| Live! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 5 December 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 17 July 1975 | |||
| Venue | Lyceum Theatre, London | |||
| Genre | Reggae | |||
| Length | 45:15 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | Bob Marley and the Wailers, Steve Smith, Chris Blackwell | |||
| Bob Marley and the Wailers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Live! | ||||
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Live! is a 1975 album by Bob Marley and the Wailers which was recorded live in concert during July 1975 at the Lyceum Theatre, London. "No Woman, No Cry (Live '75)" was released as a single.
The band's concerts at the Lyceum Theatre, London, on 17 and 18 July 1975, were recorded by Island Records employee Danny Holloway, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. [1] [2] The tracks selected were mostly from the 17 July performance, with "Lively Up Yourself" (not played on the 17th) from the 18th. [1]
"I wasn't prepared for what I saw that night," recalled Sounds photographer Kate Simon (who shot the cover of Marley's 1978 album Kaya ). "It was like seeing someone who was as good-looking as Steve McQueen, playing with a group that was peerless – as tight as anything you'd ever heard. And not only did you hear this magnificent voice, but the message was one of faith, truth and doing the right thing… To see someone who sang about principles, and did it in such a way that made even me dance, that was quite something." [3]
At the concert on the 17th, Chris Blackwell noted the audience's reaction to "No Woman, No Cry". [4]
Production was credited to Bob Marley and the Wailers, Steve Smith and Chris Blackwell.
The album was released on 5 December 1975 by Island Records as a vinyl LP. In 2001 it was released on CD. In 2016 a three disc release called the "Live! Deluxe Edition", became available in vinyl and CD formats, with recordings of both the 17 July and 18 July performances.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A− [5] |
| Rolling Stone | link |
Reviewing Live! in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies , Robert Christgau wrote, "The rushed tempos take their toll in aura: 'Trenchtown Rock' can be far more precise, painful, and ecstatic; like most live albums this relies on obvious material. But the material is also choice, unlike most live albums it's graced by distinct sound and economical arrangements, and the tempos force both singer and the band into moments of wild, unexpected intensity. I used to think Natty Dread 's 'No Woman, No Cry' was definitive." [5]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Trenchtown Rock" | Bob Marley | A-side of 1971 single | 4:23 |
| 2. | "Burnin' and Lootin'" | Bob Marley | Burnin' | 5:11 |
| 3. | "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)" | Leon Cogill, Carlton Barrett | Natty Dread | 4:36 |
| 4. | "Lively Up Yourself" | Bob Marley | Natty Dread | 4:33 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "No Woman, No Cry" | Vincent Ford | Natty Dread | 7:07 |
| 6. | "I Shot the Sheriff" | Bob Marley | Burnin | 5:18 |
| 7. | "Get Up, Stand Up" | Bob Marley, Peter Tosh | Burnin | 6:28 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8. | "Kinky Reggae" (bonus track) | Bob Marley | Catch a Fire | 7:35 |
with:
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Austria (IFPI Austria) [6] | Gold | 25,000* |
| France (SNEP) [7] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Germany (BVMI) [8] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| Netherlands (NVPI) [9] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [10] | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) [11] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA) [12] | Gold | 500,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Natty Dread is the seventh album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1974. Previously Marley had recorded with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer as the Wailers, and this was his first record without them.
Uprising is the twelfth studio album by Bob Marley and the Wailers and the final studio album released during Marley's lifetime. Released on 10 June 1980, the album is one of Marley's most directly religious, with nearly every song referencing his Rastafarian beliefs, culminating in the acoustic recording of "Redemption Song".
Exodus is the ninth studio album by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers, first released in June 1977 through Island Records, following Rastaman Vibration (1976). The album's production has been characterized as laid-back with pulsating bass beats and an emphasis on piano, trumpet and guitar. Unlike previous albums from the band, Exodus thematically moves away from cryptic story-telling; instead it revolves around themes of change, religious politics, and sexuality. The album is split into two halves: the first half revolves around religious politics, while the second half is focused on themes of making love and keeping faith.
Burnin' is the sixth album by Jamaican reggae group the Wailers, released in October 1973. It was written by all three members and recorded and produced by the Wailers in Jamaica, contemporaneously with tracks from the Catch a Fire album with further recording, mixing and completion while on the Catch a Fire tour in London. It contains the song "I Shot the Sheriff". It was the last album before Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer decided to pursue solo careers, while continuing their local releases through their company Tuff Gong Records. A commercial and critical success in the United States, Burnin' was certified Gold and later added to the National Recording Registry, with the Library of Congress deeming it historically and culturally significant.
