Natty Dread

You can almost begrudge all the commercial advantages Bob Marley had over other reggae acts. He was good looking, had catchy tunes with soulful lyrics and an English record label to push him. He was so successful it sometimes feel like the media and his fans have his light blocking out other reggae acts.

But his records are actually very good. So you can't really begrudge him.

Favorite track(s): No Woman, No Cry, Them Belly Full (But We Hungry), Rebel Music (3 O'Clock Road Block), Revolution

Heard before
Previous rating: 8/10

It didn't fit my mood; a classic, for sure, but I'll give it a 4, 'cause has "No woman no cry" but it was not the best day to have this!

I will have to come back to it in the future, so that I can make it proper justice... maybe!

I'm not reggae fan and, looking at the other reviews, I'm not alone. Looks like there is a lot of us in that camp, eh? We say things like "I know it's the great Bob Marley, but..." and "it's a little bit boring and repetitive". That's me. I say that.

Maybe reggae is for people who have chill. I have no chill.

Lovely. A balm for the soul.
Took my daughter to school in -6C. On a bike. Her school was closed for teacher training. Took her to 2 different friends' houses while I went to my first day back at work after Christmas.
At home, this album came through for me with it's generous, uplifting spirit.
Great cover art.

Remains one of my favorite no-skip albums.

I can see why the live version of No Woman No Cry became the definitive one - that version is so warm and tender, the original is more “cheer up love, it might never happen”. There are some other great songs here though.

I love me some Reggae. Bob and his crew just create an immaculate vibe while incorporating some important themes. Music about revolutions I can listen to while lounging on the beach. Favorite songs were Lively Up Yourself, No Woman No Cry, Rebel Music, and Revolution.

Bob Marley is an icon, practically synonymous with Reggae. And his vocal delivery and political lyrics are excellent, proudly rooting this album in Jamaican and Rastafarian culture such that it’s impossible to overlook.

But while Bob Marley gets a ton of credit for his work, I think the biggest star of this album is Aston Barrett, the bass guitarist. I remember my dad playing The Wailers when I was a kid, and falling in love with the thumping, syncopated, melodic bass lines. Every song is improved harmonically and rhythmically by Family Man’s bass.

Great tunes. Not sure if it's the desert island Marley album, but very good reggae album.

No Women No Cry- not be my #1 album. But name a Marley album that isn’t fantastic

The roots, the blues-y guitar and the production value is great. A preview of what was to come.

We meet again, Bob Marley. Not much changed with you since last time, I see. No worries. Keep doing what you're doing.

When we had The Fugees' version of 'No Woman, No Cry', I was surprised to read that according to Wiki,
<<The lyric is sometimes misunderstood outside Jamaica to mean "if there is no woman, there is no reason to cry" >>
but I asked around and indeed that's how many people interpret it! Are they just not listening to the rest of the lyrics ("everything's gonna be alright")? But I guess what's happening here is that exposure to Jamaican dialects is not that high, and we have a really strong grammatical filter for whatever dialects we know (c.f. me, marvelling at British pronunciations every few days), such that we don't even search for alternatives. Pretty cool if you think about it. Like, X makes no sense, but it's all I know, so it must be X.

If non-music nerds think 'reggae' they think Bob Marley. That's a pretty cool accomplishment I reckon.

Sweet, but isn’t a bit of me really

It's hard to go wrong with the smooth sounds of Bob Marley. Yet another solid release. Favorite track: Natty Dread

sorry i don't smoke weed

Solid Bob

Not bad

Kinda less interesting than the last Bob Marley album I've heard, but I give it a 3 cause it was enjoyable and it had No Woman No Cry.

I had never listened to an actual album by Bob Marley, just compilations of his singles so didn’t know what to expect. What i found was a delight, far from relying on the presence of No woman, no cry this album just works as a whole piece to the point nenc doesn’t stand out, which is some achievement.