Bob Marley CDs

 Catch a Fire  /  Rastaman Vibration  /  Uprising  /  Exodus  /  Kaya  /  Survival / Burnin’

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Bob Marley: The Black Survivors

Reviews of Survival  by Mtume ya Salaam & Kalamu ya Salaam

--from Breath of Life

Our music is our emotional history, an exact documentation of our souls at any given moment in life’s timeline. What pressed us: impressed us, downpressed us, pressed our buttons, our clothes, pressed us into service, pressed us forward in struggle.

Our music. Precisely. 1979. Things were beginning to look grim. Really grim. Almost like we saw baby Bush coming cross-eyed at us. Bob Marley, who had been a strong hope, had previously released Kaya, an album of weed, women, and song. Except there was a pressing need for something deeper, stronger.

We whispered to ourselves. What a come of this? Don’t nobody still be a luta-ing? (Referring to the slogan “a luta continua” – the struggle continues.)

I was so disappointed I did not even buy Kaya at first. Those were nice enough songs, but Bob, come on man, we need a stronger shout. So when Survival dropped, you could hear shouts of joy erupt from every ghetto all over the world. Finally we had something we could listen to from edge to hole and never get bored, never have to skip a track. Could sing and shout the lyrics, hum them subversive sentiments at work, and chuckle to ourselves ‘cause when we all a moan and hum the devil don’t know what we talking about. And this time we not only suffer the conditions to sing about, now we had strong words to sing. "Babylon system is a vampire." Indeed. Seen?!

Surging songs of struggle. Even today, damn near thirty years later, we can take these lyrics and recite them out loud to someone. Not have to change a word and we will be bringing the noise. This is boldness.

There are a ton of great Marley songs, but there is no other album that is so strong through and through. Survival  is the album for all the sufferers.

Here are five choice cuts (four actually because the fifth cut, “One Dub,” is a dub version not on the album even though it is a dub of “One Drop,” which was one of the tracks from Survival. "Babylon System" is at the top of my all time list of songs because of its incisive condemnation of the status crow. "So Much Trouble In The World" mirrored what I saw and confirmed that what I saw was real. I was not hallucinating. "Wake Up And Live" an exhortation to do more than settle for the anesthesia of consumer society trinkets and addictions. Survival was, is, and always will be a personal anthem: naa-naa naa-naa naahhh, we’re the survivors, the Black survivors! The aforementioned "One Dub" is an instrumental interlude, a swinging (correction, make that: skanking) hot stepper. Notice how Marley be using sounds as lyrics, knowing the limitations of the English language, knowing we have feelings the English language does not have words for, the makers of English don’t want to hear, the sufferers under English need to articulate. Marley knows all that and fills his songs with wordless chants that articulate those urges within us that otherwise are shackled if we depend on dictionaries and proper English.

Not only was this album political, it is also the one with the strong horns and jazz solos. 

But beyond the music and the lyrics, Survival is also the album which makes the boldest statement in its artwork. The lettering "survival" is reversed out of the graphic of a packed slaveship. The rest of the album cover is made up of the flags of 49 African countries. I remember when the album came out, we rushed down to record stores to get the poster, a blow up of the cover. Boy, Bob made us so proud.

Survival was a survival kit, shield, ammunition and armament. Everything forward music ought to be. 

What was most amazing is that this came at a time when Bob was a world-wide phenomenon. Bob was being embraced everywhere he went. He could easily have laid back. Come out with “Four Little Birds,” lit a spliff and enjoyed the spoils of his enormous popularity. He could have. But he didn’t. Instead of blinging or blissing out, he came back harder than hard.

Survival. A true black-heart man. No sleeping lion. Natty Dread roared.

Give thanx. Bob you were just what we needed to keep on pushing. Thanks to you, surviving was made just a little easier.
—Kalamu ya Salaam

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Is Survival Bob Marley’s best album? I’d probably have to say yes. The only album that I sometimes think of as better is 1974’s Natty Dread. I think it says a lot about Bob’s consistency that his two best albums are separated by six years and probably six or seven other albums. (I didn’t check the discography; I’m just guessing.) What makes Survival so good? Kalamu did a good job of sketching out the socio-political importance of the album and I agree with all that he said. But what about the music? On Survival, Bob displayed a new-found density in his sound. By which I mean the music sounds sturdy, hard, and unbreakable.

