Bob Marley and the Wailers Live!
When Bob Marley and the Wailers recorded their legendary 1975 London gig, little did they know of its lasting power. From the opening shuffles of "Trenchtown Rock" to the rabble-rousing "Get Up, Stand Up," this brief recording captured Marley's combo of critical invective and languid musical power. The rhythm team of Aston and Carlton Barrett make time-keeping splendidly melodic as Marley's gently scouring voice gets woven in with his backup vocalists in a mellowly dazzling display. On fire, the band jumps into the discovery of its power without regard to keeping the songs tidy or reflective of anything other than the moment of execution. No matter the years between its original release and the present, this recording will always breathe. BetweenLive!and the later, longerBabylon by Bus, Bob Marley showed categorical know-how in the art of executing state-of-the-art performances in the era of arena rock's supremacy.--Andrew Bartlett