Bob Marley & The Wailers Kaya (1978 2013) [official Digital Download 24bit 96khz]

By 1978, Bob Marley was by far the best-known reggae musician in the world and a major star in the U.K. and Europe as well as his native Jamaica. However, he was still little more than a cult figure in the United States, and by many accounts Marley was eager to attract a larger audience in America, seeing it as a new challenge. Released in 1978, Kaya wasn't necessarily made with American tastes in mind, but it was an album that presented a more accessible version of Bob Marley…

A posthumous collection produced by Rita Marley, based on work left behind by Bob upon his death. Some of his best post-Wailers work is here, with songs like "Buffalo Soldier," "Chant Down Babylon," and "Blackman Redemption." Given that he wasn't alive to do the production that he usually helped in, this album seems remarkably true to the general vision of Bob Marley's albums. Other somewhat lesser-known tracks also help to fill in all of the cracks with some remarkable material. Case in point: "Jump Nyabinghi," a nice danceable groove with perhaps less of the usual politics mixed in, but with just as much musicality. Overall, any Bob Marley fan ought to own this album. For the uninitiated, Legend is always the starting point, but, after that, this may not be such a bad choice for additions to the collection.

Uprising would be the final studio album featuring Bob Marley & the Wailers to be released during Marley's lifetime. Prophetically, it also contains some of the band's finest crafted material, as if they were cogent that this would be their final outing. The album's blend of religious and secular themes likewise creates a very powerful and singular quest for spirituality in a material world. Although it is argued that an album's graphic design rarely captures the essence of the work inside, the powerful rebirthing image of a rock solid Marley emerging with his arms raised in triumph could not be a more accurate visual description of the musical jubilation within. Musically, the somewhat staid rhythms often synonymous with reggae have been completely turned around to include slinky and liquid syncopation.