As Kalamu mentioned, Survival came on the heels of Kaya, an album that was probably the softest of Bob’s career. Kaya sounds like an album that a man records when he knows the end is near. It sounds like the wistful humming you might hear from an old musician who knows the glory days are behind him. If Kaya is a pretty whisper, Survival is a thunderous roar. Even the slower, softer songs are hard. "Babylon System," the song Kalamu is featuring, is a good example. The groove is smooth and mellow. There are nature sounds in the background. It’s a pretty record. But listen to what the man is saying!

 "Babylon system is the vampire / Sucking the blood of the sufferers / Tell the children the truth / Tell the children the truth right now!" 

Did y’all know the original title of the Survival album was Black Survival? It was. Bob decided to change it because he didn’t want people misunderstanding his point and thinking he was advocating that others not survive. That wasn’t Bob’s point. His point was that the continent of Africa (as well as Pan-Africans everywhere) was under attack and was being destroyed. He was advocating the unity and survival of Black people in Africa and all over the world. That was the meaning of the slave ship and the African flags on the cover. Black survival.

I’ve always been amazed by how many people listen to Bob Marley’s songs without actually listening to his songs. The guys at work like to listen to a Classic Rock station while we’re on the dock. Every night, the station plays a highly political Bob Marley song back-to-back with a hit record by Fleetwood Mac or the Eagles or somebody. I’m not knocking either Fleetwood Mac or the Eagles—honestly, "Dreams" is the shit—I’m just saying though. Anyway, the point is, I have never heard that station play a song from Survival and I know I never will. Reason is, Survival made it impossible to listen to Bob Marley without paying attention to what he was saying. There’s something about the tightness of Bob’s focus on this album, something about how relentless he was both musically (there are no ballads) and lyrically (there’s not a single love song) that makes you know you’re listening to some heavyweight political shit.

It was as if Bob had a sudden shift in personality. On "Running Away," a song from Kaya, Bob uses a gentle, metaphorical and self-reflective tone to address the attempt on his life and his subsequent self-imposed exile from Jamaica. Maybe "Running Away" had nothing to do with Bob himself, but given that he had in fact just "run away" from his homeland, it’s hard to see it any other way. Near the end of the song, Bob is singing so quietly that I imagine he must’ve had his mouth pressed right up against the microphone screen. "Got to protect my life," he sings. "And I don’t want to live with no strife. . . . I made my decision and I left you. And now you come to tell me that I’m running away. But it’s not true."

One year later, on Survival, Bob revisited the subject on both the title track and more pointedly on "Ambush in the Night." This time, there were no metaphors. The chorus of "Ambush" goes:

And on "Survival," Bob dropped one of the great double-entendres of his career when he sang:

"Some people got the plots and the schemes / Some people got no aim, it seems."

In both songs, Bob was striking a defiant, fighting stance. He wasn’t talking about "running" anywhere. He was back in Jamaica (literally and metaphorically), ready to face his enemies.

One last thing and I’ll bring this novel to a close. Kalamu can say whatever he wants about it, but I love the Kaya album. "Easy Skanking," "She’s Gone," "Is This Love," the mystical "Time Will Tell." There’s "Satisfy My Soul," with that wonderful line where Bob says his girl makes him "feel like a sweepstakes winner." "Misty Morning" is another great record. Hell, there really are no highlights ‘cause the whole album is on point. I guess I feel the same way about Kaya as I feel about Charlie Hunter’s Natty Dread. Maybe it’s softer than the ‘real’ thing. Maybe it’s simpler. And maybe I don’t care. It’s great music and I love it.—Mtume ya Salaam

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There’s More Than One Kind Of Love         

I listened to the Charlie Hunter again and I actually like some of it ("Lively Up Yourself" and "Bend Down Low") but I’m not particularly interested in listening to it over and over. And as I said in the write-up about it, that’s on me, not a knock against Charlie Hunter or the music he made. Which brings me to Kaya. You know I understand and even like some of the tunes on Kaya. How can anyone not dig some of those smooth, classic, mellow jams? But are those gentle tunes what we need now or needed then (back in the Seventies-turning-Eighties)? 

