Exodus ‘30th Anniversary Edition’ - Bob Marley Album Review

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Album Review

The summer of 1977. Remember it well. I was finishing a second year at teacher training college in Wrexham north Wales. I was six months out of a four year relationship, and finding my feet again: footloose and fancy free. As a fledgling DJ in the town and frequent visitor to the local discos, Bob Marley (nicknamed Tuff Gong by friends ) seemed to be booming out on the dance floors later that year, in December. That year he finally reached the British consciousness. Even rock fans such as me were hypnotized by his cool summer grooves. The big hit of the time was Jamming. I remember dancing and chatting up a local girl to it. It was also in sharp contrast to the burgeoning Punk scene which I hated. Marley’s songs came as a breathe of fresh air during a time when iconic bands like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, on the surface of it, were losing their appeal. Following previous albums Catch A Fire (1972) which didn’t make any serious inroads, and Natty Dread (1974) his first Top 50 entry, it took another year and one monumental song – No Woman, No Cry to crack the UK in ’75. Eric Clapton had a helping hand too, when he covered Marley’s I Shot The Sheriff. Released on 3 June 1977, Exodus (appropriately titled, as Marley and co had relocated to the UK after an assassination attempt in ‘76) it peaked at number 8, staying on chart for 56 consecutive weeks, spawning singles Exodus, Waiting Vain and Jamming. These three songs sealed his success globally too, with 1984’s Legend – The Best of Bob Marley and The Wailers eventually becoming the most successful reggae of all time with 12 million sales. And so to Exodus the album.

It’s regularly rated as one of the best summer albums of all time, so buy it now. Legendary American music mag Rolling Stone has it listed at 169 in their 2003 edition of 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. Truth is, it should have a much, much, much, higher placing. Nevertheless, Marley cleverly hung on to some militant stylings and an acute awareness of the British palette for pop. Exodus is almost a collection of two parts, beginning with rootsy Natural Mystic which opens the box of musical delights with its steady fade in chords and ‘Junior’ Marvin’s wailing guitar ghosting the track beautifully, while So Much Things To Say with its rolling drum intro continuing the laid back quality of its predecessor, accompanied by sweet backups from the I Threes, that included Bob’s missus Rita. Heathen keeps the rootsy faith going nicely. Then comes the kind of subtle commercialism that blew the world apart – Exodus, an unstoppable juggernaut. Hollow, chords, a bit of wah wah, piano, and some brass lead into “Exodus, movement of Jah people, “ as the beats increase and the stylings twist. A more straightforward Jamming is the groove delight of all time, in reggae terms. It’s compact, simple, sweet ( again the I Three’s are on top form on the chorus) infinitely infectious, and still to this day, timeless.

It also retained Marley’s wholesome approach to reggae and life in Jamaica. Follower, Waiting In Vain keeps the hit angle in focus with its chunky chord riffs boosted by mercurial lead solos by Julian ‘ Junior ‘ Marvin, making it possibly the best song on the entire album. Bob could always pull off a smoldering ballad like no other: there was nothing better in his arsenal than the gorgeous Turn Your Light Down Low, a poetic tale of seduction if ever there was.

As Marley smoked some ‘herb’ on his door step back in Kingston, he would throw some seed to the birds, hence Three Little Birds, a peculiar little ditty held together in parts by Tyrone Downie’s rumbling organ and neat drums and cymbals by sticksman Carlton Barrett. Anthemic One Love is the simplest, most singable song of the lot. Its defining moments are the I Three’s swooning away with “One loooooooove.”

An all time classic, never to be repeated.

Elly Roberts