Bob Marley and the Wailers: Tours during 1970-1973

[HWright]

I read recently “Catch a Fire” by Timothy White, a biography of Bob Marley. I was especially interested in his account of the years 1970-1973 when the Wailers began to reach the international market and signed with Island Records. However, after reading the chapters on 1970-1973, there seemed to be some inconsistancies in White’s account. Initially I attributed these to White’s writing style (he doesn’t always maintain a linear narrative, frequently circles back and forth in time and often presents the thoughts or impressions of others as he imagines them), but no matter how many times I read it certain facts were still unclear to me.

I was interested in establishing the chronology of Marley’s activities during the period 1970-1973 in particular because I was interested in the first tours of the Wailers and I wanted to find out if there are any live recordings of the Wailers when the group included Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingstone. What I found out was that Bob Marley made three trips to England during 1970-1973. These three trips are often confused in White’s book and other sources.

Here’s what I think I know about this period based on liner notes, other books and various on line sources:

The first trip was in late 1970-early 1971. It began when Bob Marley went by himself to Sweden to work with Johnny Nash and his associates on a proposed movie soundtrack. Later Bob went to London with Nash and co and invited Peter and Bunny to join him. They worked with Nash on his new album and tried to organize a Wailers tour but nothing other than a few club dates happened. Toward the end of their stay in the UK, Bob met with Chris Blackwell of Island who offered the group an advance for an album and helped them get back to Jamaica.

Back in Jamaica they worked on the first Island album “Catch a Fire.” They may have also cut some Jamaica-only singles for their own Tuff Gong label during this period but I haven’t been able to verify that yet. (Anyone know anything about this?)

Their second trip to the UK took place the following winter, Nov./Dec. 1972, when Bob, Peter and Bunny returned to the UK to deliver the album masters, which were subsequently dubbed by various studio musicians and then released by Island (the Deluxe two-disc edition of “Catch a Fire” includes the undubbed masters which make for fascinating listening). During this stay in the UK, the Wailers toured the UK with a bit more success, performing at a number of clubs including the Speak Easy in London and even appeared on the TV show The Old Grey Whistle Test in January 1973 as well. There are no official recordings of this tour to the best of my knowledge, although there is a DVD that includes footage of the group from their TV appearance.

The group then returned to Jamaica. While there they cut their second Island album “Burnin’.”

Their third trip to the UK took place at the end of a UK/North America tour that took place during 1973. The tour began in the USA, hitting New York City in August 1973 (including a double bill with Bruce Springsteen), and continued out west, including some dates with Sly and the Family Stone. Bunny Livingstone declined to join the group for this US/UK tour and was replaced by the Wailers friend and mentor Joe Higgs. There is a very interesting CD available on Island called “Talkin’ Blues” which includes a live in the studio concert the group gave for radio station KSAN when they were in San Francisco in October 1973 at the end of this tour. The group then went on to the UK where they played in London and other cities. The Deluxe 2-disc Edition of “Burnin’” includes the Wailers’ concert at Leeds in December 1973. According to the liner notes Joe Higgs did not stay with the tour for its UK dates, and no other substitute for Bunny was ever found apparently. Although this does mean that the famous three part harmonies are missing from the Leeds show, nevertheless the group sounds amazing. Bob and Peter play all the guitar parts since the group at the time consisted of the Barrett brothers on bass and drums and Earl Lindo on keyboards. This makes for a quite different sound compared to later Bob Marley bands as heard on live albums such as “Live!” and “Babylon by Bus.” After the shows in California, the group returned to Jamaica and in the following months Peter and Bunny officially split from the group.

[HWright]

Since I wrote the above I got a very interesting book called "Bob Marley & the Wailers: the Definitive Discography" by Roger Steffens and Leroy Jodie Pierson (Rounder Books). I am still analyzing his chronology (and comparing it to what I thought I knew) but so far he has cleared up a lot of things for me.

In case anyone is interested in the book, here is a link:

http://www.rounderbooks.com/archives/2005/...marley_and.html

[HWright]

I was able to corroborate most of what is in the Steffens and Pierson discography in a new book by Christopher John Farley called “Before the Legend: the Rise of Bob Marley.”

Here is an edited chronology. It turns out that Timothy White’s account in “Catch a Fire” is often vague as well as frequently inconsistent within its own version of events and may in fact be inaccurate as well.

May 1971: Bob Marley goes to New York City briefly and then travels to Sweden by himself to work with Johnny Nash and his associates on a proposed movie soundtrack.

June/July 1971: Bob returns to Jamaica.

July/August 1971: Bob records a number of singles with the Wailers for his own Tuff Gong label: Screw Face, Redder Than Red, Concrete Jungle, Guava Jelly, Satisfy My Soul, Craven Choke Puppy, Lick Samba.

