Bob Marley & Wailers - Survival
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Free Music Notes for Survival
Free Music Review: #6. The Top 100 Albums in Reggae Music: A Critical Review
Hit: 5 Stars
"Graduating thieves and murders...
Sucking the blood of the sufferers..."
---- "Babylon System"
It's a struggle. And, I don't mean the overriding theme of this album, either. Choosing the best albums in this early stage is similar to the argument of greatest rock recordings: Beatles or Stones? Bob's got 10. Steel Pulse has got 5 and before we get to the end of the top 20 we have to include at one from Burning Spear, Black Uhuru and UB40.
The 6th greatest reggae album is SURVIVAL (1979), and the first album of his thematic apocalyptic trilogy. But what distinguishes this album is, not only, is it an underrated gem but it continues to carry (and might I say, mightily and courageously) the message of personal liberation he began when he created EXODUS.
Barely a couple of years after he returned from exile from The Bahamas and England from an assassin's bullet, Marley proclaimed to the highest powers at home in Jamaica as well as repressive governments around the world the singular message of Hope that would undermine and topple them.
In EXODUS, like the Hebrew prophet of long days gone by, Marley proclaimed to the modern-day pharaohs that there's a "Natural Mystic" blowing through the air and that the "Exodus" was at-hand, a movement of Jah's people. At the same time, blowing the ram's horn, he chanted to all oppressed, all over-worked/ underpaid, discriminated, humiliated and distressed that we'd be "Jammin'" in the name of the Lord and we'd better "Get Ready."
***** ****** ******
"Every man got a right to decide his own destiny/
And in this judgment, there is no partiality/
So arm in arm with arms we'll fight this little struggle/
Cause that the only we can overcome our little trouble..."
---- "Zimbabwe"
In SURVIVAL, the message of liberation is more descriptively defined. "We are the children of the Rastaman/ We are the children of the Higher Man." In "Africa Unite," and "Zimbabwe," Marley directly pointed to the broad and specific autocratic regimes in the Motherland.
Speaking about Zimbabwe, it's been long chronicled that Marley supported the newly minted government of Robert Mugabe. Promises of democracy, promises of individual liberty and communal responsibility for the building of a new nation. Colonial South Rhodesia, now The Republic of Zimbabwe. New nation, new flag, new name. Would Marley sing the praises of this nation's leadership today?
But Marley also pointed directly to the mechanics of oppression, namely, among other things, the educational system. In Babylon System, he sings:
"The Babylon system is The Vampire...
Building Church and University/
Deceiving the people continually/
Graduating thieves and murders/
Sucking the blood of the sufferers."
This album is also unique in that this is the only album where there are no ballads, slow or mid-tempo, of any kind. The message is poignant and served up without a hint of hesitation or feebleness.
SURVIVAL. The first album in Marley's apocalyptic trilogy and the 6th greatest reggae album of all time.
Free Music Review: Personal and Masterful; a Work of Art
Hit: 5 Stars
"Survival," the 1979 album by Bob Marley & the Wailers, is by far their hardest hitting and most sociopolitical album, even moreso than "Exodus" from 1977. The album shows Marley more outright with his brilliant message than ever; even in the song titles.
The album starts off with "So Much Trouble In the World," bluntly stating the decay of the world as it falls into despair, with the government caring more about trying to play God than about caring to play the role of the caretaker. Other songs illustrating similar points in different fashions are the equally millitant tunes "Top Rankin'" and "Babylon System," which sing of government oppression and work towards opposing the unity of the people.
The album's track that stands out most is the song "Zimbabwe," with its love of Africa and anti-apartheid statement. It truly shows Marley's belief that Africa must, once and for all, finally be free. This obviously speaks specifically to the then-opressed (and often still-opressed) people of Zimbabwe, under the tyrannical rule of the British government. This song is a statement for the people of Zimbabwe, and all oprssed people the world over, to fight for their rights. Similar songs such as the soothing "Africa Unite," and the fiery title track "Survival". "Africa Unite" is a heartwarming and beautiful plea to Africans throughout the world to unite under the banner of brotherhood and return to their homeland while "Survival" is the strong, forceful anthem for Africans, and all opresssed people, to fight against the slave drivers of the world, no longer with failing words, but fruitful actions.
