Sunday Music: Bob Marley, Gold
Nov. 17th, 2013 05:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowAlbum Title: Gold. (This is the first of a string of six albums, by different artists, with that same title. Sorry about that.)
Why I Bought It: Sometime earlier, I had bought and enjoyed Desmond Dekker's Israelites album. Now, I neither know nor, really, care whether Dekker's work should be classed as reggae or as ska; it just seemed appropriate for me, having done that, to give Marley a try.
What I Like (Hopeful): "No Woman No Cry". I particularly like the keyboarding on this one - almost like a baby organ in sound.
What I Like (Healing): "Trenchtown Rock". This one and the one before both deal with maintaining hope and life in the Government Yards of Kingston. A nice upbeat song about the power of music.
Overall: I can't point to specific songs, very much. For one thing, this is a double album, with thirty-four tracks in all, and they're varied enough that giving a representative sample is difficult. For another, Marley's Rastafarianism informs much of the album, and I can't fully relate to it for that reason. Still, the music is usually good - rhythmic, with interesting harmonies and syncopation - and in many cases the mood intended comes through, if not altogether the content. I like "Africa Unite" (despite the unrealistic pan-Africanism that underpins it) and Marley's version of "I Shot the Sheriff" (much more emotionally believable than Clapton's); there are a few ("Crazy Baldhead", "Burnin' and Lootin'") that I can understand, if not fully sympathize with; and the spiritual songs ("Jah Live", "Exodus", and especially "Redemption Song") are genuinely moving. A good album, although not a favorite.
Why I Bought It: Sometime earlier, I had bought and enjoyed Desmond Dekker's Israelites album. Now, I neither know nor, really, care whether Dekker's work should be classed as reggae or as ska; it just seemed appropriate for me, having done that, to give Marley a try.
What I Like (Hopeful): "No Woman No Cry". I particularly like the keyboarding on this one - almost like a baby organ in sound.
What I Like (Healing): "Trenchtown Rock". This one and the one before both deal with maintaining hope and life in the Government Yards of Kingston. A nice upbeat song about the power of music.
Overall: I can't point to specific songs, very much. For one thing, this is a double album, with thirty-four tracks in all, and they're varied enough that giving a representative sample is difficult. For another, Marley's Rastafarianism informs much of the album, and I can't fully relate to it for that reason. Still, the music is usually good - rhythmic, with interesting harmonies and syncopation - and in many cases the mood intended comes through, if not altogether the content. I like "Africa Unite" (despite the unrealistic pan-Africanism that underpins it) and Marley's version of "I Shot the Sheriff" (much more emotionally believable than Clapton's); there are a few ("Crazy Baldhead", "Burnin' and Lootin'") that I can understand, if not fully sympathize with; and the spiritual songs ("Jah Live", "Exodus", and especially "Redemption Song") are genuinely moving. A good album, although not a favorite.
