Given that Lana Del Rey’s first album was removed from circulation after only a couple of months, her 2012 sophomore release Born to Die is widely considered her debut. It’s certainly the album that put her on the map.
Released in January of 2012, Born to Die was boosted by the unexpected success of lead single ‘Video Games.’ That song, a dreamy ballad featuring Del Rey’s mournful vocals over a bed of piano and strings, sounded like something from a bygone era.
When I laid out my March posts awhile back I planned to dedicate this week to my first reactions to Lana Del Rey’s new album, which was due to drop on March 10. That release has since been pushed back two weeks, so I’ll have to do the same with my posts.
The adjustment is actually quite simple. I had planned to follow up the new album content with a two-week retrospective of Del Rey’s career to date, so instead I’ll just flip the order and do the discography deep dive first. I actually wanted to do it in this order but the Oscars airdate prevented it. Perhaps Del Rey heard about my predicament and pushed the album release for my sake.
I’ve come to the end of my Bob Marley deep dive but still have one day left in the week, so I’m going out with a live performance of one of Marley’s most-loved tunes. Enjoy!
Yesterday’s album, Bob Marley’s 13th, wraps up my deep dive into the catalog of one of popular music’s most inspirational talents. Marley defined an entire musical genre, crafted songs recognized all over the world, and spread a message of love, peace and social justice during a career that spanned little more than a decade.
It’s hard to imagine what the Bob Marley legacy would look like if he wasn’t taken away at just 36 years old. Consider the wealth of material he would have created over the last 40 years, and the impact he would have had on the world, culturally and politically.
1980’s Uprising was the last album Bob Marley recorded and released before his death, but it wasn’t the final Bob Marley and the Wailers’ release. That distinction goes to Confrontation, a collection released two years after his death.
Confrontation‘s tracklist is compiled of unreleased tracks from later in Marley’s career, including some demos that were given fuller production and new backing vocals. As such, it’s hard to consider it a true Bob Marley album.
Meet Me In Montauk 