Search - Bob Marley :: Soul Almighty: The Formative Years, Vol. 1

Jah would not be pleased with this one

tarek | southern MD | 04/08/2000

(1 out of 5 stars)

"please folks, do not buy this. i have yet to hear worse a cd. its just some bob vocals put to music i would rather think marley and the wailers never even played. i love bob and urge you to go back a page and find another marley cd."

A refreshing take on Marley's magic

Lewis Chester | Bonita, CA USA | 07/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a cd only for the real Marley fans, and is quite an impressive project. Using remastered sources, JAD records took some of Bob's older (pre-Island records era) VOCAL tracks, and overdubbed them with crisp, clear, thumping music at their studios. The result is a collection of "new" old songs, which provide a glimpse into what these songs may have sounded like if they were recorded today, with far superior sound to what the tracks originally sounded like (due to the time they were recorded and the harshness of equipment available back then). The highlight, however, are four previously unreleased tracks never heard anywhere else before. The true gem in my opinion is the track "Rock Steady," a fantastic Bob Marley song worth the price of the disc alone. While this disc may have been touched up to say the least, Marley's vocals are just as soothing as ever and I would definately suggest adding this to any fan's collection."

For Completists Only

KC | Northern Cal | 07/25/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As brilliant as Bob Marley is/was - he had to start somewhere and this CD gives you a glimpse of his "formative years" and like an adult formative years, this is the CD where he learns to sing, write and perform. And to be perfect blunt, if he had stopped here, it's already better than 90% of the reggae CD's out there but compared to the staggeringly brilliant and genius output of later years - this is pretty pale and at best an amusing mix of calypso, reggae lite and early, early 1950's pop-rock. For completists and scholars of reggae only - if you fall into that category, this is definitely worth the price of used. If you are just a casual listener of reggae, you won't find much here. There is also an import version with 3-5 more tracks."