Before Scratch - The Late Sixties

Part I of The Complete Wailers 1967-1972, another triple CD set, captures the years between Marley's earlier Studio One ska recordings and those Perry-produced sessions of Part II. Frankly, it's a mixed bag. Essentially, the Perry sessions were the time when Marley and The Wailers finally found their voices and, possibly more importantly, first laid down in its fullness the bedrock sound for the next decade or so of reggae, its real golden age. The three years prior to those recordings, presented on Part I, saw The Wailers fiddling around trying a number of approachs in an attempt to recapture their earlier ska-time stardom and boost themselves into a new orbit. Their styles roamed around from retro doo-wop to attempts at slick soul (still charmingly rough at the edges for the most part) to a country'n'western influenced Rastafarian chant to a cover of "Sugar Sugar" by the cartoon group The Archies to a few tantalizing takes with the Barrett brothers that indicated what was coming next.

It cannot have been an easy time. Neville Livingston was imprisoned for much of 1968 for ganga possession and so his parts are often replaced by Rita Marley. The group just did not seem to be able to achieve the same level of success as in the ska years. The Wailers' own Wail'N'Soul'M label couldn't make money or get established. There was a frustrating deal that promised much but at the time delivered little with the team of Johnny Nash, Arthur Jenkins, and Danny Sims (who are the founders of JAD Records, the name taken from the initials of their first names). There were other deals with producers such as Bunny Lee and Leslie Kong that lead to the usual tension between Jamaican artist and Jamaican producer - to such an extent that Livingston correctly foresaw Kong's death. Marley must have been feeling internal conflict between his growing Rastafarianism and his not-so-subtle desires to become a star in the American soul mold.

You'll hear all this aggravation and more in these three CDs. At first much of the material seems sketchy, tentative, floundering around looking for a style, uncertain of its status. The softer soul and doo-wop material seems particularly puzzling because it was so dated compared to the current sounds then being laid down Stateside. There are a couple of very peculiar songs, most notably Livingston's "Tread Oh" and the cover of "Sugar Sugar".

Keep listening, however, and some sort of pattern begins to emerge from the chaos. The songwriting is generally strong and clearly foreshadows Marley's later themes. Rastafarian philosophy and spirituality replace the rude-boy bluster. Strains of Christian hymns and folklore are twisted together into new forms. The sound gradually grows in strength from the somewhat light and poppy JAD productions to the rootsy fullness of the Kong sound. The first instrumental versions for dancehall use make an appearance. By the end of the period, it's obvious that The Wailers are poised, ready to take the next step, to make the next move. Perhaps it was Perry's luck that The Wailers came to him and cemented his reputation rather than the more commonly considered reverse of it being their smart move!

Whatever else Part I of the series is, and it's not going to be everyone's taste, it is an amazing piece of cultural archaeology. A lot of this material has never been available before in any form. Much has only been heard on a very limited basis even within Jamaica, while a substantial portion has only been previously heard in rather tasteless remixed versions with later added instrumentation. The Kong productions form the basis of many of those widely available bootlegs but here you get intelligent sleevenotes and superior sound. By the way, headphones aid dramatically in appreciating some of these tracks, which otherwise simply lack the presence you're used to with Marley recordings.

The only fly in the oinment is that, to an even greater extent than with Part II, some of the most crucial tracks of the time, the absolute cream in fact, are not on this compilation for the same "legal reasons" of captivity on Island's Songs Of Freedom set. Truthfully, I'd find it hard to suggest getting Part I of the Complete Wailers 1967-1972 before you had a pretty substantially complete set of the Island albums and certainly not before you had Part II. However, if you were pretty set with the Island material, perhaps seven or eight of the original albums plus a compilation or two, and were curious about this period of Marley's life, a process of change for him that really was a formative period, you'd likely find this to be a fascinating document that would repay repeated listening.

Marley's Roots: The Early Years & Studio One

The history of the first few years of Marley's recording career is a lot less complicated. His first recordings were as a solo artist for producer Leslie Kong all the way back in 1962 (some sources say 1961). While actually rather impressive for first recordings, they went nowhere in Jamaica at the time and basically lay dormant until his success with Island and later death created an intense interest in all things Marley. You can hear two of the songs, Judge Not and One Cup of Coffee, for yourself (perhaps - if you're lucky) on the Songs Of Freedom set.

Marley then joined up with Peter McIntosh and Neville Livingston in 1963 to form The Wailing Wailers. They apparently recorded exclusively for Clement Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label until late 1966, frequently backed by The Skatalites. It's estimated that they recorded at least 200 songs in a variety of styles including, supposedly, an album of Christian gospel songs as well as a collection of Christmas songs. These are not considered central to Marley's oeuvre! However, The Wailers had substantial Jamaican success with a series of songs in the ska style documenting, or rather celebrating, the "rude boy" scene of Kingston. Beyond these local anthems, The Wailers' repertoire stretched from covers of British and American pop and R'n'B to the beginnings of Marley's more spiritually awakened concerns.

As well as McIntosh and Livingston's contributions, The Wailers' recordings in this period included frequent collaborations with Junior Braithwaite and Beverly Kelso. Even with their success and fame, however, the group's finances were not strong enough for them to remain together and they slowly disintegrated into a very loose coalition. Marley even left Jamaica shortly after his marriage to Rita Anderson, also a singer for a Studio One group known as The Soulettes, for eight months in 1966 to earn some money in the United States. The Wailers continued recording with Constantine Walker substituting in his absence. Upon his return, The Wailers began recording for their own label, Wail'N'Soul'M, but still used the Studio One facilities for a short period.

The Heartbeat double-CD release, One Love At Studio One, is generally considered the best (if not the only legitimate) introduction to this period of the Wailer's history. It contains an interesting and varied selection of the Studio One recordings along with the first two Wailing'N'Soul'M sessions, Bend Down Low and Freedom Time. Be aware, however, that this collection, while historically important and musically valid, is in a completely different mood and on a lower level to all of Marley's later recordings. It is basically his pre-Rastafarian self (although he is generally considered just about Rastafarian by the end of it) and as such simply does not compare to his later work. What you will hear is some fine ska, fascinating variety, and the roots of his rebellious attitude.

If you're beginning your Marley collection, get any and every Island release first as well as the Lee Perry productions and, unless you're particularly obsessed with ska, Part I of The Complete Wailers 1967-1972. While some efforts were made to clean up the sound, it is distinctly erratic and nowhere near the quality of the JAD releases. On the plus side, unlike some other compilations covering this time period, it has not been overdubbed or remixed. The double-CD package has also been broken into two single CDs, Simmer Down At Studio One and The Wailing Wailers At Studio One, with exactly the same tracks sequenced the same way. It's hard to pick one over the other.