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Post by Michael Messer on Sept 3, 2020 16:23:03 GMT
I bought this record "Bob Marley & The Wailers - Live!" in 1975. I was 19 years old and must have played it a thousand times back then, maybe more. After many many years, I just sat down and listened to it this afternoon. Damn....what an amazing album this is. As a live recording it is an absolutely stunning recording and the performance by Bob and the band is extraordinary. So powerful, almost like a prophet up there preaching. And the audience too, a superb performance. Bob Marley is one of the true great geniuses of 20th century music, and this is right up there as one of the great live albums of all time. It captures the music and the atmosphere in the room perfectly. Recorded by Steve Smith and Chris Blackwell on the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.
I could have gone to this show at the Lyceum in London, but for reasons I don't remember, I didn't go. :-(
I love Bob Marley's first few records - Catch A Fire, Natty Dread, and of course Bob Marley & The Wailers - Live!
Shine On Michael
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Sept 3, 2020 17:24:58 GMT
This was the song I heard / saw at The Lyceum which really made me understand what a rhythm section was about. (@2min.25sec.)
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Post by Michael Messer on Sept 3, 2020 18:28:58 GMT
This was the song I heard / saw at The Lyceum which really made me understand what a rhythm section was about. (@2min.25sec.) Ahh...PD, you were there that night! That was indeed a moment in music and cultural history. That album not only launched Bob's career as a world superstar and launched reggae to the masses, but it spoke to people in a way that very few artists have achieved, in fact very few people have achieved. Kinky Reggae is one of THE great reggae songs and both recordings, the Lyceum in 1975 and the studio version on Catch a Fire in 1973 are superb pieces of work. Shine On Michael
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Sept 3, 2020 18:45:59 GMT
Yes, I was a very lucky man indeed to be there on that Friday night. I had been sent up to Studd Street to do some experimental work with a large customer. Some of the people in their lab. had been to the previous nights concert and said it was great. The second batch were going after work on the Friday and I was able to blag the spare ticket. Quick phone call to the missus to tell her a porkie in that I had to work late, went to the Lyceum - unbelievable nights performance - then somehow managed to get the last train out to High Wycombe. I was a good boy and told her a few months later - I still bear a tiny scar. Whenever I listen to those tracks shivers still run up my spine - being a miniscule part of that musical history is a true privilege, believe me.
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Post by catsmiler on Sept 3, 2020 19:06:48 GMT
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Post by Michael Messer on Sept 3, 2020 20:03:35 GMT
That looks interesting. I haven't seen this documentary, so I look forward to it. I believe Don Letts is involved, so it will be good. Thanks catsmiler Shine On Michael
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Post by snakehips on Sept 3, 2020 20:38:55 GMT
Hi there !
Need to watch those videos. Before I do, I’d like to mention that in the mid 1990’s, I was at Uni, and supposed to be studying hard for very important exams, the next day or so - but needed a break so stuck on the TV for a while. Big mistake ! There was a Bob Marley special on TV (BB2 perhaps ?), playing a documentary, then a live concert or two (hopefully it’s these videos posted here). I was mesmerised (being a die-hard, virtually blues-only fan). I just could not switch the TV off, it was that good ! Can’t remember if I passed my exam, but I needed two goes to pass many of them, ha ha !!! Thanks for the links. Gonna check ‘em out now !
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Sept 3, 2020 20:56:57 GMT
Thanks Catsmiler - just watched it - excellent.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2020 22:29:57 GMT
I worked as a stagehand at the above series of gigs in 1973. The 'Evening of West indian Music' (admission 25p)!! comprised,if my memory serves me right, the Cimarrons,possibly Aswad, and definitely the Wailers. This was all pioneering stuff for Edinburgh and I lounged side of stage in a half empty theatre not knowing I was witnessing Bob Marley--no separate billing--a legend in the making. Guess I wasn't ready for it but I didn't have to pay 25p.
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toto
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Post by toto on Sept 4, 2020 6:59:10 GMT
It's one of those absolutely legendary gigs that, if I had a time machine, I would definitely attend. I own the live album and it's great, but would have loved to be there in person.
I've seen the Wailers a few times recently. They still put on a great show but it's not the same without the raw charisma of Bob Marley is it.
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Post by Michael Messer on Sept 4, 2020 8:10:31 GMT
Some lovely Bob Marley moments being discussed here. My brother, Alan Messer, was the resident stills photographer on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test, and was present for this event in 1973..... Here's one of his photos from that day... My other brother, David Messer, is a promoter (yes all three bruvvers are all in the music biz) and has worked many times with Jamaican reggae legends, Toots and the Maytalls. I spent an evening a few years ago with Toots Hibbert and his family. They are absolutely lovely people. Oops....I digressed, this is a Bob Marley thread. Shine On Michael
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2020 8:56:44 GMT
I prefer the heavier dub / trance reggae (like you'd hear on the Handsworth 'front line' ) - almost psychadelic. I saw a lot of great bands in Birmingham and Bristol in the 80s and early 90s. What I love about Marley and others like Dennis Brown is the authentic reggae drums (kick mainly synched with rimshot on the 3rd beat). It pains me to hear cod reggae, and I wonder why some black reggae artists actually play cod reggae beats - is it for white audiences who don't get it? TT
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Post by Michael Messer on Sept 4, 2020 10:02:35 GMT
I prefer the heavier dub / trance reggae (like you'd hear on the Handsworth 'front line' ) - almost psychadelic. I saw a lot of great bands in Birmingham and Bristol in the 80s and early 90s. What I love about Marley and others like Dennis Brown is the authentic reggae drums (kick mainly synched with rimshot on the 3rd beat). It pains me to hear cod reggae, and I wonder why some black reggae artists actually play cod reggae beats - is it for white audiences who don't get it? TT TT, I was around quite a lot of Dub reggae for a while and I can get into it at the right time. I even worked on a few tracks with some friends back in the 80s, but it is not my preference. For me, Bob Marley is in a league of his own, like Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, to name a few, whose music is greater than the genres and the time they are connected to. Marley was a genius and his work will live on forever. I have also been a fan of Ska and early Rock Steady for as long as I can remember. I have no interest in the reincarnation of these styles by bands like the Selector, Madness etc. Lee "Scratch" Perry produced much of this music. He is another genius of Jamaican music. ...back to Bob Marley in the early days Shine On Michael
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Post by Michael Messer on Sept 4, 2020 13:01:55 GMT
Talk about synchronicity.... I just heard from my brother, David, who has been in touch with Toots' family. Toots has COVID-19 and is now in an induced coma. Phew....77 years old and smoked weed all his life. He's very fit and active, but not the best person to be on a ventilator in a coma. Sending positive vibes and love to Toots Hibbert >XX Shine On Michael
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toto
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Post by toto on Sept 4, 2020 14:52:43 GMT
Talk about synchronicity.... I just heard from my brother, David, who has been in touch with Toots' family. Toots has COVID-19 and is now in an induced coma. Phew....77 years old and smoked weed all his life. He's very fit and active, but not the best person to be on a ventilator in a coma. Sending positive vibes and love to Toots Hibbert >XX Shine On Michael This is sad news, hope he pulls through. I saw him live last year and I would never have guessed he was 77, he put on a great show and had bags of energy. I hope I look as good at his age (if I'm still around).
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