Lively up!
Bob Marley in stages, on stages. By Jim Irvin
“WHEN HE GETS TO NO WOMAN, NO CRY, A SMALL AND INTIMATE SONG IN THE STUDIO, THE CROWD SING ALONG LUSTILY.”
July 1975: Stepping onto the boards at London’s Lyceum Ballroom, Bob Marley found himself on the brink of something. First would come stardom. The Wailers had been popular – on and off – for 10 years in Jamaica. Elsewhere, everybody knew it was just a matter of time. Latest album, Natty Dread had peaked at Number 43 here; a decent result for a reggae LP, but hardly a breakout smash. These shows were about to provide that. There were two nights at the 2,000 capacity venue, July 17 and 18, recorded on the Rolling Stones Mobile rig. Hearing both shows in full, across three vinyl albums or two CDs on new expanded editions of the classic Bob Marley & The Wailers Live! (UMC) HHHH, it’s clear each night was equally strong, though the crowd, including many ex-pat Jamaicans, was perhaps more boisterous on the first night. Crucially, this was the British debut of Wailers 2.0. Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston had departed before Natty Dread and Marley was fronting alone. The band had been expanded, with vocal assistance provided by the I-Threes, a female trio featuring Marley’s wife Rita, yet long-time Wailers fans might have expected this new iteration to be lacking something. Marley immediately quashes that thought with a stirring Trench Town Rock, its opening line, ”One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain” a clear statement of intent, translation: “Don’t worry, I got this.” The crowd agrees. When he gets to No Woman, No Cry, a rather small, intimate song in its studio form, the crowd sings along lustily. The extra wattage of 2,000 ecstatic souls gave Marley his first UK Top 10 hit. By the time Bob Marley – The Legend Live (Trojan) HHHH was filmed and recorded at Santa Barbara County Bowl on November 25, 1979 Marley had almost ascended to mythical status, a cypher for sufferahs everywhere, beacon of a musical third way – neither rock nor R&B, a ragamuffin sage to whom religion, sex, music, politics and herb were all part of the same drive; he addressed them all in his songs. He starts this set with a mini sermon, pretty baffling to Americans who’d come to party, but then launches into a deep and dubby Positive Vibration. Once again, immediately setting the agenda. The band is diamond solid (though I’d forgotten how incongruously bluesy the guitar solos were!), the I-Threes are seasoned and a taut horn section is present. Bob’s voice is gruffer now but commanding. The Lyceum shows sound tentative by comparison. The mix is a little sketchy, but it’s an appealing, appropriate roughness. This CD has a DVD film of the full show (plus documentary material) that was unavailable for review. It was one of his last shows to be shot. Two generous, desirable packages, your choice is between Marley on the cusp of greatness and Marley in his full pomp.