Reggae music has its share of talented musicians. Originating on the Caribbean island of Jamaica, reggae is known for its softer musical arrangements, varied percussion, and other musical sounds that make it the unique type of music that it is.

The father of reggae is Mr. Robert Marley- a man who grew up living in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica and who frequently enjoyed writing and singing about his early childhood experiences in his music. On this album, Kaya, Marley moves a little bit away from “politics as usual”, with ten reggae tunes that straddle the line between traditional reggae and pop.

Band Members and Personnel:

Bob Marley- Lead vocals, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, percussion
Tyrone Downie- Keyboards and percussion
Aston Barrett- Bass guitar, percussion
Carlton Barrett- Drums and percussion
Alvin Patterson- Percussion
Julian Marvin- Lead guitar
Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt- Backup vocals

Track Listing:

1. Easy Skanking
2. Kaya
3. Is This Love
4. Sun is Shining
5. Satisfy my Soul
6. She’s Gone
7. Misty Morning
8. Crisis
9. Running Away
10. Time Will Tell


Kaya starts off with the song “Easy Skanking”, a soft, easy listening reggae tune with backup singing by the three ladies, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, and Judy Mowatt. Next we have the title song, “Kaya”, a more enjoyable track than the first, with more instrumentation and lyrics that seem to be inspired by Jamaica’s most infamous, green- colored plant.

The third song is the album’s best- known track, “Is This Love?”, a song with a nice beat and catchy rhythm- an obvious candidate for a hit single. “Sun is Shining”, the fourth track, is a basic reggae tune with bells and other percussion to supplement the bass line and other basic sounds. “Satisfy my Soul” is the album’s fifth track, and it’s the other well- known song on this collection. It has an easy beat, but it’s a simple tune, both musically and lyrically.

Sixth on the album is “She’s Gone”- another basic reggae song but one with enough catchiness in the music and beat to earn it a passing grade. “Misty Morning” follows, and it’s a little bit better than its predecessor, with some brass added into the mix to make it more interesting.

The album’s eighth tune is “Crisis”, and this one returns to Marley’s familiar themes of politics and religion. “Running Away” is the ninth song, and it also provides a dose of religion, with Marley’s vocals coming through a little too high pitched in the beginning, but leveling off further into the song. The album then wraps up with “Time Will Tell”, a somber song that once again carries a religious message set to a reggae beat.

Final Thoughts:

Bob Marley is the master of reggae. Having developed this musical style in his native land of Jamaica, Marley spent his days on the earth singing about the problems he witnessed firsthand in his home country with frequent references to politics and to religion and its important in Marley’s life.

Most of Bob Marley’s albums can be counted on for some hard- hitting political messages, and this is one of the reasons his songs are so memorable and so well- received by music lovers around the world. On “Kaya”, however, Marley is a little more reserved than usual, with only a few political messages to be found in the album’s ten tracks. In “Crisis”, Marley sings “They say the sun shines for all….but in some people world, it never shine at all”. This is about as political as Marley gets on this album, and that isn’t saying much. There is nothing even close to the outspokenness of such Marley classics as “Get up, Stand up” and this fact could disappoint some of Marley’s most loyal fans who love to hear him rant about the world’s wrongs.

Instead of politics, Marley spends most of his time on this CD talking about love and religion. The album’s most popular track, “Is This Love?”, is one of Marley’s best- loved songs with lines like “I’m willing and able..so I throw my cards on your table…see I wanna love you, I wanna love and treat you right, I wanna love you, every day and every night”. And when he isn’t singing about the joys of love, Marley is talking about one of his other favorite topics: religion. Frequent mentions of God, Jah, giving thanks and praise, and loving his creator come up on many tracks on this reggae album.

One thing I find a little disappointing (only a little- I still enjoy this album) is that aside from “Is This Love?” and a few other songs, this album seems to lack the musical mastery of several of Marley’s other efforts like “Exodus” and “Uprising”, just to name a couple. I think the reason for my small amount of disappointment is the lack of more political statements in the lyrics of the songs. Also, I think some of the songs, like “Sun is Shining” and “Running Away” are a little too ordinary: good overall, but too simplistic for a man with such great musical talent.

Overall, though, “Kaya” is still a very good, enjoyable collection of reggae tunes from this musical genius. Bob Marley wrote all the songs on this album, which was released in 1978. It isn’t his best effort, but it’s still good and it’s a must for fans of this late reggae legend.


Standout Tracks: Is This Love?; Time Will Tell; and Kaya


Be Sure to Click the Links Below to Read More Reviews about Bob Marley:

Legend- Greatest Hits
Catch a Fire (Book)
Natty Dread
Uprising
Exodus






Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Listening