Bob Marley & The Wailers – Easy Skanking In Boston '78
- Written by Rob Crozier
Bob Marley would have been 70 this year. Therefore, in order to mark this occasion the Marley family have dug deep into their private vaults and authorised rare and previously unreleased material. Out of this comes Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Easy Skanking In Boston ’78.
It could be argued that the world doesn’t need another Bob Marley album, and the idea of commemoration of his birthday via an album release is simply a way of generating more cash to the bulging pockets of the Marley family. However, Marley is a worldwide icon and his imagery and legacy continue to grow.
This release does however act as an important marker in Marley’s career. The Boston concerts took place just a few months after Marley finished his self-imposed exile from Jamaica after attempts on his life forced him to flee the country. He returned a few years later for the legendary One Love Peace Concert. This concert represents the full band line-up which went on to conquer the globe via an extensive world tour.
Although Marley’s music translates into all genres, it is interesting to note that he and the band were predominantly playing to white crowds with rock sensibilities. This is most obvious with the rendition of ‘No Woman, No Cry’ and ‘Lively Up Yourself’ which carries a heavy guitar lead via Junior Marvin. The extra rock guitar elements are obvious attempts to cajole the western audiences whilst the rest of the group stay true to the original sounds and keep the reggae flavour flowing. The Barrett Brothers, the cornerstone of The Wailers, provide the rhythm section with Carlton Barrett on drums and Aston “Family Man” Barrett on bass. Marley’s three little birds the I Threes are there as backing vocals in the form of Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt.
There is no doubt that this album finds the group in outstanding form. The 13 tracks highlight the passion and complete mastery of their sound that amazed audiences. Fan favourite ‘I Shot the Sheriff’ as well as ‘Easy Skanking’ demonstrate the flexibility and creativity the band possesses. The show closes with passionate renditions of ‘Jamming’ to the obvious delight of the crowd before Marley leads them all into the promised land with a wonderful version of ‘Exodus'.
Although this is obviously a new release, it’s hard to distinguish this from previously released material. The Babylon by Bus live album originally released in 1978 captures the exact same line-up in concert in Paris and London within three weeks of this concert. For the purists, no new material is a bad thing, for the rest of us it may well better to save our pennies for further upcoming releases due out this year.
Easy Skanking In Boston '78 is available from amazon & iTunes.