Bob Marley & The Wailers released Natty Dread

Natty Dread Bob Marley & the Wailers

Released: October 25, 1974 Peak: 92 US, 44 RB, 43 UK, 98 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.1 UK, 2.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: reggae

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Lively Up Yourself (1971, --) No Woman, No Cry (8/75, 8 UK) Them Belly Full But We Hungry Rebel Music (3 O’Clock Road Block) So Jah She Natty Dread (6/75, --) Bend Down Low (4/67, --) Talkin’ Blues Revolution Total Running Time: 38:59 The Players: Bob Marley (vocals, rhythm guitar) Aston “Family Man” Barrett (bass) Carlton “Carlie” Barrett (drums, percussion) Bernard “Touter” Harvey, Jean Roussel (piano, organ, keyboards) Al Anderson (guitar) Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt, Griffiths (backing vocals)

Rating: 4.130 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings) Quotable: “The ultimate reggae recording of all time” – Jim Newsom, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Natty Dread is Bob Marley’s finest album, the ultimate reggae recording of all time. This was Marley’s first album without former bandmates Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston, and the first released as Bob Marley & the Wailers. The Wailers’ rhythm section of bassist Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett and drummer Carlton ‘Carlie’ Barrett remained in place and even contributed to the songwriting, while Marley added a female vocal trio, the I-Threes (which included his wife Rita Marley), and additional instrumentation to flesh out the sound.” AMG “The material presented here defines what reggae was originally all about, with political and social commentary mixed with religious paeans to Jah. The celebratory Lively Up Yourself falls in the same vein as ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ from Burnin’. No Woman, No Cry is one of the band's best-known ballads. Them Belly Full (But We Hungry) is a powerful warning that ‘a hungry mob is an angry mob.’ Rebel Music (3 O'Clock Road Block) and Revolution continue in that spirit, as Marley assumes the mantle of prophet abandoned by ’60s forebears like Bob Dylan.” AMG “In addition to the lyrical strengths, the music itself is full of emotion and playfulness, with the players locked into a solid groove on each number. Considering that popular rock music was entering the somnambulant disco era as Natty Dread was released, the lyrical and musical potency is especially striking. Marley was taking on discrimination, greed, poverty, and hopelessness while simultaneously rallying the troops as no other musical performer was attempting to do in the mid-‘70s.” AMG Notes: The 2001 Definitive Remasters edition also includes the track "Am-A-Do," which was recorded during the Natty Dread sessions but shelved until the 1991 compilation Talkin' Blues.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Bob Marley AMG All Music Guide review by Jim Newsom First posted 3/26/2008; updated 5/10/2021.