.
http://www.rollingstone.com/assets/images/album_review/6eea878507d74c817a136e4308d44076477383f8.jpg Africa Unite: The Singles Collection

Bob Marley

Africa Unite: The Singles Collection

Island
Rolling Stone: star rating
Community: star rating
5 4 0
November 29, 2009

Most people know exactly fourteen Bob Marley songs — the ones on the 1984 hits collection Legend, which has sold 10 million copies to date. This new twenty-track compilation shares eleven songs with Legend, dropping "Stir It Up," "Redemption Song" and "Satisfy My Soul" in favor of tracks recorded before Marley was signed to Island, like "Soul Rebel" and "Trenchtown Rock." It also includes the previously unreleased "Slogans," thought to have been recorded by Marley in a Miami bedroom in 1979, with overdubbed guitar noodling by Eric Clapton. The vocal line echoes "Burnin' and Lootin' " both melodically and in its exasperation with the status quo: "No more sweet talk from the pulpit/No more sweet talk from the hypocrites." It still sounds urgent today. Not so for Black Eyed Pea Will.i.am's chipper remix of "Africa Unite," which drains the song of any resolve. "Stand Up Jamrock," a stirring mash-up of "Get Up Stand Up" and son Damien's "Welcome to Jamrock," completes the disc. The new tunes make this a must for true fans, and while it's impossible to condense so broad a career into one CD, the pre-Island sides make this the most well-rounded one-disc version of Marley's music available.

prev
Album Review Main Next

ADD A COMMENT

Community Guidelines »
loading comments

loading comments...

COMMENTS

Sort by:
    Read More

    Music Reviews

    more Reviews »
    Daily Newsletter

    Get the latest RS news in your inbox.

    Sign up to receive the Rolling Stone newsletter and special offers from RS and its
    marketing partners.

    X

    We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.

    Song Stories

    “Youth Knows No Pain”

    Lykke Li | 2011

    “Like on 'Youth Knows No Pain' — we are the ones that should demonstrate, because we can take it,” Likke Li said. “We can pierce ourselves, take Ecstasy, dance all night and still go to work at our McDonald's jobs.” Despite the hedonistic sentiment in the song, the Swedish singer also admitted in hindsight her youth had repercussions. “I remember when I was 18-19 and feeling that I know it all,” Li said. “I always feel that I know it all. But that song is about realizing you don’t, and reflecting, ‘Boy, if I only knew what would follow.’”

    More Song Stories entries »