1970’s Soul Rebels was Bob Marley’s second full-length release, but the first that was recorded as a proper album. Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer were produced by dub music pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry, whose minimalist style was a perfect accompaniment to the trio’s harmonies.
Soul Rebels was the first album released under the name Bob Marley and the Wailers, a decision that reportedly caused friction in the band.
I’ve been wanting to do another one of my artist deep dives, wherein I listen to every album by an artist I know only casually. My first three deep dives covered Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and Madonna. I found all three very rewarding.
I’ve settled on Bob Marley for the next one, which kicks off today. Apart from the mega-selling greatest hits collection Legend, I have never heard a Marley album all the way through, and I’m excited to learn more about the man and his music.
Along with The Wailers, Marley released 13 studio albums between 1965 and 1983. I’ll feature songs from each of them over the next three weeks.
Three weeks, 14 studio albums, one icon… today concludes my Madonna deep dive!
As with my first two artist deep dives (Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne), this one limped to a close as Madonna’s last few albums didn’t approach the quality or impact of her early work.
I guess that’s the nature of the music industry, almost without exception. How many decades can you expect your muse to last?
After nearly three weeks of diving into Madonna’s catalog, we’ve arrived at her most recent album, 2019’s Madame X. Released at the ripe old age (by music industry standards) of 61, this is one of the most stylistically interesting records of her career.
Madonna had been living in Lisbon, Portugal, for a couple of years when she was inspired to craft an album that featured not only the sounds of that country, but of the many cultures with which she had come into contact while there.
Madonna’s 13th studio album, Rebel Heart, dropped in March of 2015. It marked a departure from the club-heavy albums she’d been putting out for more than a decade, leaning more on techno-tinged power ballads.
It was also her best record since 2005’s Confessions On a Dance Floor.
Rebel Heart has a large lineup of producers, both big names and small, including Kanye West, Avicii and Diplo. Nicki Minaj returns to feature on a track. But unlike on previous releases, that laundry list of contributors doesn’t overwhelm the final product.
Meet Me In Montauk 