Bob Marley : classic or dud?

(I always wanted to say that)

I don't want anyone to know that I listen to him, though, obvs.

African Herbsman
Live at the Record Plant

...and let's not forget about the Maytals

Okay :-D. It's satisfyingly crunchy. It's also made me think how rarely I've heard Drum'n'Bass use genuine Reggae vocals.

So you are disputing that the production became more conventionally Western and that Bunny and Tosh's contributions were intentionally marginalized?

I am not disagreeing that he wrote great songs later on or that the Wailers were a great band.

i mean i don't see nongs with coltrane t's.

Meet the typical reggae snob. Perhaps the biggest problem with Marley is the people who like him, as a wander round Camden Market of a weekend will prove. I think he's a tremendously important figure, all that "first ever 3rd World superstar" stuff happens to be true but I'm not his greatest fan. In particular, I'm not a fan of his voice, which I find thin and irritating and overly influenced by Lee Perry - he had an incomparably better singer in the band, Bunny Wailer. Also, in a Syd Barrett type ting, he apparently wrote all his best songs in a brief period and hardly wrote anything else afterwards.

oh and am i the only one to find it rather distasteful how danny baker keeps banging on gleefully about how he gave bob marley cancer?

It's not the "nong's" I'm concerned with - it's the vast massed ranks of tokenists who only actually need about a dozen CD's because a copy of Legend tells them everything they need to know about reggae just as their copies of Kind Of Blue and A Love Supreme tell them everything they need to know about jazz....

You know these people, they are moving amongst us in every day lives - their collection also includes Revolver, Sgt "Peppers and either: Blood On The Tracks, Dark Side Of The Moon and Astral Weeks (if they're over about 35); or Automatic For The People, OK Computer, (What's The Story) Morning Glory and Nevermind (if they're under about 35).

I prefer coconut.

how the fuck is it not racist to say this, about a genuwine black person? mindboggling

Anyway, letting the stupid mannerisms and attitudes of certain fans of an artist/band ruin that artist/band for you is self-conscious and dumb.

In reference to Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, the term Uncle Tom, as I understand it, is an epithet applied to blacks who are perceived to act in a shuffling, subservient manner to please white folks. Its use is, if not necessarily racist, at the very least extrodinarily racially-loaded, especially for a white person to apply. I still haven't quite wrapped my head around Robert Christgau's use of it to describe Jimi Hendrix in his infamous Monterey Pop review.

So, Marcello's not necessarily racist in applying it to Bob Marley, just wrong. Boot polish? That's racist.

1. Duppy Conquerer
2. Kaya
3. Small Axe
4. A Hammer
5. Lively Up Yourself
6. 400 Years
7. Put It On
8. Soul Rebel
9. Rastaman Chant
10.Redemption Song

but unfortunately the predictable attacks indicate yet again that your voice is not your own, you are the product of a discourse.

marley ripped off lee perry's vocal stylings and grafted it clumsily onto clapton's love-me-rich-white-man sickening succour.

sinatra can make me weep. coltrane can make me scream. marley just makes me yawn. go and listen to proper reggae, i.e. dr alimantado, joe gibbs, pablo, culture, burning spear, congos (did marley ever do anything as sheerly VISIONARY as any given nanosecond of "Row Fisherman Row"?) et Al (Green).

I don't think he ripped off Perry.

The Perry-period stuff is marvellous and rightly gets great respect. The Studio 1 material is, I think, very mid-60s Coxsone business and too often overlooked, at least by comparison.

marley was beloved of a white audience. the lyceum '75 audience was 80% white, for example. do any blacks even bother listening to him these days?

classically DUD.

Lee Perry is not the most reliable of sources, though, is he?

Marcello, several of the names you mention above will have, at certain points in their histories, have attracted audiences in the UK which were substantially white, and I'd be very wary of trying to map that on to musical quality.

My understanding is that Bob Marley is enormously popular in many black communities around the world, and I know he's listened to where I live. Certainly he garners enormous respect on the reggae lists and newsgroups I've read over the years, including from people who know their reggae inside out.

I'd never really thought about this until I read that David Katz biography of Perry where (i think) Jimmy Riley and Clancy Eccles both point out that not only did Marley's vocal style change as a result of working with Perry but he began to sound like Lee Perry. One of them said something like "Listen to Marley after he worked with Perry, that's Lee Perry's voice you're hearing". It's not so much a case of Marley ripping Perry off as of Perry coaching Marley musically and vocally.

