Bob Marley & The Wailers

Exodus

ISLAND. CD/DL/LP Bob’s 1977 album at 40, with bonus Exodus Live and the Ziggy Marley version. Made in London exile after December 1976’s assassination attempt, Exodus now feels predestined as the record to cement Bob Marley’s international stardom. But its imperial reach would have been minimised had Marley’s vision been less complete, bridging Rasta proselytising and secular sentiment without pandering to either’s baser traits. Rendered threadbare by overfamiliarity, the lighter songs (Jamming; Waiting In Vain) thicken in proximity to their militant brethren (Natural Mystic; Guiltiness), and both camps are well served by this vivid remaster. Likewise, their representation on Exodus Live, recorded during the June 1977 residency at London’s Rainbow Theatre (and unreleased bar one track). More contentious is Ziggy Marley’s Exodus 40, Bob’s elder son remixing, re-sequencing, deconstructing and re-recording the original, in the case of One Love using newly discovered vocal takes. An occasionally startling exercise, it only serves to re-emphasise the golden currency of Marley’s last essential album.