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Rating: Great |
As the title suggests, this is indeed Bob Marley & the Wailers captured performing at the Lyceum Ballroom in London during the final UK leg of the Natty Dread tour.
Passionate and symbiotic energies circulate constantly between the band and the audience, resulting in one of the most memorable concert recordings of the pop music era. With the addition of lead guitarist Al Anderson during the recording sessions for their previous album, Natty Dread, the Wailers continued to make a seamless transition into the consciousness of the rock music audience.
Anderson's bluesy guitar riffs liberate both "Burnin' and Lootin'" and "Trenchtown Rock," the only new composition on Live! Anderson bobs and weaves his supple, tinged fretwork between the somewhat stiff rhythms inherent in reggae. The mutual affinity Marley forges with his audience is evident in the roars of approval that greet the opening notes of "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)," "I Shot the Sheriff," and "Kinky Reggae." "No Woman, No Cry" also elicits a group of singalongs as the audience's volume challenges that of the amplified musicians.
With this evidence, it's undeniable that Bob Marley & the Wailers were becoming pop music's most unlikely icons. Moreover, Live! underscores the Wailers' underrated talents as musicians. Older works like "Burnin' and Lootin'" and "I Shot the Sheriff" benefit greatly from Tyrone Downie's keyboard punctuation and the I-Threes' soulful backing vocals.
= Full Album Play List =
= Track List =
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