Soul Rebels
Soul Rebels was the second Bob Marley and the Wailers album, though the first to be available outside Jamaica. I hadn’t heard the album previously, but it turns out I know most of the songs from various compilations.
With fifty-years distance, this doesn’t sound so innovative, but for the mainstream western audience at the time it certainly was. Pretty much everything that propelled them to stardom is already here, not just Marley’s voice but, crucially, the Barrett brothers on drum and bass. Aston Barrett’s bass in particular binds this all together while everyone else is playing off and around the rhythm.
And it’s great stuff, as all of the early Wailers albums are, not least because Peter Tosh has songs on here too–Marley’s fame tends to eclipse the contributions of his band members, which is unfortunate. Also unfortunate is the album cover, about which the band were not consulted and which gives the wrong impression of the music and lyrics.
The album exists in the Spotify database but doesn’t appear to be available to play. There is a YouTube playlist though, which is what I listened to:
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