Customer Reviews

Burnin

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Bob Marley. But outside of Jamaica, it seems like all anyone knows of reggae is Bob Marley. With "Burnin'" we get The Wailers, with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer comprising the band. I always prefer bands to solo acts, and though Bob kept the Wailers name alive after he split with Tosh and Bunny, it was really just Bob and a backing group. With the Wailers, you get different voices (literally and figuratively) and different perspectives. And I always preferred male backing vocals for reggae (as opposed to Bob's later use of female vocals).

But as for the album -- the songs are great. "Put It On," "Small Axe," "Duppy Conqueror" and "Rastaman Chant" are all favorites of mine, and for those who like the bigger hits, you'll find "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Get Up Stand Up" on there as well. The album is simply a classic, and anyone who claims to like reggae needs this CD in their collection (and should probably branch out from the Marley tree and check out other reggae acts like Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, et al.). If you don't have this one, buy it!

This is not "Bob Marley and the Wailers." That's an anachronism. Bob Marley and the Wailers didn't come into existence until after the breakup of the original Wailers. This is the masterpiece of that original band. Marley's solo work was brilliant, of course, but it's a different kettle of fish from what you get here. Here you get the vocal and spiritual harmonies of three great musicians -- Marley, Tosh, and Bunny Wailer. The songs, many of them recorded years earlier without the sound quality they deserved, are beautiful, soulful, spiritual, and righteous (I can't deal with Scratch Perry's brilliant but rather low-fi productions of the time, so the pre-Island stuff is out for me.) If you get this, and also the deluxe issue of "Catch a Fire" with the original Jamaican mixes (sans Chris Blackwell's cheesy overdubs -- you should hear how pure and amazing "Stir It Up" is without that d*mn synth), you've got all the Wailers you need, and two amazing documents from the fountainhead of reggae.

This album is his ultimate work. Brilliantly orchestrated and emotionally evocative, Marley created a timeless work that appeals aesthetically and philosophically. Marley calls the listener to participate from the first song, begging us to move both to the music and to the message. There is a rawness to this album that harkens back to earlier Marley and appears in the sound of Hallelujah Time.
Tracks 4,5,6,7,8 are the most powerful in the Marley cannon. Kaya is maybe the only album that juxtaposes such brilliance. The cool and reserved genius shows that Marley can move both subtly and peacefully. Small axe warns of the toppling of the power structure, but does it so harmoniously and beautifully that it exudes a wonderful irony.
This album is the "cornerstone" of any Marley collection or music collection for that matter. It is almost impossible to fathom the immense genius that Marley had, but it is slowly apprehended and revelaed by listening to this album over and over, and then some more.

Every song here is beautiful. This is proof that you can do a lot with very little. The talent of Bob, Bunny, Peter and the band is just astonishing and the sounds they produce are simply the best.

I love to hear Bunny front the mic on a few songs here. Each of the performers are so solid even on their own. No wonder they were such a powerful force for reggae. When you corner the market on talent you can't lose. I am sure you will love this entire cd. Not one bad song.

Peace and Love to ya

In my mind, Bob Marley has great songs, but generally inconsistant albums. This is the exception to the rule. Bob's angry at the state of the human race here, and he wants you to know. And people tend to make good music while angry. This is no exception. Pretty much every song is classic: Get Up, Stand Up (which got even better virtually ever time he played it live); I Shot the Sheriff; and Burnin' are the best-known, and best. Also check out the politically-charged, pro-revolutionary Small Axe; Duppy Conqueror, with great harominies; Pass It On; and the call for unity One Foundation. I'd call Hallelujah Time the weakest of the bunch. But as for the rest? It's all good. BUY IT! (For the record, Natty Dread and Rastaman Vibration are pretty good too, Live! and Legend, greatest hits comp or not, are indespensible).

