I am a huge fan of The Wailers and have been listening to them for 15 years. This was the first album to feature the I-Threes, the new backing vocalists drafted in to fill the void left by the departed Pete Tosh and Bunny Wailer. Despite their absence this album became the first to really establish The Wailers outside of Jamaica and brought them the cross over success that Island Records had been craving since first signing them. Bob Marley became a household name after this and his road to superstardom had begun. I personally feel that although it gets rave reviews elsewhere, for me it lacks a little something that would've made it a real classic. It's still an excellent album which features many great songs but as an album it doesn't quite reach the same heights as Catch A Fire and Burnin' had before it.
The album opens with a reworking of Lively Up Yourself which is a nice song but when compared with the original, feels a little flat. Next is one their most famous songs, No Woman, No Cry. If like me you heard the live recording of this first, then this will disappoint. The live recording is slower and the organ and vocals blend perfectly, but on this version it doesn't have that same wow factor. Again not bad just not great and let's face it the live recording featured on Legend has to be one of the greatest live songs ever. On the third track the album begins to step it up with the awesome Them Belly Full (But We Hungry) which is followed by the militant brilliance of Rebel Music (3 O 'clock Roadblock). So Jah Sey is next up and while not quite a classic it's a nice song. The joyful Natty Dread raises the standard again with it's faster, insistent beat, but the reworking of Bend Down Low like Lively Up Yourself just leaves you longing to listen to the original. Talkin' Blues happens to be one of my favourite songs on the album with it's sparse arrangement and excellent backing vocals by the I-Threes. Revolution is good but i don't feel it's quite as strong as some of their other rootsier songs like Burnin' and Lootin' or I Shot The Sheriff etc. The bonus track Am-A-Do is ok but by no means a classic and bearing in mind that The Wailers always released relatively short, streamlined albums it isn't too hard to see why they cut it and left Natty Dread as a 9 song album.
The rhythm section is quality, as always Aston and Carlton Barrett never disappoint. There are some lovely licks of guitar too by Al Anderson on many of the songs, overall the musicality is superb. But whereas other albums by The Wailers are consistently classic, this album has classic songs interspersed with good songs. My problem with this album is down to the material being not quite up the standard that The Wailers had set themselves previously. But that's understandable. This was the first album with the new line up and the next album, Rastaman Vibration, was back to classic status. If you're new to The Wailers buy Songs Of Freedom. It's the best introduction to their work that you can get. If you already have a compilation of some kind and are looking into getting some of the original albums try starting with Exodus and Kaya. Then buy the harder but incredible Catch A Fire (Deluxe Edition), Burnin' and Survival. Once you've got them i'm pretty sure you'll buy the rest.