My answer is—surprise—yes. We need Kaya now and we needed Kaya songs back then. But the deal is that there was already an almost unlimited supply of them gentle-sounding kind of love songs. What was less forward was struggle music. 

We don’t need ceaselessly to be encouraged to lay back. In critical times we need sounds to urge us forward. Let me put it in more controversial terms: as great as the body of Stevie Wonder’s work is, and Stevie’s music is undeniably great—he wrote some of the greatest love songs of all time—but where is Stevie’s Survival album? Where is something fierce flung in the face of the oppressor?

I don’t think it’s an accident we don’t have much fist-in-the-air popular music produced by African Americans, especially when you look at the work of the most popular artists. Hell, part of being popular in America, is being generally considered safe. The American music industry does not like edgy music regardless of how it sells.

When they did a Bob Marley greatest hits compilation called Legend, you know how many tunes from Survival they included? None. It’s not that Survival didn’t sell, it’s just that… well, y’all know where this is going?

So yes indeed, Kaya is hip. Is some sweet songs, yeah. But if Bob was going to go back to Jamaica and face his enemies (which is what Bob did) than Kaya was not enough to ensure his Survival. Seen?—Kalamu ya Salaam  

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Why bring Stevie into this?       

Damn, Baba. I can’t believe you brought Stevie into this. Stevie’s Survival is a little something called Innervisions. I know you know this because I learned that music back at home. Back when we were kids, the entire album scared the hell out of me. I’m a grown man now and I still get a little unsettled listening to "Living For The City," "Too High" or "Jesus Children Of America." Come on, now.

Which reminds me. One of these weeks, we gotta do a Stevie Wonder three-parter. Later….—Mtume ya Salaam

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Because Stevie proves my point  

Innervisions is a wonderful statement but it’s no Survival. I picked Stevie to bring into this because Stevie is unassailable in his greatness and because Stevie is a contemporary of Marley.

Check Innervisions closely. Is it thru and thru a pointed political statement? No. The point you made ("scared the hell out of me") is what I’m addressing…negroes are afraid of revolution. Am I calling you a negro? No, I’m saying when it comes to politics the majority of us negroes are children, scared to fully face the reality of our situation.

It’s time we stop fooling ourselves about our conditions. We live in a racist, capitalist, and sexist country that has a long and sordid history of violence and of bullying others including helping to destabilize Jamaica. So how is it that the little island of Jamaica produces giants like the honorable Marcus Garvey who put together the largest organization of African Americans in history and like the honorable Robert Nesta Marley who gave us the most militant popular recording of the 20th century? Because to achieve those levels of greatness you have to desire to burn down rather than sleep in the big White House. Our brothers and sisters around the world understand this reality, those of us living who think "we’re living in heaven" are really… you know how Marley’s song goes. You know the reality of America.

If Innervisions still unsettles you, what you think a daily dose of Survival will do to you? Facts is facts, Mtume. Let’s not fool ourselves or pretend otherwise, when it comes to a militant, political statement Innervisions is no match for Survival. Period.

—Kalamu ya Salaam

Source:  Breath of Life

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Responses

I like this exchange. It was honest, open, and respectful. It brought out some real generational perspectives and tensions. I like that. Too often they are ignored and we over identify. It was very instructional.