Catch a Fire is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers, released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had started laying down tracks for JAD Records when a disputed CBS contract with Danny Sims created tensions. The band did not have enough money to return to Jamaica, so their road manager Brent Clarke approached producer Chris Blackwell, who agreed to advance The Wailers money for an album. They instead used this money to pay their fares back home, where they completed the recordings that constitute Catch a Fire. The album has nine songs, two of which were written and composed by Peter Tosh; the remaining seven were by Bob Marley. While Bunny Wailer is not credited as a writer, the group's writing style was a collective process. For the immediate follow-up album, Burnin', also released in 1973, he contributed four songs. After Marley returned with the tapes to London, Blackwell reworked the tracks at Island Studios, with contributions by Muscle Shoals session musician Wayne Perkins, who played guitar on three overdubbed tracks. The album had a limited original release under the name The Wailers in a sleeve depicting a Zippo lighter, designed by graphic artists Rod Dyer and Bob Weiner; subsequent releases had an alternative cover designed by John Bonis, featuring an Esther Anderson portrait of Marley smoking a "spliff", and crediting the band as Bob Marley and the Wailers.
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
Survival is the eleventh studio album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1979.
Confrontation is the thirteenth and final studio album by Bob Marley & the Wailers and the only one to be released posthumously in May 1983, two years after Marley's death. The songs were compiled from unreleased material and singles recorded during Marley's lifetime. Many of the tracks were built up from demos, most notably "Jump Nyabinghi" where vocals from the I-Threes were added, which were not there when Marley released the song as a dubplate in 1979. In addition the harmony vocals on "Blackman Redemption" and "Rastaman Live Up" are performed by the I-Threes in order to give the album a consistent sound – on the original single versions they are performed by the Meditations. The most famous track on the album is "Buffalo Soldier".
Rastaman Vibration is the eighth studio album by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in April 1976.
Kaya is the tenth studio album by the Jamaican band Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1978. The album consists of tracks recorded alongside those released on the Exodus album. It was produced by the band.
"No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song performed by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album Natty Dread.
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
"Redemption Song" is a song by Jamaican singer Bob Marley. It is the final track on Bob Marley and the Wailers' twelfth album, Uprising, produced by Chris Blackwell and released by Island Records. The song is considered one of Marley's greatest works. Some key lyrics derived from a speech given by the Pan-Africanist orator Marcus Garvey titled "The Work That Has Been Done", which Marley publicly recited as early as July 1979 during his appearance at the Amandla Festival.
Joseph Benjamin Higgs was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson. He was a popular artist in Jamaica for four decades and is also known for his work tutoring younger musicians including Bob Marley and the Wailers and Jimmy Cliff.
Alfarita Constantia "Rita" Marley is a Cuban-born Jamaican singer-songwriter and entrepreneur. She is the widow of reggae legend Bob Marley. Along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, Rita was a member of the reggae vocal group the I Threes, the backing vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Babylon by Bus is a live album released by Bob Marley and the Wailers in 1978. The tracks on this album are considered, with two exceptions, to be from the Pavillon de Paris concerts over 3 nights, 25–27 June 1978, during the Kaya Tour, though there are discrepancies in the track listing.
Legend is a compilation album by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released on 7 May 1984 by Island Records. It is a greatest hits collection of singles in its original vinyl format and is the best-selling reggae album of all-time, with more than 12 million copies sold in the US, more than 3.3 million in the UK and an estimated 25 million copies sold globally. In 2003, the album was ranked number 46 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", maintaining the ranking in a 2012 revised list, but dropping to number 48 in the 2020 revised list.
Talkin' Blues is a live album by Bob Marley & The Wailers, released in 1991. It contains live studio recordings from 1973 and 1975 intercut with interview segments of Bob Marley. The majority of tracks are taken from the recordings Bob Marley & The Wailers did on 31 October 1973, at The Record Plant in Sausalito, California, for San Francisco radio station KSAN. They include "You Can't Blame the Youth", sung by Peter Tosh, and "Get Up, Stand Up" with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh alternatingly taking lead vocals. The remaining tracks are taken from recordings made before the release of 1974's Natty Dread album, a performance at The Lyceum Theatre in London and interview segments from Jamaican radio in 1975.
Robert Nesta Marley was a Jamaican reggae singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of the genre, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide and made him a global figure in popular culture. He became known as a Rastafarian icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. Marley is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and culture and identity and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. Marley also supported the legalisation of cannabis and advocated for Pan-Africanism. In 1976, Marley survived an assassination attempt in his home, which was believed to be politically motivated.
Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On is a collection of album tracks by Bob Marley, and is an addendum to the 1984 compilation album, Legend.
51°30′42″N0°07′11″W / 51.511556°N 0.11975°W
