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Natty Dread is a 1974 album by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was the first album released as Bob Marley and the Wailers instead of just the Wailers,[citation needed] the first recorded without Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, and the first recorded with the I Threes, a female vocal trio consisting of Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, and Marley's wife, Rita Marley.
Natty Dread peaked at No. 44 on Billboard's (North America) Black Albums chart, and at No. 92 on the Pop Albums chart. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 181 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[1]
Content
Natty Dread is a spiritually charged political and social statement. It opens with a blues-influenced positive celebration of skanking, reggae and sex, "Lively Up Yourself". The original and still unreleased demo of the Island version of "Lively Up Yourself" was recorded in 1973.
"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, the ghetto of Kingston, Jamaica, 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, Rancid and Gilberto Gil. Songwriting credit for "No Woman, No Cry" went to V. Ford. Vincent Ford, better known as "Tartar" to his friends and neighbors, had been a kind friend of Marley as a child in Trenchtown. Marley claimed he would have starved to death on several occasions as a child if not for the aid of Tartar. The original version of the song was in gospel style, featuring Peter Tosh and some unknown female backing vocals and was cut for Island in 1973.
"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", 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, Natty Dread.
Song writing credits[edit]
Although the album's liner notes list multiple songwriters, including family friends and band members, all songs were written by Marley. Marley was involved in a contractual dispute with his former publishing company, Cayman Music.
Vincent Ford, a childhood friend from Jamaica, was given writing credit for "No Woman, No Cry", as well as the songs "Crazy Baldheads" (with Marley's wife Rita), "Positive Vibration" and "Roots Rock Reggae" from the 1976 album Rastaman Vibration, along with "Inna De Red" and "Jah Bless" with Marley's son, Stephen.[2][3]
Marley had not wanted his new songs to be associated with Cayman and it had been speculated, including in his obituary in The Independent, that he had put them in the names of his close friends and family members as a means of avoiding the contractual restrictions and as a way to "provide lasting help to family and close friends".[2]
Marley's former manager Danny Sims sued to obtain royalty and ownership rights to the songs, claiming that Marley had actually written the songs but had assigned the credit to Ford to avoid meeting commitments made in prior contracts. A 1987 court decision sided with the Marley estate, which assumed full control of the songs.[3]
Release[edit]
Natty Dread was released 25 October 1974 by Island and Tuff Gong.[4]
In 1975, this album was mentioned in a few audio magazines as being ready to be released on Quadraphonic 8-track tape.[citation needed] This 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.[citation needed]
In 2001, a re-mastered edition of Natty Dread was released by Universal Records containing a bonus track.
Reception and legacy[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 5/5 stars[5]
Robert Christgau (A)[6]
Rolling Stone 4.5/5 stars[7]
In May 1975, the album became the group's first album to reach the top half of the Billboard 200 at No. 92. In October 1975, it became their UK chart debut, and reached No. 43.[8]
In 2003, the album was ranked No. 182 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[7] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[9]
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Natty Dread is a 1974 album by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was the first album released as Bob Marley and the Wailers instead of just the Wailers,[citation needed] the first recorded without Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, and the first recorded with the I Threes, a female vocal trio consisting of Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, and Marley's wife, Rita Marley.
Natty Dread peaked at No. 44 on Billboard's (North America) Black Albums chart, and at No. 92 on the Pop Albums chart. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 181 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[1]
Content
Natty Dread is a spiritually charged political and social statement. It opens with a blues-influenced positive celebration of skanking, reggae and sex, "Lively Up Yourself". The original and still unreleased demo of the Island version of "Lively Up Yourself" was recorded in 1973.
"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, the ghetto of Kingston, Jamaica, 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, Rancid and Gilberto Gil. Songwriting credit for "No Woman, No Cry" went to V. Ford. Vincent Ford, better known as "Tartar" to his friends and neighbors, had been a kind friend of Marley as a child in Trenchtown. Marley claimed he would have starved to death on several occasions as a child if not for the aid of Tartar. The original version of the song was in gospel style, featuring Peter Tosh and some unknown female backing vocals and was cut for Island in 1973.
"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", 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, Natty Dread.
Song writing credits[edit]
Although the album's liner notes list multiple songwriters, including family friends and band members, all songs were written by Marley. Marley was involved in a contractual dispute with his former publishing company, Cayman Music.
Vincent Ford, a childhood friend from Jamaica, was given writing credit for "No Woman, No Cry", as well as the songs "Crazy Baldheads" (with Marley's wife Rita), "Positive Vibration" and "Roots Rock Reggae" from the 1976 album Rastaman Vibration, along with "Inna De Red" and "Jah Bless" with Marley's son, Stephen.[2][3]
Marley had not wanted his new songs to be associated with Cayman and it had been speculated, including in his obituary in The Independent, that he had put them in the names of his close friends and family members as a means of avoiding the contractual restrictions and as a way to "provide lasting help to family and close friends".[2]
Marley's former manager Danny Sims sued to obtain royalty and ownership rights to the songs, claiming that Marley had actually written the songs but had assigned the credit to Ford to avoid meeting commitments made in prior contracts. A 1987 court decision sided with the Marley estate, which assumed full control of the songs.[3]
Release[edit]
Natty Dread was released 25 October 1974 by Island and Tuff Gong.[4]
In 1975, this album was mentioned in a few audio magazines as being ready to be released on Quadraphonic 8-track tape.[citation needed] This 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.[citation needed]
In 2001, a re-mastered edition of Natty Dread was released by Universal Records containing a bonus track.
