Customer Reviews

Trenchtown Days: Birth of a Legend

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

 

 

Most fans of Bob Marely are only fans because they heard the Legend CD. Although a good introduction to Bob Marley's music, its only the tip of a friggin' huge iceberg. Bob Marley's library of work, which is vast, is not limited to the type of reggae he is best known for. Indeed, this disc shows the very roots of the Wailers, back in their humble beginnings as a young Ska group, with a lot of Motown style tunes. One reviewer noted that the CD wasn't like other Bob Marley work he's heard. He's right. Ska, although similar, is not much like reggae. It's simpler, generally includes horns (but not always; see Desmond Dekker as a perfect example of great ska with little, if any, horn section), and has a solid tempo held together by a simple, yet very appealing, drum beat. Reggae is far more diverse, but its roots lie in the same place as Ska does. SO, if you're truly interested in diversity, and listening to truly classic Wailers and Jamican ska, this disc isn't a bad place to start. If you're looking for Bob's more popular reggae sound, stick to his later stuff.

Also Recomended: "The Harder They Come" Motion Picture Soundtrack (Jimmy Cliff, et al), Desmond Dekker "King of Ska", Crucial Reggae Toots and the Maytals (good starter on an amazing Reggae group), Peter Tosh "Scrolls of the Prophet", and the many Trojan Records Box Sets (including the Ska, Skinhead Reggae, Ganja Reggae, and Rudeboy sets.)

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS ATTRACTIVE REISSUE IS 5 STAR. BEAUTIFUL BOOKLET, ATTRACTIVE CD ART, CRISP REMASTERING, AND IT'S IN A JEWEL CASE {THANK JAH}. 20 EARLY TRACKS FROM THE WAILERS DATING BACK TO '63 AND FEATURING MARLEY'S MENTOR AND GUITAR TEACHER: PETER TOSH. THIS CD JUST CAME OUT TODAY (8/7/01) AND I HAVE A STRONG FEELING THAT IT WONT LEAVE MY CAR UNTIL THE SNOW FALLS. THE FIRST HALF IS PRETTY LO-FI SO FINALLY A MARLEY THAT THE INDIE-ROCK HIPSTERS CAN TOLERATE (LOL).

This compilation includes two previously released LPs. Both compiles old recordings of Bob Marley & The Wailers at Studio One in Jamaica. I like this old recordings; unfortunately not documented in the CD but 'rec. 1963-1966,' I wish a specific relation of recording dates and first editions on vinyl. I like very much the version of 'One Love' included here (a ska version, I guess, better than the reggae-pop version recorded later you could hear on FM radio). I like a lot the scratchin' ska guitar, too. These first recordings are very raw, mainly ska-style, with obvious American r&b and soul influence.

If you understand what you're getting, this is a great compilation of early Wailers. You have to understand the phases they went through, (which followed the Jamaican music scene in general), with early soul & r&b influences, ska and rocksteady. THis is still great music, though, and this is one of my favorite compilations of their earlier stuff.

I agree with a previous reviewer, that most people only know of Marley through his Legend album. This is simply a great album, and early renditions of One Love, Maga Dog, and many others rank among the groups best. What's on here is the early, tight-knit group- realizing their dream is real. Their is passion in every song. I am a huge fan of traditional reggae, with the horns blasting all over. This may not appeal to some of the younger generation who like the Wailers more commercialized sound, while great, is not really their roots- or reggae's roots for that matter. Highlights here are, of course, One Love, Maga Dog, Let Him Go, Dancing Shoes, The Ten Commandments of Love, Wings of a Dove (my favorite), and many others. As an example of what I mentioned above, I let this girl I knew who was about 23 and loved Marley borrow this album for a week and tell me what she thought of it when she was done. She gave me the album back after two days, and said it wasn't for her. For someone who expects Bob and company to sound like Waiting in Vain or Could You be Loved every time, they will return this. It's why I told her to keep the album for a week. It will grow on you, trust me. Enjoy.

I received this today but had to send it back because all 20 tracks have treacly overdubs on it. I'm disappointed that this was not in the product description. Something like: ADVISORY: THIS ALBUM CONTAINS BILIOUS CHEAP SYNTHESIZER OVERDUBS ON TOP OF HISTORIC RECORDINGS. This album contains a good cross section of the Wailers' Studio One work and some songs are really, really good. Too bad someone couldn't leave well enough alone.

Trenchtown Days is a rich and rewarding assembly of Marley's older material with the Wailers. I bought this cd after I got the Songs of Freedom box set (which I highly recommend as well) for Christmas. I really liked the first disc of the set, which was all older Bob Marley material like on this cd. The quality of sound produced on this album is subpar, but tolerable. However, the lo-fi sound will soon become disregarded as the music begins to shine through your heart. The tunes on here are all absolutely beautiful- soulful, ska/reggae songs sung from the depths of Bob's heart.

One caveat: people who like very diverse, eclectic cds should probably avoid this outing. Generally, most of the songs have very similar structures and rhythms. Most fans of reggae or Bob Marley probably won't mind though. The semirepetitive song structures are very enjoyable, and for me, they don't grow tiresome or monotonous at all. Favorite tracks: Simmer Down, Donna, It Hurts to be Alone, and I Don't Need Your Love.

i got this cd, thinking it would be more like his newer (old) reggae, and to me, it totally wasn't. I don't like this cd at all, and i'm going to re-sell it.