Rather like the Beatles, Bob Marley's best album is whichever one you happen to be listening to. Burnin' was the second album Bob Marley made for Chris Blackwell's Island label (in conjunction with Tuff Gong), which, like the first, came out in 1973. It's a well named album as it is incendiary from start to finish with both he and Peter Tosh at their most revolutionary. They were at home playing much of the material as they had previously recorded several of the songs in versions produced in recent years by Lee Perry, so the performances were relaxed, assured and deadly, and several feature Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, who were both soon to strike out on their own.
Two of the bonus tracks are unreleased out-takes but Reincarnated Souls had been the B-side of Concrete Jungle (lifted from Catch A Fire). This 2001 edition has now been superceded by a 2CD version with the band (without Bunny) recorded live in Leeds on the second disc

This album is simply spectacular. Right from the beginning with "Get Up Stand Up", it's clear that this is a pure rasta-reggae album. What makes this album special from all the others is that it's got songs written by Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, and Peter Tosh. The new remastered edition of this album also comes with three bonus tracks including "No Sympathy" performed by the Wailers. This is special, because unless you have the Peter Tosh Box Set, you've never heard a version like this (On Legalize It, there is a Peter Tosh solo version of this song). If you like Bob Marley and the Wailers, or reggae music, than this album is a must have.

They say 2nd albums usually fall short, and Burnin' is no exception to that. Yes, it has merit, songs like Get Up-Stand Up, I Shot the Sheriff, and Burnin' and Lootin' definitely stand out as Wailer classics and the album sure has that warm original Wailer's sound (good mastering), but besides these songs the rest of the repertory is so so. At the end, the album as a whole did not surpass their debut album Catch A Fire nor did it surpass many of Bob's records after it.

The forte of the first album was the variety of emotional melodies and its accentuated instrumentality (as far as root-reggae for 1973). In this one, the recurrence to rhythmic formulas starts to become present, the sound was more simplistic. In reality, Bob Marley and the Wailers never again did an album with such caliber as Catch A Fire. But for me successive albums like Exodus, Kaya, and surely Babylon By Bus are definitely before this one.

Bob Marley & The Wailers-Burnin' *****


Released in 1973, the same year as the bands debut Catch A Fire was released, and while many consider one significantly greater then the other, which varies who you ask, I must say they both go hand in hand. Catch A Fire and this, Burnin' are sort of like a ying, and yang thing, not to sound too cliche. Catch A Fire seems to be more about peace and togetherness while Burnin' is the opposite spectrum, more empowering, and more about overcoming and getting yours. Marley was always an activist through his lyrics, you could say he was to reggae what Johnny Cash was to country as far as civil justice and spirituality is concerned.

Containing two of the groups biggest hits, the great opener 'Get Up, Stand Up' and the immortal 'I Shot The Sheriff' which is far better then the Clapton cover, and also shows the vicious side of Marleys lyrics. But it's 'Rasta Man Chant' 'Small Axe' 'Pass It On' and the vehement 'Burnin And Lootin' that make this album a classic.

The new release of the album contains three bonus tracks. 'Reincarnated Souls' being the best, and one that would have perfectly complimented the original album. The other two being less impressive but still great, 'No Symphony' and the chilling 'The Oppressed Song.'

After Burin' Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh would both leave to form solo projects, Tosh being the most successful of the two. His album Legalize It is another classic. The departure of those two members would forever change the sound of the band. They would aim for a more commercial appeal while that isn't a bad thing it did seem to loose something. Though I did enjoy the later background vocals they were not as good as the first two albums, and neither was the musicianship which is something Burnin' has an amazing amount of. Burnin' is an album which I would recommend to anyone who is interested in more then Bob Marley & The Wailers hits.

I have to say I do like the albums with Peter Tosh and bunny wailer much more than The later stuff. Maybe because I love both of their solo stuff especially tosh's pothead cult classic "legalize it". I will however agree with a former reviewer( I dont recall his name) that some of the songs are way to tedious for me. I shot the sheriff as a prime example, but dont let this stop you from buying the album, I would purchase natty dread or exodus first though.