Natty Dread

Ugh. This better be the last of these. I think this might be the best? It feels a lot more of the moment and less trying to be something more than it is. I also didn't realize that Eric Clapton probably wouldn't have a solo career of it wasn't for the fact that he just t stole this sound which makes me hate him even more.

Otherwise not interested.

Very relaxing.

Another really solid album from Marley. I like the slightly darker edge to a lot of it. Some of my favorite songs of his are on here.

Great album, not as many singles as Exodus but such great stuff it might be even better.

Probably my favorite Marley record so far. Very, very high 4 stars.

4/5

‘and don’t be no drag.’ Opening w/ what could only be called kinky reggae (see Catch a Fire), Bob Marley’s first record w/o Tosh and Bunny is a clear triumph. If he’s not comforting you w/ ‘corn meal porridge,’ he’s a reminder of basic human facts: ‘a hungry mob is an angry mob’; ‘a hungry man is a angry man.’ If Marley is not some sort of prophet, especially for those of us who doubt that kind of thing, he’s still an indispensable artist, a realist who satisfies the old adage: ‘show don’t tell.’ No song here is not worth your time - and quite a few are inevitable classics, e.g., ‘Them Belly Full,’ ‘No Woman, No Cry,’ ‘Rebel Music,’ ‘Natty Dread.’ ‘Talkin’ Blues’ takes first place tho, w/ this unwonted violence: ‘Cause I feel like bombin' a church / Now that you know that the preacher is lyin’.’ If that’s not what I’m talkin’ about, it’s what I should be talkin’ about.

First half was amazing. There was one song that I really didn’t like. But altogether you know it’s good

I know it's all supposed to be legendary stuff, but I've just never heard why.

Bin leider kein großer Reggae-Fan.

reggae né
achei legal até, tem uma pegada pro blues em alguns momentos. letras bem políticas, btw.
não é minha pira não, mas é divertidim

Not sure what to say about this. Everyone I've ever talked to has known who Bob Marley was, and what he sounds like.

Decent chill album. Don't hate reggae, don't love it either

Wasn't sure how I felt about this album initially. It was a nice enough album, and I liked the lyrics. But it just wasn't clicking for me

I think I just prefer other Bob Marley songs to these. They weren't bad at all, just missing a spark

No Woman No Cry - love that song though!

3 ⭐️

3.5

Bob kinda goes solo here, no more Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer but this has the classic "No Woman No Cry" and the rest is a solid mix of chill vibes and biting social commentary.

I’m at a 4, and I’m sort of annoyed that I am.

This is not a bad album at all, and it’s certainly no lower than a 4. I’m just annoyed that I haven’t been able to give either Bob Marley album we’ve gotten so far a 5.

This one hits on the same thing that Exodus did, where once you exit the flow state, the album’s cohesion and melodic substance falls apart just enough to bring the album down a bit as a full experience. I thought the first track wasn’t a great tonesetter in terms of mood and atmosphere, but Tracks 2-5 got me into that flow state, and Tracks 6 and 7 were still pretty good, if a bit of a step down. Tracks 8 and 9 certainly aren’t bad, but they sacrifice the melodic depth for lyrical depth, and while they tell good stories, I think they require a deeper context of the sociopolitical climate of the time that I just don’t have, and so I can’t connect to them like that.

Once again, though, this is not a bad album – what’s here is full of the same vibrance and confidence present on Exodus, and its sound feels just as polished despite being 3 years younger. I just don’t think the entire thing hangs on as a front to back experience – there are certainly lulls in the music, and a few tracks fall for the “first minute is the whole song” trap, but usually it’s done so well that it’s easy to ignore. It just has too many of those moments pop up over the course of the album for me to give it a 5, but make no mistake – this is certainly one of the 1,001 albums one should listen to before they die. I just wish it had a little more cohesion to bump up to a 5, but I’m not quite there. Still a great album, though.

Some nice groovy reggae. Only really recognized No Woman No Cry, but enjoyed all of it.

Simply beautiful.

This will be the second Bob Marley album I will have reviewed after Catch a Fire. It is also the first Bob Marley album of which "The Wailers" are in name only, after Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer left due to disagreements with their producer Chris Blackwell.

I will say I enjoyed Natty Dread slightly more than Catch a Fire, if only because the lyrics feel more cohesive and poignant. The album is more politically charged because the lyrics are meant to be empowering for the general population. This includes calls for unification such as in "So Jah Seh", sparking a revolution such as in the aptly named "Revolution" and "Rebel Music (3 O'Clock Roadblock)", a profound warning about a nation's hunger issues on "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)", and a celebration of the Rastafari religious movement Marley belonged to on the title track. The cherry on the top would be the most known track off this record "No Woman, No Cry", where there is sentiment found for one's upbringing in an impoverished community and the friendships forged in tough times.

As much as I still feel new to reggae music with its slower tempos and laid-back vibes, I certainly enjoyed how good Natty Dread was. This album comes with a solid recommendation.

not my favorite marley album, but a solid listen