BOB MARLEY
Natural Mystic
(Island)

This originally ran in the St. Louis Post Dispatch in 1995.

Bob Marley died over fourteen years ago, yet his greatest hits package from 1984, aptly entitled "LEGEND," continues to sell at a brisk pace. "Natural Mystic," subtitled "the LEGEND lives on," is a new release which is basically a companion disc to that initial compilation.

Without a doubt, these are some of the greatest songs in the history of reggae music. Beginning with the hypnotic sounds of the title track and moving smoothly through such classics as "Crazy Baldheads," "Africa Unite," "Who The Cap Fit," "Trenchtown Rock" (from the "Live!" l.p.) and "War," this is vintage Marley. The fifteen cuts offer close to an hour of timeless roots reggae, still the song selection by Chris Blackwell and Trevor Wyatt must be questioned.

Each track, except for the modern production on "Keep On Moving," has been previously released and, to make matters worse, over two-thirds of them were recently included on the box set, "Songs Of Freedom."

One would think they would have at least included songs that hadn't been freshly re-issued, especially with Marley's extensive and outstanding discography. Nevertheless, if "LEGEND" is the only Bob Marley disc you own - or if you're somehow unfamiliar with this incredibly talented and well-known Jamaican artist - by all means pick this CD up.

But if you already realize the genius of Robert Nesta Marley, "Natural Mystic" will prove to be an unnecessary release with virtually nothing new to offer.






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