What motivated Bob Marley to write some of his best lyrics, with strong spiritual content, messages of biblical condemnation for the wicked and biting criticism of the system and it's defenders? A complete album, some of his best work ever, and in contrast to earlier albums where there were always a few redone songs from his ska and rocksteady days, Exodus was mostly all new songs. Here you have an excellent mix - strong roots reggae rhythms on 'Natural Mystic' a Rasta grounation chant 'Heathen', a lighter dance tune 'Jammin', melodies such as 'One Love' and 'Three Little Birds' and two tracks that show Bob could have sung R&B, soul, love songs namely 'Waiting in Vain' and 'Turn your lights down low'. The title track was unique. Never before had there been a reggae song sounding like it, (funky world beat) nor had a reggae song ever been so long - over 7 minutes, most were short, to the point 3-4 minute jobs. The album built on what had been achieved with the previous album - penetration of the US market, but significantly here 'Exodus' was the first Wailer tune to get extensive airplay on African-American radio. What was the creative force behind all of this? We know that ganja and scripture reading was the fuel for some of Bob's words of wisdom but this album (specifically the first 4 tracks) were forged in direct response to one specific incident that happened to him in late 1976.
Bob, Rita and the bands manager were at Bob's yard two nights before the 'Smile Jamaica' concert scheduled for December 5. The concert, featuring the Wailers, was to be held at the National Heroes Park in Kingston. It was conceived by Bob himself as a means of getting peoples minds off politics, which was the all consuming force in the Island at that time, with a general election coming up on December 16. Gunmen burst into the Marley house firing shots, all three were hit, Bob's manager five times, a shot grazed Bob's chest and hit his arm and Rita had one graze her skull. Who did it and for what reason was never known as the gunmen were not identified nor caught. Politics was suspected. Although the Wailers were not supporters of party politics they could hardly be called apolitical as their criticisms of the system, inequality, injustices and oppression had always been central to their message. It's just that it was the strongest in the previous album. If that is what it was all about, rather than be subdued, Bob was stirred up and 'Exodus' was his creative response fueled by righteous rastafari anger. Bob himself says so in a line from 'Jammin' - 'No bullet can stop us now'. All in all an album of excellent musical expression.
(this is Justin's pick)
There are two reasons I picked this album.
ReplyDelete1) I have never really sat down and listened to Bob Marley before, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so.
2) When perusing various album lists, I found that TIME magazine declared Exodus the best album of the 20th century. VH1 and Rolling Stone, however, ranked the album 26th and 169th on their respective greatest albums lists. Perhaps TIME considerations for greatest album where different, but now, I am curious. Can you think of a reason for the rankings disparity?
I have played this album three times now, although only this most recent time was I listening with a critical ear. So, I'll start with the album in general, and then move into a few thoughts about particular songs.
ReplyDeleteFirst, it surprises me that TIME had this album as their best of the 20th century. I could see 26th, but only because it was, in 1977, unlike anything people had really listened to before. But reggae, as played on Exodus, is a rigid and repetitive style, missing the secondary rifts that jazz provides to help expand the music. For Matisyahu, the steady instrumental allows for his voice to demonstrate its power, in the same way an old school rap beat puts the focus on the lyrics. Think of reggae as ocean waves, constantly crashing, and the voice as a surfer, styling while propelled forward by the waves. For me, Bob Marley occasionally flourishes, but too often he blends into the music in uninteresting ways. I was surprised by his religiosity, which appears noticeably in five tracks. I always imagined Marley as stoners' music, so while I know pot and God are not exclusive, I was still surprised. Stoners surprised me for another reason too; I expected to encounter deep, complicated, political, symbolic lyrics, in which I would gain insight into Jamaican society. But the lyrics were all very simple, with only one or two songs having 8 line verses, everything else an easy greeting-card four.
My favorite songs were So Much Things to Say, Waiting In Vain, Three Little Birds, and One Love. The first six tracks are more political, the next two are love songs, and the final two are the merry songs that everyone has heard in a commercial before. The fourth song, The Heathen, is like a reggae prototype of Michael Jackson’s Beat It, including the most noteworthy guitar solo on the album as well. The next track has the best drums on the album, but the song runs longer than I would like it to. The first love song, Waiting in Vain, is the track in which Bob’s voice sounds the best. It also includes the first eight line verse one the album (two actually), and as it breaks from political sentiment to emotional feeling. The final two songs are familiar. Three Little Birds has a sweet, upbeat melody that matches the song’s message that “every little thing is gonna be alright.” The final track, One Love, would have been a better conclusion if the political part of the album more scornfully condemned the Big Fish who “do anything to materialize their every wish,” so that the heavier contrast makes the end song feel more like a revelation. But it stands alone well enough to be the best song on the album, inviting us to “get together and feel alright” while also reminding us that “there ain’t no hiding place from the Father of Creation.”