Page 58 - Reggae Festival Guide Magazine 2018

singers of the folk era, Richard Farina – I was

surprised to come across this coffee-table-

sized tome on an artist who has been mainly

treated by recognized reggae authorities. But
Bob Marley belongs to the world, and in an

age where his songs are now played alongside

contemporaries from the rock world who

gleaned much more airplay than he in his life,
it seems only fitting that Marley’s story reach

the wider audience his music finally has.

Drawing mainly on published sources – there

are virtually no independent interviews by

the author – Unterberger does a fine job of

collating material from hundreds of books
and magazine articles to summarize the

facts while trying (as others have before)

to separate myth from history, readily

admitting various sources have shed their

own subjective light on the subject. The Bob
Bob Marley and the Marley that emerges here remains larger than

Wailers: The Ultimate life, in keeping with his impact on reggae and
the spread of Rasta culture. The book traces

Marley’s history from his earliest recordings,
Illustrated History through the early recordings with a shifting

By Richie Unterberger line-up to the “classic” trio of Bob, Peter Tosh

(Quarto Publishing Group, 2017) and Bunny Wailer, and into his solo career
with The Wailers, now the name of his band.
Words like “ultimate” or “definitive” may be Most importantly, it documents his stand

questioned when applied to an artist who against racism, oppression and injustice and
has already inspired dozens of books and will his championing of the Rastafarian lifestyle.

undoubtedly inspire dozens more, but this

one serves as both an excellent introduction If you haven’t followed the ins and outs
for music (and especially rock music) fans as of Marley’s career, this book makes

well as a nice summing-up of information for comprehensible many things that might

those who have already delved deeply into the seem confusing, like at what point in his
existing books on one of the most significant career the I-Threes became an important

singer-songwriters of the 20th century. Having part of his touring band, the significance of

read a couple of earlier books by this author his global outreach and the many elements

– a band bio of The Byrds and the excellent that make his life and music so relevant to the

Urban Spacemen and Wayfaring Strangers world we live in today. There’s a reason why
containing an essay on one of my favorite Bob Marley’s music and image have come to

58 Reggae Festival guide 2018