(It's probably also fair to say that the likes of Mr. Eccles know what they're on about much more than the likes of me. But it's nice to try to make my own mind up sometimes...!)

If they did would that make him good?

This is a joke, right?

However, after learning more about Reggae and reading up on some of the backstories of some of his songs ("Burnin' & Lootin'" etc), I realised that a lot of his stuff was based not in abstract ideas of how the world is fucked up, but in experiencing the world's fucked-upness firsthand.

So my question, to try to put it in specific enough terms, is: do you think that there's a specific point at which Marley's lyrics stopped being about trying to get the ppl in his backyard to stop shooting each other, and started to be about trying to get ppl everywhere to stop shooting each other? A specific point in time when it stopped being about preaching to a very specific community and started being about more-or-less universal messages?

Catch A Fire = C
Everything Else = D

Errrrrrrrrr, he did actually

xpost - wow, hating on Diana Ross AND Bob Marley? That's double the wrongness for one low price!

(in unrelated news, I was lucky enough to meet Horsemouth Wallace last week and was totally starstruck in an "OMG you played on Augustus Pablo sides!" sort of way, and he told me a bunch of really awesome stories and it ruled)

check this quote out from hansard:

"I ask my hon. Friends to look at the citizenship issue. It is not just a small question ; this is the big stuff. Listen to Bob Marley. It is all there. Perhaps hon. Members do not know that Bob Marley was a great singer, a Rastafarian, and some of his songs are the most wonderful one could have. One of them tells the whole story of what Government say to us year after year : please do not worry about anything because everything is going to be all right. That is what we have been told time and time again, and every time it has blown up in our faces. I say to those hon. Members who are not worried about citizenship that it does not just mean voting in council elections. I ask them to think about the three-year review and about the fact that the Council of Ministers will be able to act without limit."

on the common agricultural policy:

"I was appalled to see in the Red Book--I do not think that we can possibly send this to the Commission--that contributions this year will unfortunately be higher, although they will be lower thereafter. I have seen Red Books for about 31 years. Every year in which we have been in the EU people have said, "Unfortunately, the position is worse this year, but do not worry--it will be better next year." It is like the Bob Marley song: "Don't you worry about anything baby, because everything's going to be all right."

My own personal opinions regarding Marley (don't like him, much) and vocal-dominated reggae in general (ditto) are particularly unilluminating. One thing I'm curious about that may be worth discussing, tho, is: How did Bob Marley become THEE reggae musician in North America, the one with the Top Ten albums and fratboy-popularity? Is it because he wrote stuff with more "melody" (in the Hongro sense) like "No Woman No Cry" or "One Love" - the stuff that gygax called 'pop-reggae'? Or do such songs merely SEEM more accessible & commercial due to their longtime overfamiliarity? (A chicken/egg conundrum.)

I think his ascent to What I Mean When I Say "Reggae"hood in the U.S. had a lot to do with the fact that he toured here, and toured hard, and that he did so at the exact moment when both punks and rock geezers (Keith Richards especially) were name-checking reggae. Also, by all reports (and on the recorded evidence), he was incredibly charismatic live, and his band was just murderously good. So he got a running start on everybody. Plus, he had a very sweet singing style, sort of in a Lovers' Reggae mode but more wistful, less treacly.

I think too, yes, that the tunes themselves are ace pop songs - even the earlier stuff ("My Cup" for example) shows he's got a real gift for hooks.

I'm standing by this statement! And I don't hate on Diana Ross and Bob Marley, I quite like both of them (esp. Diana Ross).

What is "Bob Marley Anniversary Programme"? It is on at the pictures tomorrow, and me wonders if it is worth the effort.

Is this what you mean? http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/film_info/s81/Covent_Garden/m10733/Bob_Marley__Anniversary_Programme/

Yes, that's it, only without the Q&A.

On the hypothetical premise that one owns little to no Marley, and wants to own everything worth playing more than once, what does one buy?

I thought about the boxed set (which is still in print, I believe, or at least track-down-able) but worry about redundancy. I particularly love all the early songs from the '60s, and the live version of the band in the '70s. But what's with all these reissues in recent years?

I don't know much about all the different reissue and boxed set configurations, but the first five albums are all really good.

This looks pretty great. I've got a few of these from the box set but have always wanted more from this era.

