Rhinofy-Bob Marley and the Wailers Live! Primer

Peter Frampton was not the only unheralded rock star to break through with a live album in 1976. But unlike "Frampton Comes Alive," Bob Marley and the Wailers' live LP was a single disc and it had little initial impact, it was not the end of the band's career, but only the beginning.

You've got to understand, Chris Blackwell did an incredible job of beating the reggae drum, in the press that is. Not an outlet extant did not do a story on "Catch A Fire."

But it didn't.

Nor did its two follow-ups, "Burnin'" and "Natty Dread." It seemed as if the gravy train of stardom was passing Bob Marley by.

Johnny Nash had the biggest reggae hit, with the indelible and incredible "I Can See Clearly Now."

And Marley was nowhere to be seen on authentic reggae's breakout film, "The Harder They Come." That was Jimmy Cliff's moment, not only on screen but on wax. Even Toots and the Maytals were bigger than Marley.

But then Eric Clapton cut his execrable cover of "I Shot The Sheriff." If you were familiar with the original, you cringed when you heard Clapton's comeback hit. It was white reggae at its worst. But the public ate it up. Proving once again that authentic reggae had no place in the mainstream, not in the USA.

But in the U.K?

It was making inroads there, although it was the English ska bands that ultimately crossed over to America.

But Marley played in England. And with the Rolling truck Stones mobile parked just outside the Lyceum, Danny Holloway caught the band's July 19, 1975 performance on tape.

And when you dropped the needle...

Now the release was akin to an afterthought, no one in the press would buy the hype, it was just a routine release that the faithful purchased and couldn't stop playing and talking about, because when you heard what came out of the speakers your jaw dropped.

ALL THE WAY FROM TRENCHTOWN JAMAICA, BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS, COME ON!

Is there a more memorable intro? Not if you know this album.

Then the music lays down in that reggae groove, subtle, not overpowering, just right, and you're locked right in.

And then Bob utters those magical words...

"One good thing about music
When it hits you feel no pain"

Dedicated fans knew the song, but this live version swings in a heretofore unknown way, you're utterly entranced. It's like being initiated into a secret society, one that anybody can join if they've got the LP and an open mind.

Suddenly, anybody could get it. Instantly. If Bob Marley were still alive and played this at the Apple iPhone/Watch introduction everybody would have been on their feet moving back and forth. Yup, you cannot listen to "Trenchtown Rock" without moving your body.

And there's not a bummer on the album, but the next absolute killer closes the first side, "Lively Up Yourself."

You're already in the groove, and then Bob and the band levitate the entire venue. You're staring at the speakers with the simple desire to jump inside, you want to get closer to this music.

And on the second side, there is a good version of "I Shot The Sheriff," with all the gravitas lacking from the Clapton cover.

But the piece-de-resistance opens side two, the single best recorded performance of Bob Marley and the Wailers, "No Woman, No Cry."

Sure, the version on "Natty Dread" was good, but the live take, although the same song, is a completely different performance. It's slowed down, it's smoky, it's as if everybody's so high they've lost touch with the outside world and only inhabit this song, it's church, even for nonbelievers.

I defy any music fan of any genre to not be hooked. "No Woman, No Cry" is just that powerful, just that right.

That's what we're looking for in our performances, a religious soul that we can embed ourselves in and let the velvet goodness wash over us.

And suddenly, Bob Marley was a star.

No, it didn't really happen that way at all. It didn't happen overnight. But over the course of a year everyone agreed that the hype was real, that reggae was a new sound here to stay, and that the apotheosis was Bob Marley and the Wailers.

And Marley is one of those few performers whose legend would endure even if he hadn't died prematurely, because Marley was so much himself, he brought people to him, not the opposite. He was not a player in the game, he was the game itself.

And you might know what I'm talking about. You may be throwing your hands in the air right now, crying hallelujah!

Or maybe you're a casual reggae fan, you know some Marley, but you've never actually heard this live album.

Or maybe you're someone who grew up on boy bands and melisma mamas, and you're positively clueless.

Well, be prepared to have your mind opened.

This is everything music is supposed to be. Catchy and unique and demanding of constant play.

This is what made Marley a legend.

But he would have become one anyway. Because you can't keep someone this great down.

Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1qHvbi7


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