Reggae ambassador and superstar Bob Marley died 30 years ago Wednesday at the age of 36. We asked Jamaican reggae, dancehall and dub expert Thomas Chasteen of Echo Park's famed Dub Club to weigh in on some of his favorite Marley videos. Chasteen's picks and commentary below. (Be sure to click on the links to see the videos.)
Bob Marley - Burning and Looting -- Reggae has an unfair image in some quarters as lightweight beach music, but check out the lyrics to "Burning and Looting." This is the genuine voice of the third world, as topical today with the uprisings in Syria, Egypt and elsewhere as it was then. Very few rock or pop artists come anywhere close to political words with this kind of impact.
Bob Marley - Redemption Song -- Yeah, we’ve all heard this one, but man what a beautiful rendition of a powerful song.
A psychedelic ghost story, as the "Songs of Freedom" 4-CD box says: "Even the Daily Gleaner [newspaper] covered the story of Mr Brown, the crow who was seen riding through town in a coffin on its way to the cemetery. Mr Brown also turned up in court one day dressed in a shirt and necktie.”
Bob Marley - One Love Concert -- This documents an amazing moment in time, when Marley brought the right wing and socialist leaders of the two Jamaican political parties (who were then engaged in a bloody civil street battle) together on stage to join hands. Of course the politicians kept fighting, but musicians can only do so much. Check out Bob's intense possessed-by-the-spirit dancing.
Bob Marley - Keep On Moving -- This is a very rare DJ toasting version of the Marley classic “Keep On Moving” by the obscure Wong Chu, complete with a totally insane Lee Scratch Perry mix echoing into oblivion.
Bob Marley - Shine Dub -- There aren’t that many great dub mixes of Marley tunes, but here’s a heavy one, although it's not played by The Wailers. It’s actually a cover version of the Marley classic "Sun Is Shining" played by The Aggrovators, one of the top Jamaican session bands from the 1970s.
Bob Marley - Burning and Looting -- Reggae has an unfair image in some quarters as lightweight beach music, but check out the lyrics to "Burning and Looting." This is the genuine voice of the third world, as topical today with the uprisings in Syria, Egypt and elsewhere as it was then. Very few rock or pop artists come anywhere close to political words with this kind of impact.
Bob Marley - Redemption Song -- Yeah, we’ve all heard this one, but man what a beautiful rendition of a powerful song.
A psychedelic ghost story, as the "Songs of Freedom" 4-CD box says: "Even the Daily Gleaner [newspaper] covered the story of Mr Brown, the crow who was seen riding through town in a coffin on its way to the cemetery. Mr Brown also turned up in court one day dressed in a shirt and necktie.”
Bob Marley - One Love Concert -- This documents an amazing moment in time, when Marley brought the right wing and socialist leaders of the two Jamaican political parties (who were then engaged in a bloody civil street battle) together on stage to join hands. Of course the politicians kept fighting, but musicians can only do so much. Check out Bob's intense possessed-by-the-spirit dancing.
Bob Marley - Keep On Moving -- This is a very rare DJ toasting version of the Marley classic “Keep On Moving” by the obscure Wong Chu, complete with a totally insane Lee Scratch Perry mix echoing into oblivion.
Bob Marley - Shine Dub -- There aren’t that many great dub mixes of Marley tunes, but here’s a heavy one, although it's not played by The Wailers. It’s actually a cover version of the Marley classic "Sun Is Shining" played by The Aggrovators, one of the top Jamaican session bands from the 1970s.
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