in which he says that he really has no way of telling what parts of much of the material he was told in interviews is true--so he just quotes it all, and lets you decide for yourself.
In the end it seems to me that White piles up lots and lots of data, but we don't learn much about Bob Marley the man. Maybe in the end the Natural Mystic eludes all attemps to pin him down. But the book does give tons of background information that helps to understand his music, and even the particular events in Marley's life that inspired the lyrics of certain songs.
The book is definitely worth having, but the true essence of Bob Marley lies in his music, which, fortunately we can all still enjoy today.
2226497
There is no one better to offer a retrospective of the life of Nesta Robert Marley than Mr. Roger Steffens.  For years he has been archiving everything he can find related to an artist the world has come to love and appreciate almost as much as Roger does.  It is that respect and love that comes across in the pages of this book as he reveals a more complete picture of Bob Marley's life than we have ever had before.  This is not a book about celebrating Bob's greatness - it is a book about really getting to know the guy.  Roger talks with most every important person in Bob's life to find out their impressions of Bob.  Mr Steffens paints a vivid and shimmering picture for us of how this country youth from Jamaica who apparently was not much of a singer or musician in his early years would grow to become one of the best known and loved musical and cultural personalities on the planet.

The fact that Roger Steffens is a Brooklyn born, middle class white American just adds to the significance of the story he tells.  This story really has little to do with race or separateness - it is about the triumph of One Love Inity.  I believe Robert Marley captivated Mr. Steffens for the same reason he continues to attract the attention of the world - Marley's mission was not about fame and fortune in the music industry - it was about freedom and human dignity and hope.  I have not yet finished the book and I really don't want it to end too soon.  It is a fascinating read and it does so much more than chronicle a man's life - it captures the Spirit of his mission to just be Bob and be a force of love, hope and redemption in the world for all time.

Thank you Bob and Roger for being such strong voices adding love, joy and hope to our world.
369787
This is the first ground-breaking reggae album to hit American music fans between the eyes, and Bob Marley & The Wailers led the way to gain more listeners in this genre of the entertainment field.  As Island Def Jam Music reissues in a Deluxe Edition "Rastaman Vibration", none of these songs were huge hits, but they are all solid and heartfelt; this is my favorite album. It includes well known songs such as "WAR","POSITIVE VIBRATION", "ROOTS, ROCK, REGGAE", "CRAZY BALDHEAD" and "WAR" with alternate mixes.
Possibly the best song on this collection is ~ "RAT RACE", hard hitting cue with amazing lyrics and Marley & the Wailers offer a truly amazing message.  A two-disc package loaded with extras, which include six previously unreleased mixes of past album tracks.  A great treasure is the nine previously unreleased live performances from the May 26, 1976 Concert at Roxy in Hollywood, California.  Much of this is digitally remastered with bonus tracks inclusive, a very moving album. Probably one of the best old school reggae albums with lessons for all of us to learn and grow by---this album is a keeper!
Total 2-CD-Set ~ Island Def Jam Music 440-063-446-2 ~ (2002)
3430078
This was an album of great transition for Bob, he had split with his childhood friends and original Wailers, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer.  Bob's influence over the band was becoming more and more pronounced and Tosh and Wailer decided that is not the direction they wished to go.  The revamped band was now, for the first time, known as "Bob Marley and The Wailers" as opposed to just "The Wailers" thus solidifying Marley as the primary leader of the band.

Bob truly took charge of the overall focus and direction of the group and wrote all the songs.  In an interesting twist of fate and one of the best business moves in music history, he assigned the credits for many of his songs to his close family memebers and friends as a way to make sure they were taken care of financial, certain charities he believed in and supported were funded and as a way to avoid contractual obligations to his former publishing company, Cayman Music.

Although this is a transition album of sorts, it sports some of his most memorable songs and one in particular that would be one of his defining moments, "No Woman, No Cry" which would gain much fame due to his incredible live performances of the record.  He would introduce the "I-Threes" a female vocal group that included his wife, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt.  Their vocals addeded a wonderful compliment to Bob's on songs such as one of my personal favorites on the album, "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)".  The writing on this album seems very personal and almost takes you on a journey through Bob's life in Jamaica and some of the obstacles he had to overcome.

This record is also a canvas for Bob to infuse some of his Rastafarian beliefs and he does a marvelous job of this on songs such as "So Jah Seh" and the title track "Natty Dread".  This album is almost like Bob saying "Here I Am, The Real Me" and he gives us a fairly detailed revelation of where his heart was and where his and the bands focus was now going to be.  I believe this to be one of his most profound works and it's one of my personal favorites.  It's only years after it's release and in particular after his death that I think many truly appreciated this album for it's greatness.

There are many wonderful songs beyond "No Woman, No Cry" that make this a truly wonderful album and it gives it's listener a front row seat into some of the many tragic situations going on in his homeland and, indeed, many of the places dear to his heart such as the other island nations, Africa and United States.  Bob Marley was a revolutionary in every since of the word and he would spend the remainder of his tragically short life fighting for the cause, "Revolution".