Songs of Freedom | ||||
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Box set by | ||||
Released | 6 October 1992 | |||
Recorded | 1961–1980 | |||
Genre | Reggae | |||
Length | 4:59:11 | |||
Label | Tuff Gong | |||
Bob Marley and the Wailers chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Rolling Stone | [2] |
Baltimore Sun | [3] |
Songs of Freedom is a four-disc box set containing music by Bob Marley and the Wailers, from Marley's first song "Judge Not", recorded in 1961, to a live version of "Redemption Song", recorded in 1980 at his last concert.
The song "Iron Lion Zion" was first released on this compilation, in what is often considered the original mix (although the original is said to not have included the harmony vocals from the I-Threes). The single releases (and subsequent compilation releases) use a remix which was created for the single using modern production, which sounds very different.
"Why Should I" was remixed for this compilation and released as a single. The original wasn't released until the JAD/Universal box set Man To Man in 2004. The original was recorded in 1971 and features Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer's backing vocals, which were replaced by The I-Threes on the remix.
It is said to be complementary to the greatest hits compilation Legend , in the sense that any of the tracks with the same names are presented in different versions from the normal single mixes on Legend - as an example see the number of 12" mixes in the track listing below. The exceptions are the original versions of "Get Up, Stand Up" and "Easy Skanking", the latter appearing on the 2002 Deluxe Edition remaster.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Judge Not" | Bob Marley | non-album single (1962) | 2:26 |
2. | "One Cup of Coffee" | Brooke Benton, arr. B. Marley | non-album single (1962) | 2:34 |
3. | "Simmer Down" | B. Marley | The Wailing Wailers (1965) | 2:50 |
4. | "I'm Still Waiting" | B. Marley | The Wailing Wailers (1965) | 3:07 |
5. | "One Love/People Get Ready" | B. Marley, Curtis Mayfield | The Wailing Wailers (1965) | 3:21 |
6. | "Put It On" | B. Marley | The Wailing Wailers (1965) | 3:08 |
7. | "Bus Dem Shut (Pyaka)" | B. Marley | single (1967) | 2:47 |
8. | "Mellow Mood" (original) | B. Marley | single (1967) | 3:31 |
9. | "Bend Down Low" | B. Marley | single (1967) | 2:30 |
10. | "Hypocrites" | B. Marley | single (1967) | 2:36 |
11. | "Stir It Up" (original) | B. Marley | single (1967) | 3:13 |
12. | "Nice Time" | B. Marley | single (1967) | 2:44 |
13. | "Thank You Lord" (original) | B. Marley | single (1967) | 3:41 |
14. | "Hammer" | B. Marley | previously unreleased demo (1968) | 2:57 |
15. | "Caution" | B. Marley | The Best of The Wailers (1970) | 2:45 |
16. | "Back Out" | B. Marley | The Best of The Wailers (1970) | 2:18 |
17. | "Soul Shake Down Party" | B. Marley | The Best of The Wailers (1970) | 3:06 |
18. | "Do It Twice" | B. Marley | The Best of The Wailers (1970) | 2:49 |
19. | "Soul Rebel" | B. Marley | Soul Rebels (1970) | 3:19 |
20. | "Sun Is Shining" | B. Marley | Soul Revolution Part II (1971) | 2:11 |
21. | "Don't Rock My Boat" | B. Marley | Soul Revolution Part II (1971) | 4:32 |
22. | "Small Axe" | B. Marley | single (1971) | 3:57 |
23. | "Duppy Conqueror" | B. Marley | single (1971) | 3:39 |
24. | "Mr. Brown" | B. Marley | single (1971) | 3:32 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
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1. | "Screwface" | B. Marley | single (1971) | 2:23 |
2. | "Lick Samba" | B. Marley | single (1971) | 2:33 |
3. | "Trenchtown Rock" (alternative mix) | B. Marley | single (1971) | 3:28 |
4. | "Craven Choke Puppy" | B. Marley | single (1971) | 2:52 |
5. | "Guava Jelly" | B. Marley | single (1971) | 2:18 |
6. | "Acoustic Medley" (medley of "Guava Jelly", "This Train", "Cornerstone", "Comma Comma", "Dew Drops", "Stir It Up" and "I'm Hurting Inside") | B. Marley | previously unreleased JAD audition (1971) | 12:09 |
7. | "I'm Hurting Inside" (alternative mix) | B. Marley | previously unreleased, from an unfinished JAD album (1971) | 3:29 |
8. | "High Tide or Low Tide" | B. Marley | previously unreleased outtake from Catch a Fire (1972) | 4:09 |
9. | "Slave Driver" | B. Marley | Catch a Fire (1972) | 2:51 |
