Yeah but first disc is all pre-Island...
Voting Burnin' because best songs even if as noted above better of most of the songs exist.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 1 April 2014 01:56 (ten years ago) link
man...this is impossible
Burnin', probably, but side 2 of Exodus is so so so so good
― Now I Am Become Dracula (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Tuesday, 1 April 2014 02:10 (ten years ago) link
Catch a Fire though
Yep Burnin for best songs
― How dare you tarnish the reputation of Turturro's yodel (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 April 2014 03:34 (ten years ago) link
Kinda dont care for much of the post-Tosh/Wailer stuff
Natty Dread, although I've not heard Kaya or Survival.
― Gavin, Leeds, Tuesday, 1 April 2014 11:50 (ten years ago) link
Would have said Burnin' but never heard Jamaican version of Catch a Fire until today, so right now a tie. Like the later stuff more than Shakey does though, and didn't actually mind original release of Catch a Fire with Wayne Perkins solos.
― Teenage Idol With the Golden Head (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 2 April 2014 18:19 (ten years ago) link
i love survival in the same it's-late-in-the-game-but-jesus-there-are-some-great-songs-here way that i love roxy music's flesh and blood. (and if that were a poll, i'd vote for survival, easy.) "top rankin'," "one drop" and "zimbabwe" are among the killers.
― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 2 April 2014 22:10 (ten years ago) link
Too bad you don't allow any of the Upsetter Records material which is by far my favorite era for them. If i could have only one single Wailers album, it would easily be the '73 bootleg of them at the Record Plant in Sausalito.
As far as the Island material goes, the first three are the only ones that i can enjoy in their entirety; with the remainder of the catalog being hit-n-miss for me.
In the end, i'll vote for Burnin' because it lacks so much of the overdubs that Blackwell put in Catch a Fire. Natty Dread has the best cover art.
― bodacious ignoramus, Wednesday, 2 April 2014 23:07 (ten years ago) link
Did you listen to Catch a Fire without the overdubs?
― Teenage Idol With the Golden Head (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 2 April 2014 23:13 (ten years ago) link
not enough love for exodus here tho
"wait in vain" was life changing for me
― Now I Am Become Dracula (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Thursday, 3 April 2014 00:20 (ten years ago) link
My dad was conservative, in the general sense, but also musically. He was really into Frank Sinatra, I want to say Glenn Miller, stuff like that. When we were younger we took a trip to Jamaica, and my parents being my parents and my dad being my dad, there was no way we were staying on some resort. So we went out and about a lot, to see all the country had to offer, which included taking some horrible train through the mountains (I remember someone jumping the train and being whipped bloody with a switch by the conductor) where my dad was beset by dudes selling him drugs, to which he would respond he was with the DEA, which did the trick. Anyway, despite liking Sinatra et al. and pretty much just that, as far as music with words went, he was also oddly really into reggae. But he didn't know much about the specifics, just a few names he caught here and there. Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, and of course Bob Marley. So I vividly recall going with him to all these random record stores in dubious back alley locations, where he would stock up on Bob Marley cassettes. "Natty Dread" was his favorite, and to this day I remember its not quite legit art/cassette color. Good album!
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 3 April 2014 00:39 (ten years ago) link
Great story!
Feel like it's kind of a pity that Marley is often viewed as kind of an Icon Of Reggae For People Who Don't Really Like Reggae Or Even R & B or Something For Partiers Of a Certain Stripe to Listen To Between The Dead and Jimmy Buffett. If nothing else you've got the Barrett Brothers, one of the all time great rhythm sections. But there is plenty else, the original vocal trio for one thing, love those "Gypsy Woman" backing vocals on "Baby We've Got A Date ( Rock It Baby)"/simmer_down
― Teenage Idol With the Golden Head (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 3 April 2014 00:59 (ten years ago) link
Marley is one of those figures who is easy to dismiss due to the association of his biggest fans. Because let's face it his biggest fans are basically really annoying people.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Thursday, 3 April 2014 01:56 (ten years ago) link
Right. Which reminds me I really need to give Frank Zappa another chance. Oh wait.
― Teenage Idol With the Golden Head (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 3 April 2014 02:06 (ten years ago) link
If nothing else you've got the Barrett Brothers, one of the all time great rhythm sections.
seriously, these guys were all time, aston especially.
― marcos, Thursday, 3 April 2014 13:29 (ten years ago) link
also as much as i agree with the sentiment, i'm pretty tired hearing about "but all marley's terrible fans ruin it for me." fuck that. i'm 30 years old, high school and college were a long time ago, i'm over that shit.
― marcos, Thursday, 3 April 2014 13:37 (ten years ago) link
basically any really famous musician is going to have loads of terrible fans
― marcos, Thursday, 3 April 2014 13:38 (ten years ago) link
also great story josh! my dad also really liked bob marley, so does my father-in-law, neither of who are really into music despite having a lot of music, most of it fairly conservative.
― marcos, Thursday, 3 April 2014 13:40 (ten years ago) link
Only actually know Catch a Fire, Exodus, and Kaya. I'd probably pick Catch a Fire out of those, but have a feeling I'd really like Survival, based on the songs I know from it.
