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.

 

This month: Bob Marley & the Wailers released African Herbsman

African Herbsman Bob Marley & the Wailers

Released: July 1973 Recorded: 1971 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: reggae

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Lively Up Yourself (1971, --) Small Axe (2/71, --) Duppy Conqueror (12/70, --) Trench Town Rock (11/71, --) African Herbsman Keep on Moving (9/72, 17 UK) Fussing and Fighting Stand Alone All in One Don’t Rock My Boat Put It On Sun Is Shining Kaya (2/71, --) Riding High Brain Washing 400 Years Total Running Time: 47:37 The Players: Bob Marley (vocals) Peter Tosh (vocals, melodica) Bunny Livingstone (vocals) Alva Lewis (guitar) Glen Adams (keyboard) Aston Barrett (bass) Carlton Barrett (drums)

Rating: 4.552 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings) Quotable: -- Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “To Bob Marley's emotionally charged music and lyrics, add the tight riddims and harmonies of the Wailers and then put all of that talent into the ceaselessly creative hands of production wizard Lee "Scratch" Perry. What you get is a 16-track reggae masterpiece capturing what is perhaps some of the best music Bob Marley & the Wailers ever committed to tape. The songs range from beautiful love songs like Don’t Rock the Boat to cathartic political anthems like Brain Washing, but even with the broad scope, no tracks miss the mark. They all cut straight to the heart and burn with an urgency rarely felt in music of any genre.” AMG “While this is a Bob Marley & the Wailers album, Perry's unique production almost steals the show. Perry's bare-bones, heavy sound provides an interesting contrast to the slicker approach taken on Catch a Fire, produced by Bob Marley & the Wailers and Chris Blackwell and also made in 1973. Catch a Fire has an almost rock edge to it, but on African Herbsman, one can hear Perry's swirling mix madness lurking just beneath the surface of each Trench Town-tough track.” AMG Marley revisited some of these tracks in later years, including Lively Up Yourself on Natty Dread, Trench Town Rock on Live!, and Kaya on Kaya, among others. Notes: This album features 11 of the 12 songs that appeared originally on Soul Revolution. “Memphis,” the lone song not represented here, is featured in dub version on the 2003 Sanctuary/ Trojan reissue, along with various dubs for “Duppy Conqueror” (known as “Zig Zag”), “Trench Town Rock” (called Grooving Kingston”), “Lively Up Yourself,” “Small Axe” (known as “Axe Man”), “Moving,” and “Keep on Skanking.” Also included are “More Axe,” an alternate version of “Kaya,” and an alternate of the "All in One Medley," that features “Bend Down Low,” “Nice Time,” “Simmer,” and the original "One Love" track by the Upsetters called "Copasetic."

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Bob Marley AMG All Music Guide review by Matthew Hilburn First posted 3/26/2008; updated 5/6/2021.