Natty Dread is a
1974 reggae album by
Bob Marley & the Wailers.
An important transition in Marley's discography,
Natty Dread was the first album released as
Bob Marley & the Wailers (as opposed to
The Wailers) and the first recorded without former bandmates
Peter Tosh and
Bunny Wailer. It is also the first album recorded with the
I-Threes, a female vocal trio that included Bob's wife,
Rita Marley, along with
Marcia Griffiths and
Judy Mowatt.
Natty Dread peaked at #44 on
Billboard's (North America) Black Albums chart, and at #92 on the Pop Albums chart.
Contents
Like most reggae from the time,
Natty Dread is a spiritually charged political and social statement. It opens with a
blues-influenced celebration of the
Rastafari movement, "Lively Up Yourself", which Marley used to open many of his concerts, in order to get the audience worked up; American
R&B star
Prince used it for the same purpose. "
No Woman, No Cry", the second track, is probably the best known recording on the album. It is a nostalgic remembrance of growing up in the impoverished streets of Trenchtown, and the happiness brought by the company of friends. The song has been performed by artists as diverse as
Boney M. (sung by
Liz Mitchell),
The Fugees,
Pearl Jam,
Jimmy Buffett and
Rancid. Songwriting credit for "No Woman, No Cry" went to
V. Ford. Ford, better known as Tartar to his friends and neighbors, had been a kind friend of Marley as a child in
Trench Town, the
ghetto of
Kingston, Jamaica. Marley claimed he would have starved to death on several occasions as a child if not for the aid of Tartar.
"Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)" is a warning against allowing a nation's poor to go hungry, with the prophetic warning "a hungry mob is an
angry mob" (the song is reportedly dedicated to newly-elected
Democratic Socialist Michael Manley), while "Talkin' Blues" and "Revolution" go deeper into controversial political commentary. "Rebel Music (3 O'Clock Roadblock)" is a reflection on the potential impact of reggae music on Jamaican society. The song was written after Marley had been stopped by a night-time police carcheck. The influence of Marley's increasing devotion to Rastafari can be heard in religious-themed songs like "So Jah S'eh", "
Natty Dread" and "Lively Up Yourself", while Marley's reputation as a romantic is confirmed with smooth, seductive songs like "Bend Down Low". The title track of the album takes its title from an idealised
personification of the
Rastafari movement,
NattyDread.
Jazz Guitarist
Charlie Hunter covered the entire album is his 1997 release of the same name.
In 1975, this album was mentioned in a few audio magazines as being ready to be released on Quadraphonic 8-track tape. This unfortunately never happened. However, the Quadraphonic mixes of "Lively Up Yourself" and "No Woman No Cry" have been bootlegged from the master tapes and are available on the internet.
In 2001, a re-mastered edition of
Natty Dread was released by Universal Records containing a bonus track.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 182 on
Rolling Stone magazine's list of
the 500 greatest albums of all time.
[1]
Track listing
Side one- "Lively Up Yourself" (Bob Marley) – 5:11
- "No Woman, No Cry" (Vincent Ford) – 3:46
- "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)" (Lecon Cogill/Carlton Barrett) – 3:13
- "Rebel Music (3 O'Clock Roadblock)" (Aston Barrett/Hugh Peart) – 6:45
Side two- "So Jah Seh" (Rita Marley/Willy Francisco) – 4:27
- "Natty Dread" (Rita Marley/Alan Cole) – 3:35
- "Bend Down Low" (Bob Marley) – 3:22
- "Talkin' Blues" (Lecon Cogill/Carlton Barrett) – 4:06
- "Revolution" (Bob Marley) – 4:23