#48 Bob Marley and the Wailers, 'Legend' (1984)
Previously #46
I’m going to completely contradict myself and my opinion throughout the challenge on Greatest Hits collections. ‘Legend,’ released in May 1984 on the third anniversary of Marley’s untimely death at 36-years-old, collects all 10 of Marley’s Top 40 singles, plus three singles from the early Wailers days. This was the first Bob Marley “album” that I ever heard, and for many years it was the only one. The Summer camp that I used to go to was obsessed with playing this record. At least once or twice a day every day for 3 weeks, we’d hear the sounds of these 13 songs. As far as teenager me was concerned, ‘Legend’ was THE Bob Marley record. And in some ways, it is. It’s the perfect gateway into Bob Marley’s career. I say gateway and overview, because it’s not the perfect overview. These songs are the most commercially accessible, the record was designed to appeal to white audiences. To be honest, these songs, while incredible, only show one side to Marley. The songs are happy, loving songs, for the most part. Songs evoking sunshine, sandy beaches and perhaps a bit of social ganja. What’s missing, though, is the songs about revolution, about how Jamaica was built on the backs of slaves and the economic crisis during Marley’s lifetime.
That said, this album, similar to my experience, was many people’s first experience of Bob Marley. It was the record that truly brought him to the world and cemented his status as a legend. It went on to become one of the biggest selling releases of all time, racking up a solid 25 millions copies sold. It has spent a total of 980 weeks in the UK Albums Chart, which equates to almost 19 years in the charts, making it the third longest running album in the chart. Similarly, in the US it has spent years in the charts. Disappointingly, 6 of the 13 songs in this package have appeared on the list before. It was nice to hear them in amongst these others, though, in context of the hits. Lastly, the version I listened to had the bonus track, ‘Punky Reggae Party,’ the song inspired by The Clash’s cover of ‘Police and Thieves’ from ‘The Clash’ (#102).
#rs500albums