10. | "No More Trouble" | B. Marley | Catch a Fire (1972) | 3:59 |
11. | "Concrete Jungle" | B. Marley | Catch a Fire (1972) | 4:11 |
12. | "Get Up, Stand Up" | B. Marley, Peter Tosh | Burnin' (1973) | 3:14 |
13. | "Rastaman Chant" | Traditional, arr. The Wailers | Burnin (1973) | 3:51 |
14. | "Burnin' and Lootin'" | B. Marley | Burnin (1973) | 4:13 |
15. | "Iron Lion Zion" (original) | B. Marley | previously unreleased recording for this release. (1973) | 2:55 |
16. | "Lively Up Yourself" | B. Marley | Natty Dread (1973) | 5:11 |
17. | "Natty Dread" | B. Marley | Natty Dread (1973) | 3:34 |
18. | "I Shot the Sheriff" (live) | B. Marley | Live! (1975) | 5:26 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
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1. | "No Woman No Cry" (live at The Roxy) | Vincent Ford | previously unreleased at the time, though later appears on the live release Live at the Roxy (1976) | 5:22 |
2. | "Who the Cap Fit" | Aston Barrett, Carlton Barrett | Rastaman Vibration (1976) | 4:41 |
3. | "Jah Live" | B. Marley, Lee Perry | single (1975); later added to the remastered edition of Rastaman Vibration (1976) | 4:15 |
4. | "Crazy Baldheads" | R. Marley, Ford | Rastaman Vibration (1976) | 3:10 |
5. | "War" | Cole, C. Barrett | Rastaman Vibration (1976) | 3:36 |
6. | "Johnny Was" | R. Marley | Rastaman Vibration (1976) | 3:46 |
7. | "Rat Race" | R. Marley | Rastaman Vibration (1976) | 2:49 |
8. | "Jamming" (12-inch mix) | B. Marley | remix of track from Exodus (1977) | 5:45 |
9. | "Waiting in Vain" (advert mix) | B. Marley | previously unreleased remix of track from Exodus (1977) | 3:59 |
10. | "Exodus" (12-inch mix) | B. Marley | remix of track from Exodus (1977) | 7:25 |
11. | "Natural Mystic" | B. Marley | Exodus (1977) | 3:26 |
12. | "Three Little Birds" (alternate mix) | B. Marley | alternate version of track from Exodus (1977) | 2:56 |
13. | "Running Away" | B. Marley | Kaya (1978) | 4:14 |
14. | "Keep on Moving" (London version) | C. Mayfield | outtake from an unreleased Lee Perry album (1978), first released on the "One Love/People Get Ready" 12-inch single (1984) | 5:44 |
15. | "Easy Skanking" | B. Marley | Kaya (1978) | 2:55 |
16. | "Is This Love" (horns mix) | B. Marley | alternate mix of track from Kaya (1978) | 4:00 |
17. | "Smile Jamaica" | B. Marley, Perry | non-album single (1976); later added to deluxe edition of Rastaman Vibration (1976) | 3:13 |
18. | "Time Will Tell" | B. Marley | Kaya (1978) | 3:32 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
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1. | "Africa Unite" | B. Marley | Survival (1979) | 2:54 |
2. | "Survival" | B. Marley | Survival (1979) | 3:52 |
3. | "One Drop" | B. Marley | Survival (1979) | 3:51 |
4. | "One Dub" | B. Marley | Survival (One Drop" b-side) (1979) | 3:53 |
5. | "Zimbabwe" | B. Marley | Survival (1979) | 3:47 |
6. | "So Much Trouble in the World" | B. Marley | Survival (1979) | 3:57 |
7. | "Ride Natty Ride" (12-inch mix) | B. Marley | remix of the track from Survival (1979) | 6:22 |
8. | "Babylon System" | B. Marley | Survival (1979) | 4:18 |
9. | "Coming in from the Cold" (12-inch mix) | B. Marley | remix of the track from Uprising (1980) | 6:04 |
10. | "Real Situation" | B. Marley | Uprising (1980) | 3:08 |
11. | "Bad Card" | B. Marley | Uprising (1980) | 2:48 |
12. | "Could You Be Loved" (12-inch mix) | B. Marley | remix of the track from Uprising (1980) | 5:26 |
13. | "Forever Loving Jah" | B. Marley | Uprising (1980) | 3:50 |
14. | "Rastaman Live Up" | B. Marley | Confrontation (1983) | 5:21 |
15. | "Give Thanks and Praises" | B. Marley | Confrontation (1983) | 3:14 |
16. | "One Love/People Get Ready" (12-inch mix) | B. Marley, Mayfield | remix of track from Exodus (1977) | 7:08 |
17. | "Why Should I" | B. Marley | previously unreleased recording, which The I-Threes were on the remix for this release. (1992) | 3:33 |
18. | "Redemption Song" (live in Pittsburgh) | B. Marley | previously unreleased at the time, though later appears on the live release Live in Pittsburgh (1980) | 4:08 |
Chart (1992) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (ARIA) [4] | 87 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [5] | 44 |
UK Albums (OCC) [6] | 10 |
US Billboard 200 [7] | 86 |
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.