― how's life, Thursday, 3 April 2014 13:41 (ten years ago) link
Listening to that '73 Record Plant show this morning. Excellent find, thanks for the tip.
― A Perfect Ratio of Choogle to Jam (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 3 April 2014 17:31 (ten years ago) link
yeah I mean Marley's artistry is consummate. he was also very ambitious, but behind the ambition lay an incredible harmonic sense and an incredible feel for delivering a lyric.
― Now I Am Become Dracula (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Thursday, 3 April 2014 17:35 (ten years ago) link
Did you listen to Catch a Fire without the overdubs?― Teenage Idol With the Golden Head (James Redd and the Blecchs)
― Teenage Idol With the Golden Head (James Redd and the Blecchs)
I have listened to it, yes, and like it very much; but it's not included in the list of options.
Listening to that '73 Record Plant show this morning. Excellent find, thanks for the tip.― A Perfect Ratio of Choogle to Jam (Dan Peterson)
― A Perfect Ratio of Choogle to Jam (Dan Peterson)
How can they play both tightly and loosely at the same time? So good.
― bodacious ignoramus, Friday, 4 April 2014 23:14 (ten years ago) link
the 2012 marley documentary is really good btw
― marcos, Monday, 7 April 2014 15:48 (ten years ago) link
my wife and i have been watching it the past couple nights, like a half-hour or an hour at time
was bummed though at how little of a presence peter tosh has. i know he died a long time ago, but there has to be a lot of footage that they could have shown. so far we just hear his voice for a few seconds saying why he left the wailers.
bunny was a joy to see in the film though. scratch too
― marcos, Monday, 7 April 2014 15:50 (ten years ago) link
so this is not included in the poll as i mentioned, but i checked out this collection from the library last week: The Complete Bob Marley & the Wailers 1967–1972 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Complete_Bob_Marley_%26_the_Wailers_1967%E2%80%931972
i've heard a lot of this stuff before on other compilations, but to have it all in one place is great. it's pretty spectacular. includes all the lee perry stuff, leslie kong and johnny nash productions, lots of dubs and alternate versions, a few tunes with toasters (u-roy is on one of them, though admittedly it's not the best he's ever done), and the original version of "concrete jungle", which is just out of this world.
― marcos, Wednesday, 16 April 2014 15:50 (ten years ago) link
The "Gypsy Woman" backing vocals in "Baby, We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby)" never fail to pleasantly surpise.
― When I Get To The Borad (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 17 April 2014 17:48 (ten years ago) link
Surprise even
that whole album has wonderful harmonies
― marcos, Thursday, 17 April 2014 18:13 (ten years ago) link
Sure does, but that one is the only one I recognize as a quote from something else, which gives it that little extra push over the cliff.
― When I Get To The Borad (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 17 April 2014 18:18 (ten years ago) link
i haven't really listen to exodus that much apart from the legend songs until lately, but shit it's really stunning. there are so many album cuts across all these records that are just really heavy and rootsy, i've been enjoying these a lot more than the hits. i could listen to minor key reggae forever.
here is "guiltiness" from exodus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP3VsZ7QD08
― marcos, Friday, 18 April 2014 00:12 (ten years ago) link
and "forever loving jah" from uprising:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY5_Q9azOm0
― marcos, Friday, 18 April 2014 00:13 (ten years ago) link
A bunch of you need to know that extra disc of the Catch A Fire reissue is "The Unreleased Jamaican Version" that's more stripped down, and adds "High Tide or Low Tide" and "All Day All Night." Awesome.
― Fastnbulbous, Friday, 18 April 2014 02:20 (ten years ago) link
^bears repeating
― When I Get To The Borad (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 18 April 2014 15:15 (ten years ago) link
yea the jamaican version is very good. though i don't think it's better or worse than the standard version.
― marcos, Friday, 18 April 2014 15:22 (ten years ago) link
lots of you have seen this but i'm still gonna post it because it's pretty awesome:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAYNXSv6wmw
― marcos, Friday, 18 April 2014 15:23 (ten years ago) link
and this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE3WaSETf8kboth from the old grey whistle test
aston barrett rules so hard
― marcos, Friday, 18 April 2014 15:30 (ten years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Monday, 21 April 2014 00:01 (ten years ago) link
I'm pretty sure there was a Tory MP, Teddy Taylor, who was an enthusiastic Marley fan. He was also a fan of corporal and capital punishment and Margaret Thatcher, so it didn't seem a natural choice of listening
― Dr X O'Skeleton, Monday, 21 April 2014 00:21 (ten years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Tuesday, 22 April 2014 00:01 (ten years ago) link
(Xp) sure that wasn't a David Peace character?
― Kid Creole Meets Señor Coconut at a fIREHOSE Show (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 22 April 2014 05:52 (ten years ago) link
fairly decent spread. feel like i could've voted for any of these really, they are remarkably consistent
― marcos, Tuesday, 22 April 2014 13:42 (ten years ago) link