I have a soft spot for Rastaman Vibration. The Marley website contains some sound samples, which is nice and helpful: http://web.bobmarley.com/catalogue/index.jsp?catpage=albums.

Has there been a Marley poll yet?

what a depressing question

does momus like polls?

forget exodus, catch a fire (the non blackwell-interfered version) is the best album he made.

I just got out Exodus and Catch a Fire (deluxe edition) from the library this weekend. Like most folks, I've never actually heard Exodus straight through. I listened to Catch a Fire (the Jamaican version) two nights ago and it was a revelation. I'm trying to be proactive about actually learning something about reggae - a genre I've never given close enough attention to. I also picked up records by Culture and the Congos, which are really pretty amazing. i'll listen to Exodus tonight, but it'd be hard to top Catch a Fire.

BBC sessions = what. a. fucking. awesome. band.

"I songs was about the plight of the brothers and sisters in Jamaica, mon," Marley said. "But right now, it is the frata mon who need it more."

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

jeezis fuck

I was just talking with my brother last week and he reminded me of the time he met Bob Marley, back in 78 or 79. My brother didn't know who he was at the time and meanwhile I apparently didn't even believe him at first. Then I was like: do you realize who that is and compared him to Elvis and John Lennon and talked about his global stature. Very much a music geek already in junior high (actually more of one back then).

Writing a little blog post on the 30th anniversary of his death, I was reminded of this fantastic tune. Lee Perry production, ghost-story lyrics. So good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VbwibwTZrM&feature=youtu.be

Haha that is "Big City" by Spacemen 3 and I claim my £5!

Watched "Marley" -- pretty good doc. Definitely a bit of hagiography, but well done. His life is a pretty striking counterpoint to the received wisdom that music can't matter politically. Seems like under the right conditions it can matter quite a lot.

Oh of course.

Because "Three little birds" wasn't quite peppy enough.

wow, it's all over-the-hill last gen edm people too

Given that Jason Bentley organized it what did you expect!

yeah that was my experience too: once you just sit down with a record like Exodus or Catch a Fire, you find some completely swingin' records

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Thursday, May 20, 2004 9:07 PM (10 years ago)

both of those records are incredible.

honestly i don't feel like he put out a bad album. kaya is prob the weakest imo, all the strongest songs were better in their earlier, scratch perry-produced forms, but it's still good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2y4lMXNlbw

best song ever recorded

aaaaand I walk ALONNNE through the rhapsodies that taunt me.... that taunt me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZwSJrk1YPo

it's 2018 and the question on everyone's mind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFRbZJXjWIA

u jammin?

this is in Danish but I think you'll get the idea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KkoLsuWYsY

that's fucking rad

jaaaahh maaahhhn

I feel like years of skipping tracks on my iPod in the car would make me a master of this game in my particular genres

haha otm

lol@ those Danish dreads

wow

seems like the only time he slips, is when he gets to hear a little melody.

Very cool.

I went to a standard danish bar with a jukebox a few nights ago, and all they were playing was Bob Marley. I'm sort of intrigued by the size of the reggae scene here in Denmark. It's very visible around Christiania of course, but there also seems to be a lot of danish dancehall hits and the rubadub nights at Stengade also seems to be very famous.

rubadub a dub duuuub

@denmark wtf

are you confused?

Skeleton does a great wave version of Exodus that needs to be heard
http://soundcpu.bandcamp.com/album/lost-memories-3-2

Only playable if you buy the album 🌊

Complete Island Recordings 11 CD Box on Amazon Fr right now for €15!

https://www.amazon.fr/Complete-Island-Recordings-Coffret-11/dp/B08JZK6FN5/

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

marley - absurdly overrated uncle tom. eric clapton with boot polish.

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, May 21, 2004 4:25 AM (4 years ago)

wtActualf

There were many o_O posts from those days, but that... might be one of the absolute worst. Offensive and nonsensical!

Wasn't he a published critic too??

Ignorant assholes can be published too. Apparently he's one of them.

Marcello was often a gigantic cock on here. Had more beef than a rap entourage.

That comment was def a cut below some of his usual shit tho

I got a $100 discount code to the Universal Music webstore so I spent $41 of it on that Marley box. Also got two of the new CDs of PJ Harvey demos (Dry and To Bring You My Love).

