SACD Bob Marley and The Wailers – Exodus

Two movements within one album

“Jamming”, “Three Little Birds” and “One Love/People Get Ready” are familiar ways into Exodus. The album itself takes a longer route to them. It starts with “Natural Mystic”, passes through “Guiltiness” and “The Heathen”, and arrives at the extended title track before those songs appear. The running order tells a different story from a collection of the best-known singles. On this SACD, it unfolds without a side change.

Released in 1977, the album belongs to Marley’s London period following the December 1976 assassination attempt in Kingston. That history gives its title particular weight. The programme nevertheless reaches beyond the circumstances of departure, bringing religion, social conflict, love and community together. Knowing the biography helps, but it does not replace hearing how the songs are arranged across the album.

The title track is a destination

“Exodus” is the fifth track and runs for more than seven minutes. “Jamming” follows, opening what was the original LP’s second side. Listen consciously to that boundary. What changes between the end of the title song and the next track? Which roles remain familiar for bass, drums and vocals, and which take on a different emphasis?

Aston “Family Man” Barrett on bass and Carlton Barrett on drums remain the rhythmic centre, with Junior Marvin on guitar, Tyrone Downie on keyboards and Alvin “Seeco” Patterson on percussion. A familiar song can offer a fresh point of entry if you choose one of those parts as your guide rather than automatically following the lead vocal. Repetition provides a framework for noticing changes in the other instruments.

Three voices within the group

Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt form the I Threes. Their contributions are one reason to hear Exodus as the work of an ensemble. Follow how they pick up a musical turn and how backing and lead voices carry a section together. The personnel are active participants rather than simply the setting for a famous individual.

The closing “One Love/People Get Ready” also connects Marley with Curtis Mayfield, who shares its writing credit. A familiar conclusion acquires another line of musical ancestry. These are the ten album recordings in their programme: extended singles and later anniversary reworkings belong to separate releases. Listening in sequence brings back a context that the individual songs’ enormous familiarity can sometimes obscure.

The hybrid stereo edition

Analogue Productions presents the ten-track album as a Hybrid Stereo SACD, catalogue number CAPP 180 SA. Ryan K. Smith is credited with mastering from the original master tape. A conventional CD player reads the CD layer; the high-resolution SACD layer requires compatible hardware. This edition offers stereo rather than a multichannel mix. It does not contain Ziggy Marley’s later anniversary reworking of the album.

Michael 45 holds the item in Germany and sends it from Hilden, avoiding the need for a personal US import and the customs wait associated with it.

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

Also on 45 RPM vinyl: Exodus

More by Bob Marley and The Wailers: Kaya · Rastaman Vibration

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.