B Is for Bob

by Bob Marley & the Wailers, Bob Marley

Overview

B Is for Bob is ultimately little more than a novelty entry in the bloated catalog that is Bob Marley's, but it has its moments. The gist here is that Ziggy Marley, Bob's oldest son and a major reggae artist in his own right, has taken a dozen of Bob's recordings and remixed (or "reimagined," as the press materials say) all but four of them to appeal to an intended audience of children. Generally, he accomplishes this by stripping out the more pronounced reggae rhythms, lead guitar solos, and such, and giving the tunes a more sparse, primarily acoustic sheen. In some cases, instruments (light percussion, vibes) are added as well, to bring a fuller but softer feel. Recordings that have been familiar to Marley acolytes for decades -- "Jamming," "Redemption Song," "Stir It Up," etc. -- seem strangely unfamiliar, ghosts of their former selves, yet not unappealing -- it's indeed possible that young children might well enjoy them, but were the originals so overpowering that those same kids would have been frightened by them? And what will those children make of some of Marley's lyrics and patois kept intact ("Old pirates, yes they rob I/Sold I to the merchant ships")? Interestingly, Ziggy has left four tunes ("Could You Be Loved," "Lively Up Yourself," "One Love," "Wake Up and Live") alone, leaving the adult wondering why he felt those were safe while some of his father's other songs needed a kid-friendly tune-up. ~ Jeff Tamarkin

Product Details

Release Date:	06/23/2009
Label:	Island / Sanctuary Records / Tuff Gong / Universal Music
UPC:	0600753156766

Tracks

1. Three Little Birds
2. Redemption Song
3. Wake Up and Live, Pt. 1
4. Bend Down Low
5. Lively Up Yourself
6. Jamming
7. Small Axe
8. One Love/People Get Ready
9. Satisfy My Soul
10. Could You Be Loved
11. Stir It Up
12. High Tide or Low Tide

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bob Marley & the Wailers   Primary Artist
Bob Marley   Primary Artist
The Wailers   Primary Artist
Takeshi Akimoto   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Aaron Nigel Smith   Choir Director
Chloe Brendinger   Vocals (Background)
Daniel Mandelman   Bells,Piano,Keyboards,Percussion,Piano (Grand)
Emma Koffman   Vocals (Background)
Grace Schimmel   Vocals (Background)
Kid's Chorus   Vocals (Background)
Michaela Brown   Vocals (Background)
Sophia Hedgecock   Vocals (Background)
Zion Smith   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Fabian Cook   Engineer,Mixing
Dennis Morris   Photography
Christine Jelloian   Release Coordinator
Ryan Rogers   Design
Evelyn Morgan   A&R
Jill Ettinger   Product Manager
Bob Marley & the Wailers   Producer
Bob Marley   Composer,Audio Production
Kevin Mills   Audio Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Anthony Davis   Composer
Curtis Mayfield   Composer
Fabian Cooke   Mixing,Audio Engineer
Gavin Lurssen   Mastering,Remastering
Alex Sadkin   Producer,Audio Production
Dana Smart   Supervisor
Ziggy Marley   Producer,Remixing,Executive Producer,Audio Production
Cedella Marley   Design,Artwork
Chris Blackwell   Audio Production
Anthony "Sangie" Davis   Composer
The Wailers   Audio Production
Todd Steinhauer   Audio Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Reuben Cohen   Audio Engineer