I really like this live show in the Netherlands that comes with the reissue of Kaya. The crowd noise gives a nice sizzle on top of everything, like basic channel sampling ocean waves in the background

Kaya was the first Marley in our house, thanks to my sister. it still seems to suffer from its reputation as ‘this is were he fell of/forgot to be a rebel’ or something, but side 2 is a gem, a mood onto itself, one of my favourite things he did, intimate and at times chilling. “Misty Morning”, “Crisis” and “Running Away”, damn.

fell *off*

The new album THE CAPITOL SESSIONS '73 is great. Very laid back and playful set from Bob, Peter, Bunny & co.

I can believe it. The older I get the more I recognize what an outsized talent he was as a performer and (oft overlooked) as a songwriter.

Same!

Gotta be honest … I like the uk version of catch a fire w the muscle shoals guitars and such, idk

Some of the worst posts in ilx history in this thread

Survival is my fav Marley album I don’t see ppl talk about like that

Love survival
Exodus was the one I heard the most as a kid

xpost the Marcello post is legit the worst Ilm post ever

“Brother you’re right you’re right you’re right you’re so right”

Question

Is “world hold on” by Bob Sinclair basically a rerock of “so much trouble in the world” put over “the whistle song”

Some of the worst posts in ilx history in this thread

― xheugy eddy (D-40)

Didn’t have the patience to read through but I agree. Got as far as Nick Southall’s post saying Marley, Elvis and Coltrane are all “meh” music to him.

Also I don’t know who Marcello is but if he ever comes back and reads this: fuck you

Goggling his name gives me a picture of a dude with an oversized white suit and the caption:

“Marcello Carlin 31 Was A Former Child Prodigy But He Dropped Out Of University And Spent Two Years On Social Security. He's Now Employed As An Office Manager).”

Kaya was the first Marley in our house, thanks to my sister. it still seems to suffer from its reputation as ‘this is were he fell of/forgot to be a rebel’ or something, but side 2 is a gem, a mood onto itself, one of my favourite things he did, intimate and at times chilling. “Misty Morning”, “Crisis” and “Running Away”, damn.

― Long Tall Arsetee & the Shaker Intros (breastcrawl)

Similar experience. I had a good relationship with an ex that lived in barcelona, long story short: we traded apartments and roomates and I lived for six months in there with no bluetooth speakers and just an old cd stereo with a limited collection. The album we played the most before going out drinking was Kaya. Had no previous interest or knowledge about Marley and I ended up loving it by association. Still the album from him I rate the best if only by nostalgia.

"Sun Is Shining" rules.

It's easy to take Marley for granted, especially if you get deep into reggae and he was the entry point. But he's really amazing and it's all good. The Lee Perry stuff is my favorite, the big box of all the Perry/Marley sessions is terrific.

Took me a while to appreciate him despite having people shouting his name at me regularly. I think I do still appreciate a lot of other reggae a lot more than him. Prolonged exposure to his music when I first moved to Ireland did leave me thinking he had more soul or whatever, passion, commitment than the pop reggae I had previously thought of him as. I do enjoy that set Trenchtown Rock which had been released by the Sanctuary incarnation of Trojan covering his material with Lee Perry producing.
Think I grew dreads looking for a way to grow long hair and discovering the Bad Brains in the mid 80s after looking for a way to make my curly hair spiky or find a way of emulating Nick Cave's back combed verticality.

I still don't listen to him much. Probably listen to Burning Spear much more and have a load of Lee Perry stuff and things.

Oddly enough Marley was not the reggae entry point amongst my schoolmates. It was Alpha Blondy. I have no effing idea why. Iirc a student that came from guadalajara was a massive fan and she was the one that tuned us into him.

I was aware Bob Marley’s Legend was one of the cliché records everyone in highschool bought but I was always wary of buying into hyped albums in my generation, I grew up on a generation that bought the shit out of nu metal and happy punk.

heard “no woman no cry” and “redemption song” first and found them very boring and lacking in idk groove (I still do tbh). Years later I heard “jamming” and “could this be love” and that was way more my thing. So decided to finally give Legend chance and liked it a lot but not enough to keep digging. It wasn’t until that summer hearing Kaya frequently that I stopped underrating him.

to be fair, the re-recorded (iirc) versions on Legend are mostly terrible

Are they really re-recorded?

sorry, remixes

The "remixes" on this record by Eric Thorngren are quite terrible. For instance, No Woman No Cry is ruined with 80s synths. Don't buy this pressing.

