Published on Feb 21, 1999
As a musician who helped to popularize reggae in America (at
least for a short time), Bob Marley couldn’t help but be influenced
by rock and roll. After all, he and the Wailers had influenced so
many artists in rock that there had to be some lessons that he took
from them.
Those lessons manifest themselves the strongest in his 1980
release
Uprising – which, unfortunately, would be Marley’s last
album prior to his death in 1981. While it’s not his strongest
album of his career, it does contain two of the best songs that
Marley ever recorded.
Marley and the Wailers hit paydirt on the song “Could You Be
Loved,” a song that is highlighted for me by the actual use of a
snare drum instead of the traditional rim shot – to my ears, a
welcome change. Peppy and poppy, Marley is in rare form on this
track, laying down a beat that is not only danceable, but one that
continues his pattern of challenging the listener to think past the
lyrics.
The other track, “Redemption Song,” is the starkest portrait of
Marley as an artist. Featuring only Marley on acoustic guitar and
vocal, he offers this track almost as a known “farewell” to his
fans. It doesn’t have a traditional reggae feel to it (I can’t
imagine this song ever being done by a full band), and its sudden
stop to close the album almost is a reminder of how Marley would be
silenced shortly after this album’s release.
Of the remaining tracks on
Uprising, one can often hear in Marley’s vocals that
something was wrong. Honestly, they were not as strong as they had
been in recent years (and Marley was never an overpowering singer
in the first place), so the hint of weakness in this category
should have put a red flag up for people.
This notwithstanding, the first half of
Uprising is strong enough to stand on its own, with only
“Bad Card” being a weak link. Other songs like “Coming In From The
Cold” and “We And Dem” carry the album to greater heights. “Work”
is an interesting track, a social commentary on how almost all of
us try to get through one day just to make the time to the weekend
pass more quickly.
And while the second half of
Uprising contains the two hits, the remaining three tracks
show signs of slowing down. “Pimper’s Paradise” is not one of
Marley’s better works, while “Zion Train” and “Forever Loving Jah”
are marginal, at best.
In a way, to even suggest the slightest hint of weakness on
Uprising may be seen as blasphemy, or disrespect to Marley’s
memory. But when compared to some of his earlier works, there is a
noticeable change in the songwriting – compare some of the weaker
tracks to numbers like “Lively Up Yourself,” “Is This Love” or the
kick-ass live version of “No Woman No Cry”, and tell me that
they’re on the same levels.
Still, there is enough on
Uprising to keep the listener intrigued for most of the time
– as well as to remind them just how much Marley and his music are
sorely missed.