2.7.13

On February 7th I listened three Bob Marley And The Wailers albums in honor of Bob’s birthday on the sixth. 

Bob Marley died of cancer on May 11, 1981. When they discovered a malignant tumor in his toe, Doctors said, “go grab a machete and a bottle of rum, we’re gonna fix this right now.” Bob said “no,” because of his religious beliefs and he died a slow and painful death. If it was me, I would have let them take my toe off with a pair of rusty scissors. But that’s just me, I have no convictions.

Because Bob’s Legend compilation has sold over 14 million copies in the U.S., it was too easy to skip passed his ginormous body of work. I’m sure guilty of doing that. Back in my day, they handed out Legend at college orientations, along with condoms, a beginner bong and an inflated self-sense of importance. I’m sure they still do that. 

Today we took a listen to Soul Rebels, Catch A Fire, and Exodus, to celebrate the life of a legend and hopefully to uncover some jams we may have never heard.

Please, spark up a doobie and read on.

I think it’s fairly obvious why I selected this album. Look at those titties… and a gun! Yet, it’s a pretty accurate depiction of the music. Themes shift from oppression and a struggle for equality to getting your "joint" wet, if you know what I mean. Love and war.

“If it’s all night, got to be alright,” sings Bob on “It’s Alright,” and Peter Tosh asks on “400 Years,” “why do black people close their eyes? Come to reality, you got the ability.”

Produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry and released in 1970, Soul Rebels is a soothing collection of tracks. Plus, the album has a less polished more indie Reggae sound. This album makes me wanna grab a Red Stripe, mix up a batch of jerk marinade and listen to Bob for two days while I wait for some chicken to soak up the jerk.  

I really dig “Rebels Hop,” but the whole disc was a treat.

Bob Marley And The Wailers’ major label debut on Island Records was released in 1973. Catch A Fire opens up strong with “Concrete Jungle,” and maintains that strength for pretty much the whole disc. 

“Slave Driver,” an updated version of “400 Years,” still with Peter Tosh on vocals, “Stop That Train,” “Kinky Reggae,” and “Midnight Ravers” are all these great tracks I probably have never heard before. Plus, it’s cool to hear “Stir It Up” in the context of the album it was recorded for.

Exodus was Bob’s ninth album and side two is just a powerhouse collection of hits! It’s basically the band firing on all four cylinders. It was great to listen to Side One and hear more music from the band that I had passed over for too long!