Bob Marley and The Wailers – Uprising

From a shared invitation to a solitary voice

“Coming In From The Cold” opens Uprising by reaching out towards other people. At the opposite end stands “Redemption Song”, carried by Bob Marley's voice and acoustic guitar. The 1980 album travels between those points through communal celebration, confrontation and reflection. That range makes the complete sequence rewarding even when its best-known songs are already familiar.

Recorded at Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Uprising was the last studio album released during Marley's lifetime. That fact inevitably shapes how it is approached today. The songs also deserve attention on their own terms. Work, relationships, faith and social conflict all enter the picture, giving the record a strong connection to the present in which it was made.

Following the band

Aston “Family Man” Barrett and Carlton Barrett provide the Wailers' foundation on bass and drums. Guitar and keyboard parts meet above it, joined by the I Threes: Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt. Try following a song through its bass figure, then return to hear where the backing voices enter. The separate contributions become easier to recognise without losing sight of the complete arrangement.

“Could You Be Loved” concentrates the album's accessible, dance-oriented side. In the running order it follows “Zion Train” and “Pimper's Paradise”. Hearing those pieces together places the familiar song within a record that repeatedly considers direction and responsibility. Its immediate appeal is one part of a considerably wider conversation.

Two songs on the final side

On this 45 RPM edition, “Forever Loving Jah” and “Redemption Song” occupy the fourth side together. A full-band statement of faith leads into the intimacy of voice and acoustic guitar. Their placement creates a distinct closing chapter, beginning with the final turn of the record and ending with the album's most reduced arrangement.

In “Redemption Song”, follow the relationship between the sung line and the guitar accompaniment. After the varied band settings, this small combination holds the attention through the shape of the performance itself. The song also gains weight from its position. Playing the complete album lets you trace the distance from the opening invitation to that concentrated ending, through a series of very different musical settings.

This edition

Analogue Productions AAPP 182-45 contains the original album on two 180-gram LPs cut for 45 RPM playback. Quality Record Pressings handles the pressing, and the records come in a Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket. The publisher identifies the original master tape as the source. The ten songs are divided across four sides in a 2/3/3/2 sequence, with “Forever Loving Jah” and “Redemption Song” sharing the final side.

In the magazine: Bob Marley: Burnin’ and Natty Dread on UHQR

Also in another edition: Uprising

More by Bob Marley and The Wailers: Burnin’

Artist page: All titles by Bob Marley & The Wailers

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.