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- June 2007
- Rating: 10/10+
The summer of 1977. Remember it well.I was finishing a second year at teacher training college in Wrexham northWales. I was six months out of a four year relationship, and finding my feetagain: footloose and fancy free.
As a fledgling DJ in the town and frequent visitor to the local discos, BobMarley (nicknamed Tuff Gong by friends) seemed to be booming out on thedance floors later that year, in December. That year he finally reached theBritish consciousness.
Even rock fans such as me were hypnotized by his cool summer grooves. The bighit of the time was Jammin’. I remember dancing and chatting up a localgirl to it. It was also in sharp contrast to the burgeoning Punk scene which Ihated. Marleys songs came as a breathe of fresh air during a time when iconicbands like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, on the surface of it, were losing theirappeal.
Following previous albums Catch A Fire (1972) which didnt make anyserious inroads, and Natty Dread (1974) his first Top 50 entry, it tookanother year and one monumental song – No Woman, No Cry – to crack theUK in 75.
Eric Clapton had a helping hand too, when he covered Marleys I Shot TheSheriff. Released on 3 June 1977, Exodus (appropriately titled,as Marley and co had relocated to the UK after an assassination attempt in 76)it peaked at number 8, staying on chart for 56 consecutive weeks, spawningsingles Exodus, Waiting Vain and Jammin’. These three songssealed his success globally too, with 1984s Legend: The Best of Bob Marleyand The Wailers eventually becoming the most successful reggae of all time with12 million sales. And so to Exodus the album.
Its regularly rated as one of the best summer albums of all time, so buy itnow. Legendary American music mag Rolling Stone has it listed at 169 in their2003 edition of 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. Truth is, it should have amuch, much, much, higher placing. Nevertheless, Marley cleverly hung on to somemilitant stylings and an acute awareness of the British palette for pop.
Exodus is almost a collection of two parts, beginning with rootsyNatural Mystic which opens the box of musical delights with its steadyfade in chords and Junior Marvins wailing guitar ghosting the track beautifully,while So Much Things To Say with its rolling drum intro continuing thelaid back quality of its predecessor, accompanied by sweet backups from theI Threes, that included Bobs missus Rita.
Heathen keeps the rootsy faith going nicely. Then comes the kind ofsubtle commercialism that blew the world apart Exodus, an unstoppablejuggernaut. Hollow, chords, a bit of wah wah, piano, and some brass lead into“Exodus, movement of Jah people”, as the beats increase and the stylingstwist. A more straightforward Jammin’ is the groove delight of all time,in reggae terms. Its compact, simple, sweet (again the I Threes are on topform on the chorus) infinitely infectious, and still to this day, timeless.
It also retained Marleys wholesome approach to reggae and life in Jamaica.Follower, Waiting In Vain keeps the hit angle in focus with its chunkychord riffs boosted by mercurial lead solos by Julian ‘Junior’ Marvin, makingit possibly the best song on the entire album. Bob could always pull off asmoldering ballad like no other: there was nothing better in his arsenal thanthe gorgeous Turn Your Light Down Low, a poetic tale of seduction ifever there was.
As Marley smoked some herb on his door step back in Kingston, he would throwsome seed to the birds, hence Three Little Birds, a peculiar littleditty held together in parts by Tyrone Downies rumbling organ and neat drumsand cymbals by sticksman Carlton Barrett.
Anthemic One Love is the simplest, most singable song of the lot. Itsdefining moments are the I Threes swooning away with “One loooooooove.”
An all time classic, never to be repeated.
Click on the above Amazon link for details of a bonus 12-track DVD that comeswith the CD.
Weblink:bobmarley.com
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Natural Mystic
2. So Much Things To Say
3. Guiltiness
4. The Heathen
5. Exodus
6. Jammin’
7. Waiting In Vain
8. Turn Your Lights Down Low
9. Three Little Birds
10. One Love / People Get Ready
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.