Rastaman Vibration

by Bob Marley

Overview

For Bob Marley, 1975 was a triumphant year. The singer's Natty Dread album featured one of his strongest batches of original material (the first compiled after the departure of Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer) and delivered Top 40 hit "No Woman No Cry." The follow-up Live set, a document of Marley's appearance at London's Lyceum, found the singer conquering England as well. Upon completing the tour, Marley and his band returned to Jamaica, laying down the tracks for Rastaman Vibration (1976) at legendary studios run by Harry Johnson and Joe Gibbs. At the mixing board for the sessions were Sylvan Morris and Errol Thompson, Jamaican engineers of the highest caliber. Though none of these cuts would show up on Legend, Marley's massively popular, posthumous best-of, some of the finest reality numbers would surface on the compilation's more militant equivalent, 1986's Rebel Music set. "War," for one, remains one of the most stunning statements of the singer's career. Though it is essentially a straight reading of one of Haile Selassie's speeches, Marley phrases the text exquisitely to fit a musical setting, a quiet intensity lying just below the surface. Equally strong are the likes of "Rat Race," "Crazy Baldhead," and "Want More." These songs are tempered by buoyant, lighthearted material like "Cry to Me," "Night Shift," and "Positive Vibration." Not quite as strong as some of the love songs Marley would score hits with on subsequent albums, "Cry to Me" still seems like an obvious choice for a single and remains underrated. Though record buyers may not have found any single song to be as strong on those terms as "No Woman No Cry," Rastaman Vibration still reached the Top Ten in the United States. ~ Nathan Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	06/20/2025
Label:	Analogue Prod.
UPC:	0753088064579

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bob Marley & the Wailers   Primary Artist
Bob Marley   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Percussion,Guitar (Rhythm),Guitar (Acoustic)
Judy Mowatt   Guest Artist,Vocals
Rita Marley   Guest Artist,Vocals
I-Threes   Vocals (Background)
Earl "Chinna" Smith   Guitar,Percussion,Guitar (Rhythm),Guitar (Electric)
Donald Kinsey   Guitar
Carlton "Carly" Barrett   Drums,Percussion
Marcia Griffiths   Vocals
Aston Barrett   Percussion,Guitar (Bass)
Donald Kinsley   Guitar (Electric)
Alvin Patterson   Percussion
Al Anderson   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Tyrone Downie   Bass,Keyboards,Percussion,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Allen Cole   Composer
Bob Marley & the Wailers   Producer,Performer
Bob Marley   Composer,Producer
Lecon Cogill   Composer
Rita Marley   Composer
Carlton "Carly" Barrett   Composer
S. Morris   Engineer
Quincy Jones   Composer
Alex Sadkin   Engineer
Aston Barrett   Mixing,Composer
Chris Blackwell   Mixing
Lee "Scratch" Perry   Composer
Rob Fraboni   Remastering
V. Ford   Composer
Neville Garrick   Artwork,Cover Design
Barry Diament   Remastering
Jack Nuber   Engineer
Hugh Peart   Composer
Allan Cole   Composer
Vincent Ford   Composer
Errol Thompson   Engineer