Search - Bob Marley :: Soul Rebel

Prehistoric Goods

keonikraze | 07/27/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bob Marley is one of the most bootlegged artists known to man. Every year the Wailing Wailers 60's and early 70's material is repackaged and sold as a greatest hits or best of collection to an uneducated and unsuspecting public who all think they might have stumbled into something epic at the bargain bins of any Broadway music-pawn-bootleg shop. This is one of those collections. But unlike most, it works. Which is quite amazing indeed, considering the tracks are mislabeled, the sound quality is fair, and the song credits are off factually. First things being first, Memphis is not the Chuck Berry cover we're led to believe it is. In fact, it's Duppy Conqueror repeated, but it's a better, more rootsy dub version. Dub= A style of reggae popularized by Lee Scratch Perry and Burning Spear, with more emphasis on repetitive percussion. Rainbow Country is a tremendous ska/roots rock reggae endeaver. Clocking in at well over 5 minutes, it's the heavyweight of this 10 song collection and well worth the price just to get this gem early work by Bob. The vocals on Kaya fade in and out, and Fussing & Fighting sounds like it was recorded across the street and under the sewer from the recording studio, but looking beyond this minor flaws, it's a great sampling of the Wailer's early work, and includes great versions of the later classics Small Axe & Soul Rebel. Well worth the price."