Bob Marley

A stellar, accessible collection of songs, this album was the last released by Bob Marley in his lifetime. "Zion Train," "Could You Be Loved" and "Redemption Song" are all classics, melding both passion and excellent songwriting. The result is a memorable, cohesive album by a band at the height of their powers.

Last year's Survival found Bob Marley close to his peak, boldly appraising global black unity
from a Rastafarian viewpoint with his most biting and uncompromised music in some time.
Uprising is that landmark album's disquieting successor. The new record finds reggae's
foremost poet-prophet in a contemplative and pessimistic mood, secure in his religious
beliefs but concerned about a gloomy future. If Uprising doesn't snap one's head... More >

With Tosh and Bunny departed, he rose to power as a bandleader rather than a songster, writing well enough while he mastered groove and sound and interplay. Except for "Jamming," a title that sums up the period perfectly, nothing since his solo-with-band debut Natty Dread has had the instant-classic immediacy of two very different offerings here: the dancy pop shot "Could You Be Loved" and the spirit anthem "Redemption Song." "Real Situation" ("It seems like total destruction/ The only solution") and "We and Dem" (need dey say more?) are apocalyptic enough to scare the bejezus out of Babylonian well-wishers, "Coming in From the Cold" and "Forever Loving Jah" mellow enough to hold out hope. Pray for him. Pray for all of us. (Grade - A-)