Reception and legacy[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 5/5 stars[5]
Robert Christgau (A)[6]
Rolling Stone 4.5/5 stars[7]
In May 1975, the album became the group's first album to reach the top half of the Billboard 200 at No. 92. In October 1975, it became their UK chart debut, and reached No. 43.[8]
In 2003, the album was ranked No. 182 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[7] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[9]
Includes unlimited streaming of Natty Dread
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
...more
Cold ground was my bed last night
And rock was my pillow, too;
Cold ground was my bed last night
And rock was my pillow, too.
I'm saying: talkin' blues
talkin' blues
They say your feet are just too big for your shoes.
Talkin' blues (talkin' blues), talkin' blues (talkin' blues):
Your feet is just too big for your shoes.
Yeah, I've been down on the rock for so long, (so long)
I seem to wear a permanent screw; (screw-oo-oo-oo-oo)
I've been down on the rock for so long, (so long)
I seem to wear a permanent screw. (screw-oo-oo-oo-oo)
But-a I - I'm gonna stare in the sun,
Let the rays shine in my eyes.
I - I'm a gonna take a just-a one step more
'Cause I feel like bombin' a church -
Now - now that you know that the preacher is lyin'.
So who's gonna stay at home
When - when the freedom fighters are fighting?
Talkin' blues (talkin' blues), talkin' blues (talkin' blues):
They say your feet are just too big for your shoes
Talkin' blues (talkin' blues), keep on talkin' blues (talkin' blues);
They say - you hear what they say -
Didn't you hear?
Cold ground was my bed
Rockstone - rockstone - rockstone was my pillow;
Cold ground was my bed last night
And rock was my pillow, too.
Sayin': (talkin' blues, talkin' blues):
I seem to wear a permanent screw - permanent screw.
Talkin' blues (talkin' blues), talkin' blues (talkin' blues):
Feet is just too big for your shoes.
Natty Dread is a 1974 album by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was the first album released as Bob Marley and the Wailers instead of just the Wailers,[citation needed] the first recorded without Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, and the first recorded with the I Threes, a female vocal trio consisting of Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, and Marley's wife, Rita Marley.
Natty Dread peaked at No. 44 on Billboard's (North America) Black Albums chart, and at No. 92 on the Pop Albums chart. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 181 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[1]
Content
Natty Dread is a spiritually charged political and social statement. It opens with a blues-influenced positive celebration of skanking, reggae and sex, "Lively Up Yourself". The original and still unreleased demo of the Island version of "Lively Up Yourself" was recorded in 1973.
"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, the ghetto of Kingston, Jamaica, 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, Rancid and Gilberto Gil. Songwriting credit for "No Woman, No Cry" went to V. Ford. Vincent Ford, better known as "Tartar" to his friends and neighbors, had been a kind friend of Marley as a child in Trenchtown. Marley claimed he would have starved to death on several occasions as a child if not for the aid of Tartar. The original version of the song was in gospel style, featuring Peter Tosh and some unknown female backing vocals and was cut for Island in 1973.
"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", 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, Natty Dread.
Song writing credits[edit]
Although the album's liner notes list multiple songwriters, including family friends and band members, all songs were written by Marley. Marley was involved in a contractual dispute with his former publishing company, Cayman Music.
Vincent Ford, a childhood friend from Jamaica, was given writing credit for "No Woman, No Cry", as well as the songs "Crazy Baldheads" (with Marley's wife Rita), "Positive Vibration" and "Roots Rock Reggae" from the 1976 album Rastaman Vibration, along with "Inna De Red" and "Jah Bless" with Marley's son, Stephen.[2][3]
Marley had not wanted his new songs to be associated with Cayman and it had been speculated, including in his obituary in The Independent, that he had put them in the names of his close friends and family members as a means of avoiding the contractual restrictions and as a way to "provide lasting help to family and close friends".[2]
Marley's former manager Danny Sims sued to obtain royalty and ownership rights to the songs, claiming that Marley had actually written the songs but had assigned the credit to Ford to avoid meeting commitments made in prior contracts. A 1987 court decision sided with the Marley estate, which assumed full control of the songs.[3]
Release[edit]
Natty Dread was released 25 October 1974 by Island and Tuff Gong.[4]
In 1975, this album was mentioned in a few audio magazines as being ready to be released on Quadraphonic 8-track tape.[citation needed] This 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.[citation needed]
In 2001, a re-mastered edition of Natty Dread was released by Universal Records containing a bonus track.
Reception and legacy[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 5/5 stars[5]
Robert Christgau (A)[6]
Rolling Stone 4.5/5 stars[7]
In May 1975, the album became the group's first album to reach the top half of the Billboard 200 at No. 92. In October 1975, it became their UK chart debut, and reached No. 43.[8]
In 2003, the album was ranked No. 182 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[7] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[9]
credits
released October 25, 1974
Bob Marley – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Aston Barrett – bass guitar
Carlton Barrett – drums, percussion
Bernard "Touter" Harvey – piano, organ
Jean Roussel – Hammond organ, keyboards, arranger on "No Woman No Cry", "Natty Dread", and "Lively Up Yourself"
Al Anderson – lead guitar
The I–Threes (Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths) – backing vocals
Sylvan Morris – engineer
Phil Ault – engineer
Chris Blackwell – producer
The Wailers – producers
Tony Wright – cover art
Tribute to Bob Marley and The Wailers with The I ThreesKingston, Jamaica
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican reggae band led by Bob Marley.
I Threes, were
formed in 1974 to support Bob Marley and the Wailers after Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer – the original Wailer backing vocalists – left the band.
The three members were Marley's wife Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths....more