November 1971: Bob returns to Sweden for more work with Johnny Nash and his associates on the movie soundtrack (this second trip comes from Steffens and Pierson, other sources don’t mention it explicitly).

January 27, 1972: the money for the Swedish movie soundtrack projects runs out. Bob goes to London (in some versions Bob leaves Sweden abruptly, stealing Nash’s guitar and plane tickets in the process). In London Bob gets back together with Nash and co. Later he invites the other Wailers to join him, which they do.

February 1972: Bob and the Wailers work with Nash on his new album (“I Can See Clearly Now”, Epic/CBS) and try to organize a Wailers tour but nothing really develops. Mostly Bob ends up touring with Nash and his group with the Wailers sitting watching on the sidelines, reportedly due to work visa issues.

April 1972: Bob cuts two sessions for CBS. The main result of this is the single Reggae on Broadway. Other songs cut include early versions of songs later recorded for “Catch a Fire” as well as : I’m Hurting Inside, Dance Do the Reggae, Oh Lord I got to Get to Thee, Gonna Get to You, Stay With Me.

May 1972: Bob and the Wailers return to Jamaica (in some accounts Bob returns after the Wailers, needing to finish the last dates of the Johnny Nash tour.)

Late August 1972: Bob and the Wailers return to the UK to tour. Toward the end of their stay in the UK, Bob meets with Chris Blackwell of Island who offers the group an advance for an album and helps them get back to Jamaica.

October 1972: the Wailers work on and complete “Catch a Fire,” their first Island album. Chris Blackwell meets with the group in Jamaica and collects the “Catch a Fire” masters, taking them back with him to London where he has them overdubbed in Island’s studios. (The Deluxe two-disc edition of “Catch a Fire” includes the undubbed masters which make for fascinating listening)

Note: White claims that Bob traveled to London to deliver the “Catch a Fire” masters, overdub some of the vocals to match the new backing and sort out his contract problems (he was signed to CBS at the time he signed with Island). Other sources do not back up this version of events, although parts of White’s account may have happened at other times.

December 1972: “Catch a Fire” is released in the UK.

April 1973: The Wailers begin work on “Burnin’ , “ their second Island album. The Wailers then return to the UK for a tour.

April 27-May 29, 1973: The Wailers tour the UK. There are no official recordings of this tour to the best of my knowledge, although there is a DVD that includes footage of the group from their TV appearance recorded on May 1, 1973 (broadcast date?) on the Old Grey Whistle Test.

(It’s not clear if all the Wailers returned to Jamaica in between the UK and the USA, although clearly Bunny Livingstone did since he did not accompany the group any further.)

July 1973: the Wailers go to the North America. The tour begins in the USA, hitting New York City in August 1973 (including a double bill with Bruce Springsteen), and continues out west, including some dates with Sly and the Family Stone. Since Bunny Livingstone declined to join the group for this US/UK tour, he was replaced by the Wailers’ friend and mentor Joe Higgs.

October 1973: There is a very interesting CD available on Island called “Talkin’ Blues” which includes a live in the studio concert the group gave for radio station KSAN when they were in San Francisco at the end of this tour.

November 1973: Joe Higgs returns to Jamaica and the Wailers continue on to the UK. No substitute is hired and the group continues as a quintet.

November/December 1973: Wailers tour the UK. The Deluxe 2-disc Edition of “Burnin’” includes the Wailers’ concert at Leeds (November 23). Although this does mean that the famous three part harmonies are missing from the Leeds show, nevertheless the group sounds amazing. Bob and Peter play all the guitar parts since the group at the time consisted of the Barrett brothers on bass and drums and Earl Lindo on keyboards. This makes for a quite different sound compared to later Bob Marley bands as heard on live albums such as “Live!” and “Babylon by Bus.”

After the shows in the UK, the group returns to Jamaica and in the following months Peter and Bunny officially split from the group.

December 1973: “Burnin’” released in the UK.

Edited August 21, 2006 by HWright

[dave9199]

I'm surprised no one has posted anything here. The only reggae I own is Marley & I don't listen to it all that much, but enjoy it when I do. I had just been listening to Kaya & Survival when this thread popped up. I had thought about buying a book on him when I was buying his cds but never did, so this your posts are interesting reading. For some reason, Kaya is a favorite of mine. I think because it's just an album of good songs and not overly political, though I like that stuff too.

[allblues]

Since I wrote the above I got a very interesting book called "Bob Marley & the Wailers: the Definitive Discography" by Roger Steffens and Leroy Jodie Pierson (Rounder Books). I am still analyzing his chronology (and comparing it to what I thought I knew) but so far he has cleared up a lot of things for me.

