March 23, 1978 - Kaya

On March 23, 1978 "Kaya" was released, the tenth album by The Wailers and fourth as Bob Marley & The Wailers. Only nine months after the very successful "Exodus", this album is entirely made up of songs recorded during those same sessions! It therefore has the same line-up, which I like, but whereas "Exodus" had a more politically charged first half and a more laid-back second half, "Kaya" has much less militant lyrics and focuses much more on the relaxed vibe. They were even accused of going soft by some people! Let's see what I think about some new reggae music! 

The record begins with "Easy Skanking" and I'm not sure what the lyrics mean exactly but this is meant as a song of peace. It has a slow beat with some nice guitar and piano leading the way and the I-Threes echo Bob throughout this song. Bob sings about taking it easy and even lighting up his spliff as the effect of marijuana on The Wailers is no secret or surprise. We hear some cool horns mixed in to this mostly tame reggae beat as Junior Marvin plays some solid guitar throughout this short song. The next song is the title track "Kaya", which means the healing herb. Being a Rastafarian Bob Marley believed that smoking weed relaxes and calms the mind and brings everyone closer together and closer to Jah. This song is an anthem to the great marijuana plant and it's driven by a catchy organ riff by Tyrone Downie. Marvin plays some classic reggae guitar as well and this song certainly has an uplifting vibe to it. It's pretty repetitive, which takes away from it a little but it is a happy, catchy main riff that they play for the whole song. Track 3 is called "Is This Love" and it has a slow, groovy main beat with Downie's keyboards taking the classic reggae role as Marvin plays some nice lead guitar. Bob sings in a nice high voice as he tells us about wooing a girl and wonders if he's falling in love. The chorus sounds pretty good and Marvin continues to play some solid guitar to lead this groovy riff. This song continues the happy and uplifting aura of this album and it also has some cool horns towards the end. Up next is "Sun Is Shining" and Carlton Barrett plays some nice drums to start it off as Bob and Marvin sync up their guitars for a nice reggae guitar riff. Bob starts singing in a low voice but ends up going pretty high in some parts of the verse. Aston Barrett's bass sounds decent and when Marvin breaks away for some guitar licks it sounds pretty good. This song is the first one to have a bit of a heavier feel to it and both Barrett's are playing some cool stuff. Downie plays a brief organ solo that sounds pretty good before they resume the main beat until it fades to an end. The first side ends with "Satisfy My Soul" as they set up a nice slow reggae riff with some horns leading the way that sound pretty good. Bob sings some simple but powerful lyrics and the I-Threes sound great echoing him in the background. They play off each other really well throughout the song and I really like the chorus with the girls singing the name while Bob leads the way nicely. There's lots of cool stuff happening at once as they blend it all together really nicely. Piano, guitar, drums, bass, horns and a nice blend of vocals all combine to make this smooth song my favourite so far and a solid way to end the side.

Side two begins with the shortest song "She's Gone" at just two and a half minutes. The Barrett brothers set the tone with a nice rhythm section as Marvin's guitar leads the way. Unlike the other love songs, in this one Bob sings about his woman leaving him and not wanting to be tied down. It's the only song so far to have a negative or sad vibe to it and as such it feels a bit out of place on this otherwise happy record. Bob still delivers it well though and I still think it's a good song. Up next is "Misty Morning" and this song also features the uncredited horns section that appears throughout this album. Downie's keyboards sound good in the reggae background as the horns lead the way with some cool stuff. I find the horns usually spice things up for the better and this one is no exception. When the horns quiet down though they still have a solid riff going on with some nice piano and guitar as Bob sings nicely throughout. Track 8 is called "Crisis" as the Barrett's and Bob set up a classic reggae beat and Marvin and Downie sync up to play the catchy stop-and-start main riff. It's another song with an uplifting feel to it and I like Bob's quick singing in the verse. The chorus has a nice little beat to it and is pretty catchy, but it's not long before we're back to the verse. After a couple verses Downie gets a chance to play a little keyboard solo. It's pretty tame but it fits the mood well before they return to the verse and jam out this cool song. The next song is "Running Away" and Downie leads with a cool keyboard riff as the rest of the band form a solid backing beat, as always with some solid bass and drums by the Barrett's. Bob sings softly and tells us that you can't run away from yourself as we hear some more cool horns in this tune. The I-Threes echo Bob in this verse and we hear some low trumpet that sounds pretty good! It's a pretty good beat as The Wailers keep finding ways to keep reggae fresh and smooth. They jam out the chorus until the end with Bob rambling along as they bring another solid song to a close. The final song on this album is "Time Will Tell" and it opens with a light guitar riff by Marvin and Bob's soothing vocals. The lyrics do not match the light, breezy feel of the music as Bob sings "you think you're in heaven but you're living in hell". The light guitar sounds pretty good though and Alvin Patterson plays some cool congas as well. Downie plays some trippy keyboards in the background that also don't really fit the mood, but they do sound cool. He continues to play some cool stuff overtop the breezy riff and they jam this one out until it fades to a close.

That is the end of "Kaya" and I thought it was a good album overall. It's happy and uplifting vibe carries through the whole album and there are several cool new songs that stood out from the standard reggae setup. The lack of some more political and heavy duty songs is a bit strange on a Wailers album though as some of their best material have been protest songs. So how does it compare to their other albums I have? I don't think it was nearly as good as their last album or as good as either of the two albums I have with the old Wailers line-up. I do like it more than "Natty Dread" though so this one will fall into 4th out of 6. I'm sure they will have some new ideas for us again next year and I will be there to listen, until then!