Bob Marley and the Wailer’s run of 11 albums in 11 years culminated with 1980’s Uprising, the last work they would record before Marley’s death.
Marley was sick with cancer when writing and recording this album, and the songs’ focus on spirituality and salvation feels appropriate for his final musical statement. But it isn’t a somber album. The band goes to exciting new places musically here, including the disco stylings of ‘Could You Be Loved,’ one of their biggest hits.
After 1978’s Kaya eschewed political songs, Bob Marley swung in the opposite direction on his next release, 1979’s Survival. Perhaps it was a reaction to the criticism he received for not taking advantage of his platform on the previous album.
If so, that’s a shame. Can’t a man just make music without having to serve as a spiritual and political leader? Marley certainly made good use of his influence in those arenas throughout his career. The man should be able to take a break.
Bob Marley averaged an album per year through the 70s, a decade that saw reggae grow from its humble Jamaican roots to a global phenomenon, with Marley as its figurehead.
In 1978, Marley returned to Jamaica after a brief exile in London, and released the exuberant Kaya to coincide with his homecoming.
While Marley’s previous few albums were a mix of political and personal content, Kaya was a laid-pack paean to love, peace, and marijuana.
In December of 1976, Bob Marley was shot during an assassination attempt at his home that injured three others (including Marley’s wife, Rita) but resulted in no fatalities. The attack, by seven armed assailants, is believed to have been ordered by a political opponent unhappy with Marley’s public activism.
A conspiracy theory suggests the shooting was a set-up aimed at cementing Marley as a left-wing martyr (which would explain the surprisingly superficial nature of the victims’ wounds). Another theory says the hit was ordered by the CIA, a story one of the gunmen reportedly supported.
Bob Marley released his eighth studio album, Rastaman Vibration, in 1976. The album gave him his first top ten placement on the Billboard 200, and produced his only single to crack the Billboard Hot 100, in ‘Roots, Rock, Reggae.’
Commercial success aside, this is an odd album, split between steely-eyed calls for revolution in the face of injustice and forgettable love songs. Playful synthesizers butt up against hard-edged electric guitars, giving Rastaman Vibration a split personality both lyrically and musically.
Meet Me In Montauk 