Marley the Great

So far I have written about, how much I love Bob Marley’s music, what memories I have involving the music, what some critics think about the music, and how I became familiar with Marley’s music. This time I think I’m going to get a few point of views, just to back up how great Bob Marley’s music truly is.
What I have done is compiled some reviews, by searching some creditable sources I have found three reviews on Bob Marley’s Exodus album. I was hoping to find three positive out looks and indeed I did.
The first review comes from Angus Taylor at the BBC. Taylor and I agree that Exodus is the number one pick of Marley’s works. Taylor says, “Widely considered to be his best work, no other album has as many tracks featured on Legend; the biggest selling reggae record of all time.” If you remember the history lesson from my second blog, Excuse Me, two very important things in Marley’s life happened during the recording of Exodus and I think that Taylor hits the nail on the head with this comment, “Exodus was also recorded between two key events in the Marley story; the assassination attempt and the One Love Peace Concert, marking his transformation from rebel to superstar in the eyes of the world.” This to me is what makes Bob Marley great and his work a reflection of himself, his abilty to move forward and not let the world drag him down. And last from Taylor, “For Bob’s greatest song-writing, un-tempered by Peter, Bunny or Scratch, Exodus is king.”
Another good review article that I found is that of Matthew Hilburn from All Music Guide. Like myself, Hilburn sees Marley’s Exodus as what “…one would expect from a Bob Marley album:” Hilburn’s comment on the album tracks really strikes close to me, “rumbling statements like ‘Exodus’ and ‘The Heathen’ as well as poetic love songs like ‘Turn Your Lights Down Low.’” Hilburn goes on to say, “Marley also unleashed the huge international hits ‘Jamming,’ ‘Waiting in Vain,’ and ‘One Love/People Get Ready.’” I agree that this is what “came to define Marley around the world.”(Hilburn).
My last review comes from NME and, like the others before, agrees to Bob Marley being on the greats. This article really captures my thoughts of Marley and so I’d like to share a quote from Songs of Freedom, “Bob Marley never let anybody down.” he never let me down; the article goes on to say, “His genius worked on many levels: he was an inventive musician, a songwriter of mystic power and beauty, a honeyed singer, and a statesman of revolutionary proportions. I think that really says it all, I couldn’t say it any better.
If after this you still don’t love Marley’s works, then that’s okay, as long as you can appreciate the music; I believe that to the most important thing to take way from all of this.


Works Cited:

Taylor, Angus. "Exodus: 30th Anniversary Edition." BBC. 20 April 2007. 12 May 2009
http.//www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/8dcz/

Hilburn, Matthew. "Exodus." Artist Direct. 03 June 1977. 12 May 2009
http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,126564,00.html

Unknown. "Songs of Freedom." NME. 16 December 1999. 12 May 2009
http://www.nme.com/reviews/bob-marley/1724