Off Topic Bob Marley ...

The early Marley stuff was all Lee Scratch Perry. BM snubbed when he became famous and the song quality went down.
I also hate the Beatles although I like lots of other stuff from the time (Buddy Holly, Beach Boys, Kinks etc).

 

My favourite Marley song is 'I Shot the Sheriff' I don't know why but I just love that pure Reggae sound. It swings and it flows. I also love the Clapton version and think it's better musically that's because Clapton plays it as a blues song, of which he is the master.

Some of Bob's later stuff is commercial and populist but I think without Bob's influence we wouldn't have had Ska and Two-Tone in the British style it developed into.

As for a Bohemian Rhapsody, I first heard/saw it on Top of the Pops and I was bowled over by it. I was a Queen fan and loved stuff like Seven Seas of Rye and KIller Queen so I got what the song was all about. It was just pure Pop music Theatre which is what Queen excelled at as well as being great live band.

 

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I hope Smug doesn't mind me giving a couple of examples of the finest Reggae that was playing on radios in Britain in the late 70's, sorry I don't know how to link to YouTube, I'm an old codger.

Police and Thieves.. Junior Murvin. A protest song against street violence. This should be playing everyday all day in the US.

Janet Kay... Silly Games. A beautiful song from 1979,

Althea & Donna... Uptown Top Ranking. Great Reggae rhythm behind this song.

Then we had the likes of The Specials and The Selector with their Ska and Two-Tone sound. A great time for British music especially when we also had all the post Punk/New Wave stuff from bands like the Police, Elvis Costello, The Jam, The Clash. What a time to be alive.

Thanks for starting this thread Smug, I know what I'll be doing tonight.

 

Love the Beatles....absolutely brilliant groundbreaking group...songs still stand up today.

 

I'm the same with Bohemian Rhapsody, thought it was great at the time.

 

That's what I was referring to in the OP.

It's like Elvis appropriating black music then losing his way.

Bob Marley, in my opinion, was fine in the day but wouldn't get far now.

 

Loved Elvis, Dylan, Beatles, Zep, and the Wailers all ground breakers imo. For those who missed the Beatles first time round catch this Film.

Try this

 

John Holt is the man when it comes to Reggae imo.

 

"Out of many one people" is Jamaica's motto since independence. Mike Holding on radio this morning, to make a point about racial prejudice, quoted the lines "emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, non but ourselves, can free our minds" Even if they are taken from elsewhere it does show how thoughtful a man Bob Marley was to include these lines in Redemption Song, misguided ? maybe but certainly not flippant,