Lively Up Yourself to hearing this album. (Natty Dread +1 - Bob Marley & The Wailers)

Name: GKDurkin

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Product:	Natty Dread +1 - Bob Marley & The Wailers
Date:	22.03.08 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Strong songs that are often overlooked.

Disadvantages: Changing Wailer's line up may put some off.

For many people Bob Marley is reggae, this is quite understandable - thanks to shrewd label decisions he always appealed to rock audiences - though this state of affairs can lead to a narrow view of Marley's close to twenty years in music.

It was Marleys' talent and charisma that kept him at the top, but his apprenticeship served under a host of influences and featuring a variety of collaborations that rounded and grounded is sound. Pride of place is often given to records such as Burnin' and Catch a Fire, involving Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, but this should not be to the detriment of recordings such as 1975's Natty dread. Whilst this album features a reduced membership of that classic line up, the backing vocals of the I-Threes, solid bass of Aston "Family Man" Barrett and assured influence of Chris Blackwell remain.

Although the departure of Tosh and Bunny wailer affected the depth of The Wailers' sound, the sheer quality of Natty Dread's songs - the title track, No Woman, No Cry, Them Belly Full (But We Hungry), Lively Up Yourself and so on - and the force of Bob Marley's solo personality carried it through to a degree he never quite realised again. Not one to be overlooked.

Summary: Well worth exploring alongside more well known albums.