Of course, I'm in Kalamu's generation and he speaks my heart. He speaks that which we know from our own struggles from 1968 forward. Later generations have not fully soaked up that reality (those times and dreams) the urgency of the hour. I'm very pleased that Kalamu dropped down like he did and said what he said because it needed to be said. That edginess, that consciousness, is necessary, and necessary in these most disastrous times. It was a wake up call. Wake up and Live —Rudy

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Of course, Kaya  famously followed on the heels of  Exodus and that is also a very heavy and interesting record. Biographically, Exodus and Kaya document the turmoil and emotional longing of Marley’s exile. The notion of Exodus is, for me, one of Marley’s most powerful and timeless themes. Survival seems to complete this trilogy with its militant, defiant stance set alongside his return to the homeland.—rich

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Marley in Love—By Mark Anthony Neal—Given the Marley canon, which includes so many lyrical firebombs aimed at the great global "isms" of the modern era—neocolonialism, imperialism, racism and capitalism (modern men didn't seem, much interested in sexism), both "Satisfy My Soul" and "Is This Love?" are so powerful because Marley allowed himself to be "caught up" in such an unguarded mood, leaving himself vulnerable to the inconsistent rhythms of love. Marley's vulnerability is made more apparent on tracks such as "She's Gone," "Misty Morning" and the haunting "Running Away." On the latter track Marley speaks from the position of a man in flight ("You running and you running / But you can't run from yourself.") The last two minutes of the song is brilliant as Marley sings in a growly whisper—no doubt a ganga induced stream of improvisation—repeating several times the line "I'm not running away." The moment is every bit as striking as the gospel-induced drives that close so many classic gospel recordings.

The most blatantly political track on Kaya, the acoustically sparse "Time Will Time,"  features one of Marley's most moving post-Bunny/Peter performances as Marley defiantly sings "JAH would never give the power to a baldhead / run come crucify the dred." More than 30 years after its initial release in March of 1978, Kaya remains a sweet satisfying surprise from Marley.—NewBlackMan

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Catch a Fire 1. Concrete Jungle 2. Slave Driver 3. 400 Years 4. Stop That Train 5. Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby) 6. Stir It Up 7. Kinky Reggae 8. No More Trouble 9. Midnight Ravers 10. High Tide Or Low Tide   11. All Day All Night

Catch a Fire. . . help put the band (and, by extension, reggae music) on the map with mainstream listeners. As with virtually all Marley albums, this 1973 CD stands tall on the merits of its tight melodies, solid instrumentation, and the often politically charged lyrics on cuts like the impassioned "Slave Driver," "400 Years" (a Peter Tosh original), and "No More Trouble," a tough jam that can be interpreted as a pro-peace/anti-war anthem. But for me, the album's high point is the catchy "Stir it Up," one of his most familiar tunes that captures the essence of a classic reggae song. Some complain that it's a bit long-winded at over 5 minutes, but for me, the groove is just fine as it is. This reissue has two bonus songs that really aren't bonus songs at all: "High Tide or Low Tide" and "All Day All Night." —The Groove Catch a Fire . . . is Bob's masterpiece, and his best disc. . . . and the first four songs ("Concrete Jungle," "Slave Driver," "Stop That Train," "400 Years") are all pure gold. This ties Burnin' as Bob's most political album . . .—finulanu

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Ziggy Marley

Could you Be Loved  / Natural Mystic / Concrete Jungle / Rastaman Vibrations

Trailer for Marley

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Africa Unite: A Celebration of Bob Marley’s Vision

Directed by Stephanie Black

In 2005, to celebrate what would have been Bob Marley’s 60th birthday, his widow, Rita Marley, and several of Marley’s offspring staged a gala concert in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in celebration of the iconic reggae singer’s commitment to African unity. In addition to the concert, a week of Unicef-sponsored workshops, discussions and debates took place, in which delegates such as actor and human-rights activist Danny Glover and controversial Jamaican politician Dudley Thompson contemplated what it means to be an African descendant outside Africa. Young people from all over the continent also gathered to discuss their own roles in Africa’s future.

Africa Unite: A Celebration of Bob Marley’s Vision is Stephanie Black’s documentary of the event. Black has already given us the hard-hitting Life and Debt, which explores the destructive impact of the IMF and the World Bank in Jamaica, and H-2 Worker, which exposed the unbelievably exploitative situation facing Jamaican sugarcane cutters in Florida. In Africa Unite, she makes efforts to keep a political-activist focus intact, which is difficult, because much of the movie is devoted to bland concert footage. But the film’s most heartening bits come in testimony from the young Africans who will themselves make up Africa’s next generation of leaders. Also captivating is the sub-plot provided by Bongo Tawney, a poor, elder Rasta who travels to Ethiopia for the first time and who is visibly moved by what he encounters there.