In case anyone is interested in the book, here is a link:

http://www.rounderbooks.com/archives/2005/...marley_and.html

Interesting set of posts! I would also recommend the Steffens and Pierson discography to anyone with more than a passing interest in the Wailers. That includes not only Bob Marley but Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer as well. My only criticism of the book is that I wanted a more complete and current list of releases, not just references to the original albums.

For beginners to the Wailers music, the 2 CD set Bob Marley and the Wailers Gold is an excellent sampler, even better than Legend.

[fent99]

Surprising there are so few posts here. I haven't kept up with the Deluxe issues of Marley but some of the live stuff looks great. I've the 2 disc Catch A Fire. Any of the others essential?

Edited August 21, 2006 by fent99

[HWright]

Dave 9199:

I like "Kaya" too, although I would say that I prefer "Exodus" which was cut in London mainly during the same sessions as "Kaya."

Fent99:

(1) The deluxe edition of "Burnin'" is very worthwhile, not only because the album itself sounds better than ever, but also because the second disc includes the Live at Leeds 1973 concert I mentioned above.

(2) The deluxe edition of "Exodus" is good too. The albums sounds great, the fun non-LP b-side "Roots" is included, and the second disc includes live material not included elsewhere, somewhat akin to the material on "Babylon by Bus," but cut about a year earlier, I believe.

(3) I haven't bought the deluxe edition of "Rastaman Vibration," but I would suppose the album sounds as good as the others. I've saved it until last because the second disc includes a live recording now available separately as a two disc set called "Live at the Roxy."

So far they haven't put out deluxe editions of any of the other titles, but I would certainly hope they will do so in the future. I would be especially interested in a deluxe edition of "Natty Dread," Bob's first album after the break-up of the original Wailers.

AllBlues:

I agree that the discography is also useful for Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer too. I've been getting interested in their solo material lately as well and have been finding the discography quite useful in sorting out Peter and Bunny's activities during the same period discussed above (1971-1973) as well as for sorting out the discographical details of the aftermath of their split from Bob (1974-1976) which ended with the release of their first solo albums in 1976. I do agree though that the format of the discography is less than ideal in some respects. I find it frustrating to read a discography where you have to keep flipping to the back of the book to look up the serial numbers so you can figure out which songs appeared on which albums. Frankly I would prefer a format where the name of each album (or albums) was listed along side the song titles and other details.

Edited August 21, 2006 by HWright

[Soulstation1]

i have the 2 discs sets of catch a fire and exodus

pick up catch a fire if you can

one day i'll pick up the rest of the remastered cds

[GA Russell]

A good friend of mine went to Marley's last concert. It was in Pittsburgh.

Marley was ill with brain cancer, and cancelled the rest of the tour following the Pittsburgh gig. I don't think it was too long after that that he passed away.

[Norm]

Going through a major (re)phase of Bob Marley these days, and I found this thread particularly insightful. Over the last couple of weeks I've picked up the the Deluxe editions of Burnin', Exodus, and Catch a Fire (on the way) as well as remastered versions of Babylon By Bus and Live (at Lyceum, London 1975), and the DVD Live at the Rainbow.

Several years ago I picked up the four-CD set, Songs of Freedom. Based on my love for the first CD in this chronological sampling of Marley's work, I think I'd like to explore more of his earlier (pre-Island) stuff. It looks like the remastered/reissued editions of Soul Rebels (2002) and African Herbsman (2002) might fit the bill. From a few posts above, I might also try the Talkin Blues live radio performance CD.

Anyone else getting warm to Marley in the thick of winter?

[Noj]

I love the early Marley more than the Tuff Gong Marley. Haven't heard any of the Deluxe Edition reissues, I'll have to look into those. Since I own all the Tuff Gongs and the Songs Of Freedom set, it would cost a pretty penny to replace them all. Dang.

Good excuse to give it all a listen again.

[Norm]

Jon, you might be interested in particular two of the Deluxe 2-CD sets: Burnin and Catch A Fire, the two earliest Tuff Gongs (Island), as the former has a live set from 1973 with GREAT sound quality and the latter contains original/stripped down versions (before the dubs) of the songs that appeared on the album Catch a Fire that was released in 1972. But yes, like you I'm interested in pushing back even farther in time and I think the Soul Rebels and African Herbsman re-issues might satisfy my soul, especially during this spate of "wintry" and rainy weather we're having in SoCal.

[Noj]

Thanks for the tip, Norm.

For the early Marley, I have a fantastic 2CD set on Charly called Roots Of A Legend which has almost all my favorite recordings I've heard by him ("Rainbow Country," "Sun Is Shining," "Soul Shakedown Party," "Duppy Conqueror," "African Herbsman," "Mr. Brown," tons more). There's also several comps worth seeking out, Simmer Down At Studio One, Greatest Hits At Studio One, and The Wailers At Studio One which have some fun odds and ends from back then.