713 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Rastaman Vibration (1976)

 713 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Rastaman Vibration (1976)

Studio album - Reggae



About the Act:

How does Bob Marley like his doughnuts? Wi' Jam in.

Robert Nesta Marley was a Jamaican singer, musician and rastaman, who is considered one of the pioneers of reggae, and possibly its most famous proponent. He did a lot to bring a ghetto Jamaican style to the public of the world. His career spanned from 1962-1981, when he found that carrying on was difficult due to a case of death. He was also a convert to Rastafarianism, and brought attention to it to a wide audience. He lived in England for a while, and released 13 studio albums. 

About the Album:

This was his eighth album and contains his biggest US hit, Roots, Rock, Reggae

My History with this Album:

None

Review:

Yah mon! I do like a bit of Reggae occasionally, and specifically a bit of Bob Marley, as his Reggae is pretty accessible. Some is just too cheesy, or to weird, or too club-oriented, or... well I like Bob Marley.  I have his greatest hits album and play it fairly often. I didn't know any of the songs on this album, but apart from lack of familiarity it ticked all the same boxes for me, mellow, bouncing Reggae, which makes me imagine that instead of driving to work through a traffic jam on a grey Northumbrian day, I am could be lying in a hammock on a perfect beach between palm trees sipping Pina Colada.

The songs, though, are not all about relaxing, they are about various things, social commentary and moral standpoint, and Rastafarian religious ideas. If you don't know the Jamaican street talk code, Jah = God, and I and I = We. There are lots more and I only know some. Some of the dialect comes out in the grammar structures as well. 

And my feelings about it don't really go deeper than that. I enjoyed it, I gently swayed to the beat, and gently wondered what "Dread" means as in "Dreadlocks". Everybody should have an occasional dose of Reggae, I got mine, this was entirely adequate.

7.1/10



Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6Gdf5vvFmoEwcsEV61tXiT

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnvVNd96RFMTrCB3u7lOJzkQHwbptyYe5

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rastaman_Vibration



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001)

Image
 944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001) Studio Album - World Music About the Act: Manu Chao is a French-Spanish musician of Spanish descent who grew up on the outskirts of Paris. In the mid-80s he was in a Spanish/English rockabilly group called Hot Pants. In 1987, with his brother and cousin he founded the band Mano Negra, combining punk and world music influences and playing on the Paris Metro. This band took off and had 4 studio albums. In 1995 Manu "went solo", forming the band Radio Bemba Sound System to be his backing band. The punk elements were less prominent, but he started to make music that "replicates the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures". He has been really popular in parts of Europe.  About the Album: This album was Manu Chao's second studio album as a "solo" artist. In Spanish, the name means "Next Station: Hope", after a real station on the Madrid Metro. The album reached top 10 slots ...
Read more

840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990)

Image
 840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990) Compilation (double) - Girl Group (Soul/Bobby Soxer/Do-Wop) About the Album: This is a highly acclaimed compilation in 2CDs by Rhino Records. It's the sort of thing that in this country you might expect to see at 3.99 in a Garden Centre. My History with this Album: None Review: There are not many multi-artist compilations in this series for reviewing. There is not information about it on Wikipedia, but the reception seems to have been positive. It is choc-full of hits with a smattering of lesser-known songs, and it's hard not to imagine Grease or similar situations - girls with cardigans and white socks, listening to the juke box while sipping milkshakes in the drug store. On one level it's a fun collection of songs that you could use to feel nostalgic, or as the music for a themed party. On another level it's kind of like a cultural artefact. I feel honour-bound to describe it, even though if I drop ...
Read more

843 Chambers Brothers - The Time has Come (1967)

Image
 843 Chambers Brothers - The Time has Come (1967) Studio Album - Psychedelic Soul About the Act: The Chambers Brothers are an American Psychedelic Soul band from LA, who were formed in 1954 and are still going. They were at heart four brothers, but I think they have now all left the band.  About the Album: This was their debut album (12 years on from forming as a band), and it spawned their most successful single Time Has Come Today. My History with this Album: None. I had never heard of the Chambers Brothers before this list. Review: I am not an American, nor a Social Historian, but I think I can accurately claim that in 1960s America there was a certain separation between the Black community and other communities. As a result of this, and for marketing reasons, the idea of music that was created with a Black audience in mind was an actual thing. I'm not sure if today we would be quite so sure about what constitutes "Black Music", but then, I think, they were generally q...
Read more