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".
"No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song 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.
"I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley and released in 1973 with his band 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 in 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 over 12 million sold in the US, over 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.
"Atomic" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their fourth studio album, Eat to the Beat (1979). Written by Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri and produced by Mike Chapman, the song was released in February 1980 as the album's third single.
"Crying in the Chapel" is a song written by Artie Glenn and recorded by his son Darrell Glenn. The song was released in 1953 and reached number six on the Billboard chart.
"Stir It Up" is a song composed by Bob Marley in 1967 and first recorded by the group Bob Marley and the Wailers that year and issued as a single. It was later covered by American singer Johnny Nash on his 1972 album I Can See Clearly Now. The following year, Marley and the Wailers re-recorded the song for their album Catch a Fire.
Most of Bob Marley's early music was recorded with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, who together with Marley were the most prominent members of the Wailers. In 1972, the Wailers had their first hit outside Jamaica when Johnny Nash covered their song "Stir It Up", which became a UK hit. The 1973 album Catch a Fire was released worldwide, and sold well. It was followed by Burnin', which included the song "I Shot the Sheriff". Eric Clapton's cover of the song became a hit in 1974.
"Is This Love" is a song by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released on their 1978 album Kaya. The song became one of the best-known Marley songs and was part of the Legend compilation. It peaked at number 9 in the UK charts upon its release in 1978. A live rendition of the song can be found on the Babylon by Bus live album from Paris in 1978.
"One Love" is a ska song by Bob Marley's original group The Wailers from their 1965 debut studio album The Wailing Wailers. It was rerecorded as part of the 1970 medley "All in One", which contained reggae reworkings of their early ska songs. This was released as a single and is also included on the compilation African Herbsman under the name "All in One".
"Waiting in Vain" is a song written by reggae musician Bob Marley and recorded by Bob Marley and the Wailers, for their 1977 album Exodus. Released as a single, it reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Iron Lion Zion" is a song written and recorded in April 1973 or 1974 by Jamaican singer and songwriter Bob Marley. It was first released posthumously on 7 September 1992 on the Songs of Freedom box set, reaching number five in the UK Singles Chart. The single also peaked within the top 10 in Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Iron Lion Zion" peaked at number eight. Outside Europe, it reached number two in New Zealand, number 71 in Australia and number 11 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. A remixed version was released as a single and later included in 1995 on Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On.
One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers is a compilation album of Bob Marley and the Wailers songs that was released on the Island Records label in 2001.
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.
"Exodus" is a song written by reggae musician Bob Marley and recorded by Bob Marley and the Wailers, for the Exodus (1977) album. Released as a single, it hit number 14 in the UK Singles Chart. "Exodus" was Marley's first single to receive widespread airplay on black radio stations in the U.S., expanding the artist's predominantly white college age and Caribbean expats fanbase in the country.
"Guava Jelly" is a song recorded by the Jamaican group Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released as a 7" vinyl single through Tuff Gong and Green Door Records. It was issued commercially with B-side track "Redder Then Red", which was misspelled on its initial printing, in 1971. It was written and produced by Marley and features uncredited lyrical contributions from Bunny Livingston. A reggae composition like the majority of Marley's works, "Guava Jelly" contains a rocksteady and island-like production with lyrics loosely based around sexual intercourse. His use of the term "guava jelly" was likely referring to a specific type of sexual lubricant. It was favorably viewed by several reviewers, with many of them finding the composition to be sexual and about love. The group placed "Guava Jelly" on several compilation albums, including Africa Unite: The Singles Collection in 2005, and Owen Gray and Herbie Mann created their own versions in 1974 and 1975, respectively.