There have been so many really atrocious (or, at best, really tedious) Bob Marley remix projects that it comes as a deep surprise to encounter one that truly hits the spot. Interestingly, this one succeeds because the remix artists featured -- an all-star cast featuring such notables as the Fort Knox Five, Cordovan, Bombay Dub Orchestra and DJ Spooky -- approach the source material with love and respect, rather than using it as a jumping-off point from which to showcase their own mad skills. Each of them puts a unique fingerprint on one of Marley's songs, but each also manages to keep the focus on the song itself rather than on the treatment. Thus, we get a brilliantly skittery and funky mix of "Small Axe" from Paul & Price and a rich but restrained reading of "Soul Shakedown Party" by Afrodisiac Sound System, and DJ Spooky even manages to make a silk purse out of the sow's ear that is "Rainbow Country," one of Marley's least compelling compositions. Not everything is brilliant: Afrodisiac Sound System drops the ball just a bit on their ho-hum version of "Soul Rebel," and Trio Elétrico's mix of "Trenchtown Rock" saps more energy than it adds to the original. But for the most part, this album is like a seminar in how to bring new life to already top-notch material. Highly recommended overall.
Bob Marley / Bob Marley & the Wailers
Roots, Rock, Remixed
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AllMusic Review by Rick Anderson
Track Listing
| Title/Composer | Performer | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4:03 | ||||
| 2 | 4:07 | ||||
| 3 | 4:28 | ||||
| 4 | 5:09 | ||||
| 5 | 4:36 | ||||
| 6 | 4:02 | ||||
| 7 | 4:39 | ||||
| 8 | 4:49 | ||||
| 9 | 4:20 | ||||
| 10 | 4:52 | ||||
| 11 | 6:28 | ||||
| 12 | 5:18 |