The songs, "One Drop," "Ride Natty Ride," and "Wake Up and Live" are a testament to the strength of the Rastaman and his right to be recognized as an equal member of society in all places of the world. They express the Rastaman belief of dismissing the powers of Satan and the truth that they cannot be broken by the forces of Babylon. The bonus track, a 12" mix of "Ride Natty Ride" simply changes the sound around just enough for the listener to be able to recognize a difference, making a delightful remix to add to the original album.
Finally, there is "Ambush In the Night," a song directly recounting the assassination attempt against Marley on December 3rd, 1976. Marley states here that he is protected by the all-poweral God, and that no matter what they try to do, the forces of evil will not defeat him.
Survival's main theme is the plight of Africans, and this cannot be escaped, but its message also transcends to the rights, beliefs, and lives of all opressed people regardless of race, sex, social standing, or religion. Survival is the ultimate album that advocates the equal rights of all people. Survival is unapologetic, unafraid,heartfelt, and life-changing; the most powerful raw sociopolitical album of all time.
Free Music Review: Blistering Genius - a sometimes overlooked Bob album
Hit: 5 Stars
In the interest of full disclosure, I admit to being a Jamiacan music fanatic, love everything from Mento to hardcore Dancehall.And this is not my very favorite Bob album (thats reserved for Catch a Fire - you know what they say: you never forget your first)BUT: Survival is an absolute brilliant piece of music-making. From the clarion call of the opening track to "Wake up and Live, ya'll - wake up and live...." to the repeated admonition to "tell the children the truth" in Babylon System, the lyrics on this album are Bob at his very best: passionate, angry, caring, concerned, moving, persuasive, original: with an almost Biblical authority and a heartfelt authenticity that makes you feel as if Bob is speaking directly to YOU, straight outta Yard. Marley's ability to truly connect through these lyrics with everyone (from subarban white Americans to Moari tribespeople and everyone in between) while remaining true to himself and his heritage as a jamaican and member of the african diaspora is on bravura display throughout. For example: 'they bribe us with their guns, spare parts and money... and if you want to get some food, your brother's got to be your enemy..." A more succint and pointed description and indictment of superpower "realpolitik" foriegn policies would be harder to imagine.
And that's just the lyrics. The riddims between Bob, Carly and Familyman on this collection are SO hard, SO right & tight, SO in the pocket, it's hard to describe without simply throwing superlatives at it in a lame attempt to put into words what must be heard to be understood. The album makes extensive yet tasteful use of additional percussion (i.e. the african agogo bells in Ride Natty Ride) throughout, musically reflecting and enhancing the albums' lyrical focus on afrocentric concerns.
The saxaphone is also very heavily used, and it comes off great: I don't know who the soloist is, but he makes that horn growl and wail like a slave under the whip.
Another high point of the collection is the general songwriting. The melodies and structures of the songs reflect Bob's place as one of THE PREMIER pop songwriters ever - up there in Lennon/McCartney, Leiber/Stoller, Goffin/King, Rogers/Hart, territory - he drops out the 3-4 minute gem as naturally as breathing. Ever notice how Bob had distinct verse, chorus AND bridge sections in his mature output...? And still maintains the intergrity of the reggae form.
This album is worth repeated listening for Bob fans, reggae fans, pop music fans, and any lover of music with open ears. If anyone ever argues against Bob's place in music (i.e. he ONLY did reggae, his songs are simple, reggae is all the same, his lyrics stink, he was too "pop", he wasn't "pop" enough, etc), throw this on, adjust the bass up a notch or two and CRANK it.
If they don't change their mind, then they don't know anything about music...
