Exodus – Bob Marley and the Wailers

            Album number seven is the 1977 classic Exodus by Bob Marley and the Wailers.  I have heard that this was one of their two greatest albums (the other being Natty Dread which I own), so I decided to give it a listen.  The first track, called Natural Mystic, starts off soft and subdued and builds up.  The second song is called So Much Things to Say.  I really enjoyed the lyrics, which makes up an essential part of this type of music.  Reggae is similar to folk in that the words are the driving force.  The music is a vehicle for the lyrical statement.  The third track sounded very similar to the second.  While I understand that unfamiliar music sometimes tends to blend together, I still felt that there could have been more musical variety.  Forth was The Heathen.  This track was extremely repetitive.  Again, I realize that with this genre of music, repetition is one of the basic elements.  Even so, this song lacked even a verse.  It was basically four lines repeated twice, and then another four lines repeated ad nauseam.  I eagerly anticipated the fifth song, as it was the longest song and the title track.  Given these characteristics, as well as its placement within the song order, it seems to be the point around which the rest of the album is focused.  Indeed, I thoroughly enjoyed this track.  What I found to be most remarkable were the amount of different sounds elicited from the human voice including singing, talking, and even grunting. 

           

            The second half of the album starts off with the classic Jamming.  While I have always liked this song, I didn’t realize how deep of a meaning the lyrics actually had.  With lines such as “'Cause every day we pay the price, We are the living sacrifice”, it’s clear Jamming isn’t just a reference to having a good time.  Track seven is titled Waiting in Vein.  This was slower and more subdued, love song providing a nice change of pace.  I thought that the next track would be quite similar given its title, Turn Your Lights Down Low.  Upon listening to the lyrics however, it becomes quite clear that this is no simple Barry White.  While the song is about relations between two people, it is clear that more of a history is involved.  Track nine is titled Three Little Birds.  It is an excellent example of a classic track that I’ve known forever and recognized instantly, but never knew its title or the album from which it came.  In fact, I remember it as being one my childhood favorites so of course I enjoyed hearing it again.  The final track is the classic One Love/People Get Ready which, unbeknownst to me, was co written with Curtis Mayfield.  As I listen to yet another immortalized track, I realize that this album does have quite a few songs that aren’t just solid, but classics.  It’s reasons such as this that make this album such a noteworthy one.