The last CD I bought was a compilation of Bob Marley’s greatest hits. I bought this CD after my wife and I returned to Arkansas from our one week honeymoon in Jamaica. I had heard some of Marley’s hits over the years ( No Woman, No Cry; Jammin; One Love just to name a few), but the two disk compilation included songs that I had never heard of before. I soon found that these new songs replaced what songs I had formerly enjoyed from Bob. Songs like “Punky Reggae Party” and “Waiting in Vain” only served to readjust my view of the early mainstream reggae that Marley was writing and performing.
Of course, while we were in Jamaica we could not go anywhere without hearing a Bob Marley song, seeing a poster of Marley, or getting into a conversation about him with the local people. He is absolutely a legend, national hero, and source of pride for the Jamaican people. Since I am a Biology freak I stayed in the surf or snorkeled one of the reefs near our resort every day (much to my wife’s displeasure, she wanted to relax on the beach, go figure) so naturally my hair was clumped together by salt crystals. This ultimately led to conversation with the locals about Bob Marley because they would approach me and say “you got a famous face” and produce an image of Marley that they carried with them allways. I said that Bob Marley was a hero to the people, and he was a tremendous one. Marley’s songs of social unrest, his tremendous charity towards the people of Jamaica, his friendly demeanor, and his utter defiance of western ideas that conflicted with his Rastafarian traditions made him the ultimate authentic icon of what it was to be Jamaican. In fact, I do not believe that this entry does justice to just how loved he still is by his own people. Yes, they have moved forward musically through the genre that Marley pioneered for mainstream culture, and yes, other music is played there; however, if a Jamaican could be found that does not praise Bob Marley’s life and all that he did for Jamaica, that man would be committed to an insane asylum by his family and friends. The man does not yet have his face on Jamaican currency, but I cannot believe that time is far off. But I digress.
The CD Bob Marley and the Wailers: Gold is a collection of 34 of their greatest hits. Both the familiar and the unfamiliar are represented, but all are works of reggae genius.
Hamibord's Weblog 
March 18, 2008 at 10:07 am |
I’ve been meaning to get into Marley, and I just haven’t. I got no excuse. Well, I sorta do. I’ve never really known where to start. I may go with the disc you talked about, actually, but I’ve always kinda wanted to start with an actual album, you know? I have no idea how important something like “the album” is to Bob Marley.
But, what I’m hearing from you (and from a lot of other people) is that I need to stop worrying with myself and pick up some Marley somewhere sometime soon. So, I’m a’ do that soon.
By the way, you talked about jazz retreading standards, and that being an important part of it – it is, but at the same time, if you do a song, you’re expected to bring something to it. Even an established jazz artist playing on of his own songs – let’s say he’s got a 6:00 show and a 10:00 show. A jazz fan going to both shows will expect to see two COMPLETELY different shows, even if the same “songs” are played. Sometimes people will do a straight cover – especially vocalists. But, on songs like Hancock’s cover of “Both Sides Now,” you could barely even tell that it’s the same song. It’s got the same basic chords, but beyond that, it isn’t “Both Sides Now” any way that you would ever expect to hear it. I guess that the song itself is just sort of a starting point, or a launchpad. And while there is a lot of tradition behind it, a lot of jazz is about pushing forward, too. I don’t know. You made me think about it a lot. I guess that’s sort of evident.
Anyway, sorry I wasn’t in class. Hope you’re doing well.