On the downside, the film is generally disjointed. It is sometimes difficult to get a sense of how the events unfolded, and of the exact significance of each segment, as there is so much concert footage interspersed. The concert footage itself does not translate particularly well to the small screen; you probably had to be there to understand the magnitude of the concert, which lasted 12 hours and drew over 350,000 people. And no disrespect to Marley’s children, but every time I’ve seen them live, I wish they would leave their father’s work alone and concentrate on their own talents. But needless to say, as this concert was in celebration of Daddy’s birthday, every one of the Marley boys presents a classic number from the 70s, and for some reason, each feels the need to remain on stage for the entirety of his siblings’ performances, which only adds to the dragging sense of what features here.

The bonus concert footage fares little better than that on the main DVD, though a duet by Rita and Marley’s mother is kind of sweet. In contrast, there are illuminating, though brief, interviews with Rita Marley and several of Bob’s sons, giving some context to the proceedings in terms of their own views on Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular. In summary, although it’s hardly essential viewing overall, Marley fans will probably find something of interest.

Source:MepPublishers

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Africa Unite                        By Bob Marley   Africa, Unite 'Cause we're moving right out of Babylon And we're going to our father's land How good and how pleasant it would be Before GOD and man, yeah To see the unification of all Africans, yeah As it's been said already let it be done, yeah We are the children of the Rastaman We are the children of the Higher Man Africa, unite 'cause the children wanna come home Africa, unite 'cause we're moving right out of Babylon And we're grooving to our father's land How good and how pleasant it would be Before GOD and man To see the unification of all Rastaman, yeah As it's been said already let it be done I tell you who we are under the sun We are the children of the Rastaman We are the children of the Higher Man So, Africa, unite, Africa, unite Unite for the benefit of your people Unite for it's later than you think Unite for the benefit of your children Unite for it's later than you think Africa awaits its creators, Africa awaiting its creators Africa, you're my forefather cornerstone Unite for the Africans abroad, unite for the Africans a yard Africa, Unite *   *   *   *   * Small Axe By Bob Marley Why boasteth thyself, oh evil men, Playing smart and not being clever? I say you're working iniquity to achieve vanity, yeah, But the goodness of JAH JAH endureth forever. If you are the big tree, We are the small axe. Sharpened to cut you down, Ready to cut you down. These are the words of my master. Keep on telling me No weak heart shall prosper, Oh, no they can't. And whosoever diggeth a pit, Lord, Shall fall in it, shall fall in it. Whosoever diggeth a pit shall bury in it, Shall bury in it. If you are the big tree, We are the small axe Sharpened to cut you down, Ready to cut you down. And whosoever diggeth a pit shall fall in it, fall in it. Whosoever diggeth a pit shall bury in it, shall bury in it. If you have a big tree, We have a small axe Ready to cut you down, Sharpened to cut you down. If you are the big tree, we are the small axe Ready to cut you down, Sharpened to cut you down.

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Running Away                      Lyrics by Bob Marley Ya running and ya running And ya running away. Ya running and ya running And ya running away. Ya running and ya running And ya running away. Ya running and ya running, But ya can't run away from yourself Can't run away from yourself - Can't run away from yourself - Can't run away from yourself - Can't run away from yourself - Can't run away from yourself. Ya must have done (must have done), Somet'in' wrong (something wrong). Said: ya must have done (must have done), Wo! Somet'in' wrong (something wrong). Why you can't find the Place where you belong? Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do (running away); Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do (running away); Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do (running away); Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do (running away); Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do (running away). Every man thinketh his Burden is the heaviest (heaviest). Every man thinketh his Burden is the heaviest (heaviest). Ya still mean it: Who feels it knows it, Lord; Who feels it knows it, Lord; Who feels it knows it, Lord; Who feels it knows it, Lord. Ya running and ya running And ya running away. Ya running and ya running And ya running away. Ya running and ya running And ya running away. Ya running and ya running But ya can't run away from yourself. Could ya run away from yourself? Can you run away from yourself? Can't run away from yourself! Can't run away from yourself! Yeah-eah-eah-eah - from yourself. Brr - you must have done somet'in' - Somet'in' - somet'in' - somet'in' - Somet'in' ya don't want nobody to know about: Ya must have, Lord - somet'in' wrong, What ya must have done - ya must have done somet'in' wrong. Why you can't find where you belong? Well, well, well, well, ya running away, heh, no - Ya running away, ooh, no, no, no, I'm not (running away), no, don't say that - don't say that, 'Cause (running away) I'm not running away, ooh! (running away) I've got to protect my life, (running away) And I don't want to live with no strife. (running away) It is better to live on the housetop (running away) Than to live in a house full of confusion. (running away) So, I made my decision and I left ya; (running away) Now you comin' to tell me (running away) That I'm runnin' away. (running away) But it's not true, (running away) I am not runnin' away. (running away) /fadeout/

