The Best of the Early Years
Bob Marley
Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt, Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh
Silverline Records, 2005
1 CD
Catalogue #: 2845122
EAN: 0676628451229
UPC: 676628451229
Personnel includes: Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Carlton Barrett, Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt.
Producers: Lee Perry, Bob Marley, Leslie Kong.
Compilation producers: Laurence Cane-Honeysett, Bas Hartong, John Reed.
Recorded between 1969 and 1978. Includes liner notes by Laurence Cane-Honeysett.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
This is a DualDisc, which contains a CD on one side of the disc and a DVD on the other.
Recording information: 1970 - 1978.
If there was anyone who defined reggae in the mid-1970s--giving it a face and a voice--it was Bob Marley. THE BEST OF THE EARLY YEARS finds the legendary Marley and the Wailers performing live with righteous fervor, playing songs that would later become world-famous, including "Duppy Conqueror," "Trench Town Rock," "Lively Up Yourself," "Kaya," "Keep On Moving," and "Concrete Jungle."
Tracklist
Bob Marley
Jamaican legend Bob Marley began recording in the mid-1960s when R&B-influenced vocal harmony was the order of the day in Jamaican pop. With the Wailers, he presaged every major development from rock steady to roots reggae. By combining the tension of political issues with the expansiveness of Rastafarian spirituality and some of the deepest grooves in reggae, he earned a worldwide audience. Though Marley died young, he remains an icon comparable to John Lennon, a musical and social visionary.
Bunny Wailer
In the seminal reggae band the Wailers, his clear, ringing tenor made him the perfect high-harmony foil for childhood friends Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, but Bunny Wailer also contributed a number of powerhouse lead vocals and songs to the group. After several years of recording and touring successfully with the band, Wailer left in 1974 to pursue a solo career. He hit the ground running in '76 with BLACKHEART MAN, a now-classic collection of rousing roots anthems, and continued to release albums to acclaim over the next two decades. His recording and touring career have been hampered somewhat by a reluctance to leave Jamaica, but the artist commands the respect of long-time fans based on his history and contribution to the reggae canon.
Peter Tosh
Along with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh was a founding member of Jamaican reggae legends the Wailers. With his rough-and-tumble sound and image, Tosh gave the early incarnation of the Wailers an edge that was informed by ska and its "rude boy" lifestyle. Splitting from the group in the mid-1970s, Tosh embarked on a solo career with the pro-marijuana album LEGALIZE IT. Sadly, in 1987, Tosh was gunned down during an incident at his home in Kingston, ending the life of a reggae innovator.
