Marley Lives On!

Island have released a number of official posthumous releases. Confrontation was a semi-completed album when Marley died and collects together his last Jamaican singles. A little harder in feel than Uprising, it nevertheless continues that album's themes, indeed the themes of his life. With its opening and closing tracks, "Chant Down Babylon" and "Rastaman Live Up!", it adds an element of almost celebratory joy for having been able to struggle for so long. "Buffalo Soldier" is perhaps the best known song from the album.

There are three single album compilations of his songs in various moods, Legend, Rebel Music and Natural Mystic. Legend is his very "greatest" hits. Basically, there's every song you would expect if you were limited to 14 Bob Marley songs. I suppose it's the unavoidable Bob Marley 101 but more adventurous listeners who are just setting out on their Marley collections should consider either of the other collections or even a complete original album. Rebel Music is just that, demonstrating the angrier, political side of Marley over the course of ten strong songs, mostly from the earlier and middle Island albums. Natural Mystic is the most balanced and generous of the compilations with 15 tracks addressing most of Marley's moods.

Talkin' Blues is a third live album, released posthumously, drawn from a live-in-the-studio recording for San Francisco's then hip KSAN on Marley's first American tour in 1973, with the live tracks interspersed with a 1975 interview and several previously lost tracks. At the time of its release, it was of great interest to his existing followers who had been starved of new Marley material for too long. Today, it's still of interest although not quite as high up on the must-have list as then.

There's a peculiar project by Bill Laswell, Dreams Of Freedom: Ambient Translations Of Bob Marley In Dub, that has some semi-official claims being organized by Chris Blackwell. I personally don't care for it, which is too bad since it appears to be the only dub of Marley likely to see the light of day. There are those who find it palatable but I am far from alone in my disregard for it.

Songs Of Freedom

And then there is the Songs Of Freedom quadruple CD box set! I said earlier that it's hard "to pick any original Island release out as the one most crucial Marley recording." That is true of the original recordings and most of the compilations.The one Marley item that I would recommend over any other is the Songs Of Freedom set. The bad news is that this was issued in a limited edition and is no longer generally available. The good news, if you can call it that, is that if you have $225 it is still available online in a "gift" set that includes the Songs of Freedom book and the two compilation CDs, Legend and Natural Mystic. Click here for more information.

Over the years, Chris Blackwell has received a lot of negative remarks for his handling of Bob Marley and his catalog. Generally, I have preferred to sit on the sidelines of various battles about Marley arcana. Although, I'm tantalized by stories of all sorts of wild dub versions, etc. sitting in the vaults, I've attempted to simply be grateful for what has trickled out since Marley's passing. I've never worried much about what he did to Marley's sound although there was some tasteless remixing done on the early US vinyl pressings of Legend. Dreams Of Freedom: Ambient Translations Of Bob Marley In Dub seems to me to be a seriously misconceived project - but I didn't buy it. I liked Catch A Fire from the very first moment I heard it in 1973 and didn't care how authentically Jamaican it was. Of course, I was one of those white rock fans that Blackwell was hoping to appeal to with his new act and sound.

Obviously, Blackwell is a shrewd businessman and Marley would never have achieved the worldwide results that he did without Blackwell. However, the current situation of the unavailability of Songs Of Freedom at a decent price while simultaneously keeping some of that vital early material from the JAD compilations really stinks and is quite absurd. Ideally, it would be readily available both as a boxed set and as individual CDs. The words and music of Bob Marley should flow through proper business channels - which means that they should be available to fans and followers on legitimate label releases without being tied up in exclusive licensing deals which keep them unavailable. Songs of Freedom is a fabulous document of Marley's life, but a ridiculous hypocritical lie as a title, particularly from one who frequently proclaims how he is continuing Bob's work. In his lifetime Bob sang of "hypocrites and parasites." He has no further use for them now and it's sad that his legacy is not free of them.

I can only add that if you see a second-hand copy of Songs Of Freedom, you should buy it immediately although you'll probably have to pay somewhat more than a new copy cost at the time of release.

So Much Tunes To Buy . . .

So obviously you're not readily going to lay your music-loving hands on a copy of Songs Of Freedom and need to think about how else to begin or augment your Bob Marley collection. I'd reluctantly suggest getting the Natural Mystic compilation over the original Exodus as a place to start. Both open with the same song and show more than one side of Marley in a balanced fashion but Natural Mystic has five more tracks and obviously shows Marley over a greater historical time span. Unfortunately, it doesn't bother to tell you which original albums the songs are drawn from. Exodus is the album that I'd point to as the all-round most enjoyable original Marley album. Well, it's my favourite anyway!

For good old-fashioned militancy with a sweet ending in the form of "Wake Up And Live," the Survival album gets the nod. It might be the most consistent of any of Marley's albums in theme. If you're in that sort of mood, the Rebel Music compilation is another must have, although perhaps a shade more philosophical. Rebel Music features excellent sleeve notes from Neil Spencer. For purely historical reasons, I think that the Catch A Fire album should be high on the list of potential acquisitions. Of course, there are musical reasons to have it in your life also. For the same reasons and with a sort of compare-and-contrast exercise in mind, I'd suggest going for The Complete Bob Marley & The Wailers Part II set from JAD and the second Island album, Burnin', at about the same time.

For even more contrast and exposure to the feel-good vibe, Kaya has to be considered next, although the Legend compilation would meet some of the same purposes and provide more of an historical overview. Live! pretty much has to be the next choice as a demonstration of Bob's live power and to indicate his early widespread appeal outside Jamaica. Sorry, but it's a complete tie next between the albums either side of Live!, Natty Dread and Rastaman Vibration. All show several sides of Marley in the period when he was fully coming into his strength. By this time, you're probably feeling broke so you might as well go for the value for money choice of the double live set, Babylon By Bus. This is becoming an increasing academic exercise and the remaining choice between Marley's last two essential albums could be decided on the flip of a coin. However, I'll admit to a slight personal preference for Uprising over Confrontation. The last Island release Talkin' Blues is essential, of course, if want to hear him talking about what was going on in 1975. The live tracks are also an interesting look at the rawness of his 1973 performances, a time when no one really knew what time would tell and a time when, in fact, things still looked pretty grim.

What Time Has Told

In the fullness of time, we know that Marley triumphed over all adversity. Even though his physical manifestation may have passed, his message lives on. And it will continue to live on. More people today have almost certainly heard his music than did during his time on this planet! Even in these days of the Internet the relevance of his message is undiminished. Millions, probably billions, of our fellow humans continue to struggle against various forms of oppression. Marley, amongst many others, pointed out that until we are all free, none of us are really free. He said it as "One Love." He also sang, "Get Up, Stand Up" and "Wake and Live!" Do it today in his honour.