Free Music Review: A heavy album...
Hit: 5 Stars
Exodus was one of Bob Marley's most important albums. Being in hiding after an attempt on his life, the songs are driven and taunting. Songs like "Guiltiness" and "Jammin'" have a very "I'm still here no matter what" kind of thing going on. Upon first listening, it was almost scary. Songs like Natural Mystic and Heathen are dark. Exodus hit me like a ton of bricks, it was very powerful.
After that came Kaya, a lighter side of Bob Marley. It was here that he had fun and focused more on the powers of spirituality. I guess people criticized this effort, saying that he wimped out. Personally, I truly enjoy this album and I find it a staple in the catalog.
Then came the album that we're reviewing, Survival. Wow. And I thought Exodus was powerful. This album is a heavy listen at first. I had to take it in small doses. The messages are very powerful and very serious. The music itself makes the songs only "seem" lighter. But this stuff is heavy. It is fast becoming my favorite album. It really doesn't have any "hits". The band from this era is my favorite. Obviously Carly and Aston Barrett are still holding down the rhythm section and the I Threes are still doing their thing. But everyone else just makes Bob shine. The music is so militant. It just reminds me of a positive vibration army coming from a distance ready to fight for freedom. The grooves are tight and very strong and hard.
You can hear the militant and almost angry quality in the production itself. Carly's drums are very forward. His unmistakable cross-stick, kick and Hi-Hat are there as usual but the sound of his Tom-Toms is huge. It's a very big and in your face. Aston's bass is huge and commanding. The horn section provides very dramatic and stabbing lines. The I-Threes as well are dramatic and very forward.
Maybe I'm making this album seem to dark, but when you hear songs like Africa Unite and One Drop you'll know that the positivity and good vibes are still there, it's just that now they're putting our foot down and delivering a message against the oppressors.
My favorite moment is Africa Unite. The first few seconds immediately send chills through my body. Everything is good when that song is on.
Excellent excellent record. I highly recommend it.
Free Music Review: Top Rankin'
Hit: 5 Stars
While it is true that Bob Marley was not the FIRST Reggae singer, he was certainly the most famous.
This unique reggae beat, with the pulsations of black nationalism, was released in 1979, and has since make it's mark in the world of music. It starts with the hearty lamentation of "So Much Trouble in the World" and is followed by "Zimbabwe" which was a song of inspiration for Zimbabwe's guerrillas fighting for Black majority rule in that country during the Rhodesian War/ War of Independence. Marley performed at Zimbabwe's independence celebrations of 18 April 1980. He did not know that the performance on the first day would be reserved for the special guests of the new elite. When the masses tried to attend the concert they where tear-gassed and hounded out the stadium by Mugabe' s militia.
Marley responded by singing "War". The next day his performance was subdued as he was already disillusioned by the behaviour of the new Mugabe regime.
Today the song `Zimbabwe' is sung as an anthem of Zimbabwe's pro-democracy movement against the Mugabe tyranny as are other Marley hits like ` Get Up, Stand Up"
It is clear that Marley would not have approved of the genocidal dictatorship that Mugabe built up, in the last 26 years, any more than he did the white minority government of Ian Smith.
There is the angry condemnation of the `Babylon System' and the Black Nationalist anthem " Survival" with the lyrics " Were the survivors! The Black survivors!"
This was one of my first albums so the heady beat of this album holds great memories for me.
"Africa Unite" is another is an ode to Marley's idealistic dreams of Pan African unity. And ` One Drop' is spiritual rendition of the longing for a true spiritual Rastafarian quest for authentic ideas of Haile Sellasie (the Christ of Rastafari) and Marcus Garvey.
" Give us the teachings of his majesty. We don't want no devil's philosophy"
You can always put your own interpretations and feelings into these songs , and my own conception of the sentence sung above may be different to that of most Marley devotees.
But then that only go's to show the genius of Bob Marley, doesn't it?