Bob Marley Best of 1968-72 Genres:Alternative Rock, International Music Parsed into three volumes labeled somewhat cryptically "Duppy Conqueror," "Soul Rebel," and "Mellow Mood," this collection of the best from reggae's avatar is not particularly well packaged, but for Marley fans it's a must... more »-have. Among the assets are the sheer volume of tracks; inclusion of less well known Marley covers, like "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and Chuck Berry's "Memphis"; and the "Soul Rebel" volume's focus on his early Wailers era. But more creatively assembled Marley compilations also tell the story. While this effort is ambitious in track selection, it lacks liner notes. Shockingly, Marley's original trio mates--Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh--are heard but uncredited. --Elena Oumano« less
Parsed into three volumes labeled somewhat cryptically "Duppy Conqueror," "Soul Rebel," and "Mellow Mood," this collection of the best from reggae's avatar is not particularly well packaged, but for Marley fans it's a must-have. Among the assets are the sheer volume of tracks; inclusion of less well known Marley covers, like "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and Chuck Berry's "Memphis"; and the "Soul Rebel" volume's focus on his early Wailers era. But more creatively assembled Marley compilations also tell the story. While this effort is ambitious in track selection, it lacks liner notes. Shockingly, Marley's original trio mates--Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh--are heard but uncredited. --Elena Oumano
Bobaholic #999999+ (nicetime@earthl | New York | 10/31/1999
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This is not a good set, get Mr. Chatterbox!!, or any of the Complete Bob Marley double albums (Vol. 1, 2,or 3 OR ALL OF THEM!) for much better sound quality. Nothing wrong with the material in this, but I've heard it, and it isn't kosher."
Not what I expected ... the sound quality was terrible
Bobaholic #999999+ (nicetime@earthl | 06/08/1999
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Being an avid Bob Marley fan I understand the different stages in which he recorded in, but when I think of box set I anticipate re-touched, digitally remastered or something along those lines. Not something that sounds like it was recorded in my basement with a half fuctional microphone!"
Don't buy it!
Leaf | 06/21/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I got this collection under the Name of "Bob Marley: 40Classic Performances" ...and the sound quality is absolutely terrible. Also ... there are songs performed by Peter Tosh and they aren't creditet. It's not at all a Bob Marley Box Set. I bought it for "Chances are" and "There she goes", and they are of course worth the low price I paied along with all the other songs. But I can't recommend this unless you are a ABSOLUTELY diehard fan and even then you will know the songs on this recordings and have them on some other record. If you want a good collection, take LEGEND."
I'm surprised
Chris Thomas | San Diego, Ca United States | 08/01/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I must say that I am a little surprised by the low ratings everyone is giving this set. Yes the sound quality is poor, but that is part of the charm. One thing you need to realize is that these recordings were made during the 60's in third world Jamaica. Bob Marley was not yet a big star even in his own country, so he and the Wailers and the musicians (the Wailers at that time were his back up singers consisting of Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, not his whole band)playing on the recordings did not go in with much of a buget. The recording eqipment being used was primitive even by the standards of the time. Like I said before this was done in the third world. Also, Chris Blackwell was not producing for the Wailers yet. I do think to call this box set "The best of" is kind of a minomer. That said, it is not fair to compare it to "Legend", since all of the tracks on that album were recorded at a much later stage in his career on a much higher buget with much better production. The best way to accept this set it is to appreciate it for what it is, and that is the transition from ska to rock steady to the reggae style we most know him for. These tracks were during his "Rock Steady" period and it is interesting to see how reggae was comeing in to being. Many of the songs have a strong Mowtown influence. A lot of the songs here are early versions of his later well known hits. If you are a true Bob Marley fan who is opend minded than this is a must have. I also recommend picking up anything from his ska years."
Bob's never sounded worse
Steven Gomez-Montes | Gilbert, Arizona United States | 05/18/2000
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I really wanted to like this. A great collection of his lesser known songs, but what's with the sound quality? It sounds like someone stuck a microcassette recorder in the door of the studio and made an album from it. There's much better recordings out there... get one of those."
