Bob Marley Legend
Another of my cave top ten and I don’t care if it’s a greatest hits compilation.
I also don’t care if Will Smith had an un-natural love for it in “I am Legend”.
This record contains all the great Marley tunes that are easily consumable by anyone if they care to listen.
It is like a set of easily digestible and quality reggae that works for the initiated and uninitiated alike.
(At least until the re-release added a few numbers of a more “gamey” flavor)
Jimi once said “Are you experienced” – You don’t have to be – Listening to this one record over and over will get you as much practical education as is necessary to become a full-fledged Marley fan.
That’s right- You do not have to smoke copious amounts of marijuana and spend countless nights out in the street being warmed by a burning trash can.
Listen and learn.
Listen and let it wash over you.
I love Bob Marley!
Cave of Fame 
Bob Marley is a great companion when I am out on mission … can’t get enough of him and when I was in Salone the celebration during his birthday was just magical like you’re actually there with him everybody looks and sound the part … it really does wash over you!
Great post 😉
My husband listens to bob Marley whenever he needs to de-stress — without the aid of marijuana with it. 🙂
Brother Bob does take me to a happy place as well 🙂
if I ever am chosen to give the commencement exercise address at Harvard I will choose Jommin’ to be my leadi in song the fucking place will be rockin
Bob Marley penned my favourite quote about music….”The thing about music is that when it hits you, you feel no pain”
I’ll confess: I’ve never fallen under the Marley spell but your review has inspired me to give it another go.
I usually gravitate towards studio albums but hey, if the compilation is chosen with care & it gets people interested in the artist, nothing wrong with that!
I enjoyed the graphic Wayne, nice touch!
All you need is this collection to enjoy Bob Marley- you don’t need to research the dynamics of Rastafarian culture—you don’t need to share bowls of porridge around burning barrels in the tenements of Kingston—you just need this record—we music fans can complicate things–keep it simple and get “Legend” 🙂
As I mentioned in my first “Gateway Compilations” post, Legend just might be the quintessential compilation. I realize a lot of people never move beyond it to explore more of Marley’s music (or that of his contemporaries) but it’s still a perfectly selected collection of his songs. And there’s plenty more to enjoy in his catalog beyond it.
I think Mike owes me a royalty payment for his “gateway to reggae” comment. Haha. Damn, I should have trademarked the term “gateway compilation.”
Rich,
You may have to copyright “Quintessential Compilation” as well because this is it man!….er, …I mean mon!
Agreed. If someone said “which one should I own” I would tell them Legend is perfect. I first heard Rastaman Vibrations and thought I had missed something all my life, and I had. After Exodus I filled back in with most of what was available at the time. It was a staple at every party in my younger years if you wanted to have everyone get up and dance or sing. Nothing can match it for dance music ( and I don’t dance). Thanks for the post, and great artwork too!
I started with the live record and was hooked then got uprising which was disco-reggae but still ok—-Legend put it all together-and as I said in the post…If this is the only Bob Marley you get to know- you are fine for a lifetime with this.
Nice artwork, Wayne!
Thanks…more is on the way 🙂
Love this album. It was my gateway to reggae.
It is one of my favorites and can take many plays without losing anything. I’ll just say it…best compilation record ever!
I can’t come up with any arguments against that!