I wish to dedicate this review to my friend Danny, who passed away all too soon at the age of 21 late in 2000...he loved Bob Marley, and I do believe this is the most difficult review I've ever decided to write. But it needs to be written.

As 2002 opens, everyone has thoughts of new beginnings in their minds. Peace, love, brotherhood, solidarity, all of these qualities are ones that seem especially important in this new year, given 9/11 and everything that came with it. 2001 was a year of sorrow, a year of reflection, and a year where we took time to step back, look in the mirror and find what was truly important to us: our families and our friends. And with the qualities mentioned above, perhaps no artist had a more utopian view of peace, love, brotherhood, and solidarity than did the late Jamaican reggae legend Bob Marley. Yes, that includes you Mr. John Lennon.

It's perhaps inevitable that this CD is so popular. Much like Tom Petty, Marley seems to appeal in at least some small way to everyone. His songs still resonate today, perhaps even more than when they were written over 20 years ago. Sure enough, his songs were catchy and usually had some sort of great hook. But I'd like to think that the reason Marley is still so popular is not that he could write a decent hook, but because much like me, many people share his utopian outlook on life, where anger becomes love, hostility becomes peace, and bitterness becomes brotherhood.

Sure, there's the defiant I Shot the Sheriff and the delightful Jamming. However, if you ask me about Bob Marley, the first song that comes to mind is One Love/People Get Ready. His refrain of "let's get together and feel alright" is one that every person can relate to. Some people pass it off and say "it's cheesy, it's ridiculous, a moronic plea to the masses." But One Love is so much more. It's one man's pained plea for people to come together and live as one. Sure, it probably is a bit "cheesy" and "ridiculous," but so is Lennon's Imagine.

While I think of One Love as Marley's most pure song, my favorite song of his is by far the fourth track featured on this record, Three Little Birds. It's a simple ode to a new day, which to Marley represented a new beginning. I've turned to this song an awful lot when I'm depressed, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face. His voice is so full of hope and joy, and it's a truly gorgeous track. "This is my message to you...don't worry...about a thing...cause every little thing gonna be alright."

I'm not exactly sure who chose the tracklisting for this, but whomever chose the live version of No Woman, No Cry deserves a gold star. The song is allowed to expand and slowly grow into an anthem of gigantic proportions. When Danny died in 2000, I turned to this song, I don't know why. Perhaps it was the girlfriend he left behind who I know he loved more than life itself, or the close relationship he had with his mom. But the lines "Good friends we have, Oh, good friends we have lost,
Along the way, In this great future, You can't forget your past, So dry your tears, I say" have never failed to bring tears to my eyes since the day I learned of his passing. Maybe I'm nuts, I don't know, but for some reason I always wanted to send a tape of this song to Danny's girlfriend and mom.

Get Up Stand Up is a call to arms against injustice and corruption. There are some singers who write lyrics that are complete and utter bulls*it, they don't live what they preach. But Marley DID stand up for his rights, and for the rights of people he believed were slighted. That's why this song stands as a tremendous anthem, and for no other reason.

The last song I'll mention in this review is what I believe to be Marley's most under-rated song: Redemption Song. It's gentle and plaintive, yet defiant and earnest. Marley's voice makes you want to stand up and fight for anything wrong in the world, he makes you feel empowered. But most importantly of all, his message in the song is one that still is just as important today as it was then.

Legend is an album that should be in any true music fans' collection. It's honest, poetic, and most of all, it is some of the most gorgeously soothing music someone has ever created. Marley died in 1981 at the all too young age of 36. Hundreds of thousands of people paid their respects
to the greatest reggae musician of all time. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit by the government of Jamaica in late 1981, and in 1991, his birthday was too be observed as "Bob Marley Day." He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

I never saw myself reviewing this album. I didn't see the point, what with all the great reviews of it already on this site. With Danny's passing over a year ago, I knew I would write this eventually. I owed him that much. I only wish he were still here to read it.






Recommended: Yes