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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wailers when they were just a band..., January 11, 2005
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!
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterpiece, January 11, 2006
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.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
His most brilliant, March 13, 2003
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.
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