Am I the only person that likes the studio take of "No Woman..." more than the live version?

def not

Isn’t the legend version of no woman no cry exactly the same as on the live album? I never noticed a difference

Pressings from 1986 on used the international version of the release until 2002, when a two-disc deluxe version released by Universal replaced all tracks with their respective album versions (except for "No Woman, No Cry," which is the full length version from the "Live!" album) and included the two extra tracks from the cassette release as bonus tracks. That version was released individually as part of "The Definitive Remasters" series.

If there is one artist who can be universally hailed as a classic . . .

...it's Bernard Sumner.

LOL

Well played, sir.

Having been moderately engaged by Legend for years, taking the time to get into early Marley/Wailers last year was fun and enlightening.

I'm here to chime in: “Misty Morning" and “Crisis” are amazing songs.

Confrontation is all time.

If there is one artist who can be universally hailed as a classic . . .

Not according to Marcello Carlin, a terrible man for sure.

Exodus is a masterpiece

Marcello did offer a mea culpa of sorts.

Oh, that guy! I wouldn't have put the two together.

I honestly couldn't get through Catch a Fire. I've been meaning to give it another go for decades.

x-post

"of sorts" is covering a lot of bases there.

Yes, doesn’t own the toxic attitude as his own, just a historical error made by others as contrast to his own apparently nuanced take.

MC has a curious literary style - mixing a tone of certitude and authority with some way out WTF-ery:

Charles Shaar Murray was in attendance, to review the show for the NME, and despite the somewhat regrettable wording of his piece, did manage to give his readers a good idea of how significant and guard-changing an occasion this was; the aroma of ganja was inescapable, you didn’t trespass on the known territory of others, you had to keep a keen eye on your handbags or wallets. Overall the air was of a revivalist gospel meeting, as is evident throughout “No Woman, No Cry” in particular – or perhaps Sankey’s Sacred Songs And Solos, published one hundred and two years earlier, was still remembered – although by all accounts the intensity and atmosphere were more redolent of a Grounation ceremony.

Skanktankerous

how great is “who da cap fit”?

Love "Corner Stone", especially given its backstory

On top of everything, he's a great singer. Sounds at times like Otis Redding.

TIL Rita Marley wrote "Johnny Was". Realized about a month ago listening to Hanx! that i still LOVE SLF's version of that

Gotta be honest … I like the uk version of catch a fire w the muscle shoals guitars and such, idk

― xheugy eddy (D-40), Friday, August 18, 2023 9:33 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

i like both versions, but those session guns played their asses off. i do think tosh's two songs are much better without the overdubs tho.

never realized there were two versions! I do have two LPs worth of the Perry stuff (Rasta Revolution and African Herbsman) and yeah they are great

there was just one version, which was the one w/ overdubs from american roots/rock musicians bc island was trying to position marley as a reggae artist for a rock audience...to me its aged better than ie aerosmith on a run dmc album

i've never done a truly deep dive on Bob but in all honesty everything i've ever heard from him is borderline best-case scenario for the type of music that finds its way into absolute unquestioned mass acceptance, in terms of the sentiments of the songs and the quality of the work across the board.

the deluxe edition of catch a fire (from 2001) included the "unreleased original jamaican versions," alongside the album that was actually released

Feel like there are multiple Bob Marleys in play and the real Bob Marley and the Wailers as well as the original Wailers were actually pretty good and not just some kind of all-purpose filler of various niches.

yea I think the argument for the overdubs would be that reggae itself was still being defined as a genre and that part of what reggae *is* is the influence of rock and funk music...some of the overdubs were also stuff like the clavinet stevie wonder was using at the time/was big in funk music, the idea behind reggae was that it was in part a global genre which was in dialogue w what was happening creatively in america & that this was bob's vision as much as it was chris blackwell's

Gotta be honest … I like the uk version of catch a fire w the muscle shoals guitars and such, idk

― xheugy eddy (D-40), Friday, August 18, 2023 9:33 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

i like both versions, but those session guns played their asses off. i do think tosh's two songs are much better without the overdubs tho.

The material on that Trenchtown rock set which I think is largely the early prefame band recorded in JA though possibly augmented by local musicians is pretty great. Has some later material recorded late 70s with Perry on the second disc.great set as were most of the Sanctuary Trojan 2cds I've come across so far.