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Bob Marley - Running Away, Bahamas '79 /  Bob Marley Live @ Santa Barbara / Bob Marley—Running Away Live

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Crazy Baldhead                 By Bob Marley Them crazy, them crazy We gonna chase those crazy Baldheads out of town Chase those crazy baldheads Out of town I and I build the cabin I and I plant the corn Didnt my people before me Slave for this country Now you look me with a scorn Then you eat up all my corn We gonna chase those crazy baldheads Chase them crazy Chase those crazy baldheads out of town Build your penitentiary, we build your schools Brainwash education to make us the fools Hate is your reward for our love Telling us of your God above We gonna chase those crazy Chase those crazy baldheads Chase those crazy baldheads out of town Here comes the conman Coming with his con plan We wont take no bribe, we got to stay alive We gonna chase those crazy Chase those crazy baldheads Chase those crazy baldheads out of town

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Greenback Planet: How the Dollar Conquered the World and Threatened Civilization as We Know It By H. W. Brands In Greenback Planet, acclaimed historian H. W. Brands charts the dollar's astonishing rise to become the world's principal currency. Telling the story with the verve of a novelist, he recounts key episodes in U.S. monetary history, from the Civil War debate over fiat money (greenbacks) to the recent worldwide financial crisis. Brands explores the dollar's changing relations to gold and silver and to other currencies and cogently explains how America's economic might made the dollar the fundamental standard of value in world finance. He vividly describes the 1869 Black Friday attempt to corner the gold market, banker J. P. Morgan's bailout of the U.S. treasury, the creation of the Federal Reserve, and President Franklin Roosevelt's handling of the bank panic of 1933. Brands shows how lessons learned (and not learned) in the Great Depression have influenced subsequent U.S. monetary policy, and how the dollar's dominance helped transform economies in countries ranging from Germany and Japan after World War II to Russia and China today. He concludes with a sobering dissection of the 2008 world financial debacle, which exposed the power--and the enormous risks--of the dollar's worldwide reign.  The Economy

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Panther Baby A Life of Rebellion and Reinvention By Jamal Joseph In the 1960s he exhorted students at Columbia University to burn their college to the ground. Today he’s chair of their School of the Arts film division. Jamal Joseph’s personal odyssey—from the streets of Harlem to Riker’s Island and Leavenworth to the halls of Columbia—is as gripping as it is inspiring. Eddie Joseph was a high school honor student, slated to graduate early and begin college. But this was the late 1960s in Bronx’s black ghetto, and fifteen-year-old Eddie was introduced to the tenets of the Black Panther Party, which was just gaining a national foothold. By sixteen, his devotion to the cause landed him in prison on the infamous Rikers Island—charged with conspiracy as one of the Panther 21 in one of the most emblematic criminal cases of the sixties. When exonerated, Eddie—now called Jamal—became the youngest spokesperson and leader of the Panthers’ New York chapter. He joined the “revolutionary underground,” later landing back in prison.

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The White Masters of the World

From The World and Africa, 1965

By W. E. B. Du Bois

W. E. B. Du Bois’ Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization (Fletcher)

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Ancient African Nations

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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan  /  The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll  /  Only a Pawn in Their Game

Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for Slavery

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posted 4 February 2007