Either do it for me. These last 2 albums are interesting in comparison to the earlier ska/rock steady sound.

To Bob Marley's emotionally charged music and lyrics, add the tight riddims and harmonies of the Wailers and then put all of that talent into the ceaselessly creative hands of production wizard Lee "Scratch" Perry. What you get is a 16-track reggae masterpiece capturing what is perhaps some of the best music Bob Marley & the Wailers ever committed to tape. The songs range from beautiful love songs like "Don't Rock the Boat" to cathartic political anthems like "Brain Washing," but even with the broad scope, no tracks miss the mark. They all cut straight to the heart and burn with an urgency rarely felt in music of any genre. So defining are the tracks that Marley himself was to return to the same themes later in his career, reviving such classics as "Lively Up Yourself" on Natty Dread, "Trench Town Rock" on Live!, and "Kaya" on Kaya, among others. While this is a Bob Marley & the Wailers album, Perry's unique production almost steals the show. Perry's bare-bones, heavy sound provides an interesting contrast to the slicker approach taken on Catch a Fire, produced by Bob Marley & the Wailers and Chris Blackwell and also made in 1973. Catch a Fire has an almost rock edge to it, but on African Herbsman, one can hear Perry's swirling mix madness lurking just beneath the surface of each Trench Town-tough track.

This one kind of slipped by me unnoticed. Possibly due to familiarity, but I don't know. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood or didn't have it turned up loud enough or something.

Hardly a worthwhile judgment, I know, but I'm still hoping for better things, I guess.

Catch a Fire was the major label debut for Bob Marley and the Wailers, and it was an international success upon its release in 1973. Although Bob Marley may have been the main voice, every member of the Wailers made valuable contributions and they were never more united in their vision and sound. All the songs were originals, and the instrumentation was minimalistic in order to bring out the passionate, often politically charged lyrics. Much of the appeal of the album lies in its sincerity and sense of purpose -- these are streetwise yet disarmingly idealistic young men who look around themselves and believe they might help change the world through music. Marley sings about the current state of urban poverty ("Concrete Jungle") and connects the present to past injustices ("Slave Driver"), but he is a not a one-trick pony. He is a versatile songwriter who also excels at singing love songs such as his classic "Stir It Up." Peter Tosh sings the lead vocal on two of his own compositions -- his powerful presence and immense talent hint that he would eventually leave for his own successful solo career. More than anything else, however, this marks the emergence of Bob Marley and the international debut of reggae music. Marley would continue to achieve great critical and commercial success during the 1970s, but Catch a Fire is one of the finest reggae albums ever. This album is essential for any music collection.

For DJ Drinky, and others, I worked up a comp of the best sound quality and some of my favorites of the early era. I arranged it to show the move from one genre to the other as best I could more defined with the first ten as compared to the last ten tracks.

Not to be an ungrateful bastard, but do you have a tracklist for this? And, what's the bitrate? I've got a few things from those early days, but really it always seems like a hodge podge and I have never settled on a favorite comp from that era. I'm curious what you've put together. Maybe you have finally solved my problem.

Thanks man, appreciate it.

The Wailers' fourth album overall, Burnin', was their second for Island Records, released only six months after its predecessor, Catch a Fire. Given that speed, it's not surprising that several tracks -- "Put It On," "Small Axe," and "Duppy Conqueror" -- are re-recordings of songs dating back a few years. But they fit in seamlessly with the newer material, matching its religious militancy and anthemic style. The confrontational nature of the group's message is apparent immediately in the opening track, "Get Up, Stand Up," as stirring a song as any that emerged from the American Civil Rights movement a decade before. The Wailers are explicit in their call to violence, a complete reversal from their own 1960s "Simmer Down" philosophy. Here, on "Burnin' and Lootin'," they take issue with fellow Jamaican Jimmy Cliff's song of the previous year, "Many Rivers to Cross," asking impatiently, "How many rivers do we have to cross/Before we can talk to the boss?" "I Shot the Sheriff," the album's most celebrated song, which became a number one hit in the hands of Eric Clapton in 1974, claims self-defense, admits consequences ("If I am guilty I will pay"), and emphasizes the isolated nature of the killing ("I didn't shoot no deputy"), but its central image is violent. Such songs illuminated the desperation of poor Jamaican life, but they also looked forward to religious salvation, their themes accentuated by the compelling rhythms and the alternating vocals of the three singers. Bob Marley was a first among equals, of course, and after this album his partners, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, quit the group, which thereafter was renamed Bob Marley and the Wailers. The three bonus tracks on the 2001 reissue are all by Tosh and Wailer, though recorded at the album's sessions, suggesting the source of their frustration.