October 2, 1979 - Survival

18 days after my last release and a year and a half after the laid back "Kaya", Bob Marley & The Wailers released their fifth album under this name with "Survival" on October 2, 1979. This album has a much more militant theme than their last one and has an overwhelming message of unity, especially among Africans. Bob Marley received some criticism for the very light "Kaya" and seemed to focus on more serious matters with this album. Let's give it a listen!

The album kicks off with "So Much Trouble In The World" as Junior Marvin plays some speedy guitar and Bob plays the slower, more typical reggae guitar. The I-Threes echo Bob as he starts with the chorus, singing the name of the song a couple times. It sounds like a typical reggae verse as Bob slowly sings along and Tyrone Downie adds some interesting keyboards. They continue this verse/chorus formula and Marvin's guitar and Downie's keyboards keep things interesting. They jam out the chorus several times at the end as Bob rambles along while the I-Threes continue to sing the song name until it finally fades to an end. The next song is called "Zimbabwe" and Downie drives this slow beat with some very reggae piano and Aston Barrett plays a nice backing bass riff while brother Carlton adds an interesting drum beat. The lyrics of this song are about Zimbabwe, which at the time this was written was not yet it's own country. We hear some politically-charged lyrics as Bob sings in the chorus "we goin' to fight for our rights" and "Africans liberate Zimbabwe". The message is clear and Bob certainly seems to be taking things more seriously than last album. The lyrics are certainly more thoughtful but the music just lightly jams along for the whole song and never really stands out. Track 3 is "Top Rankin'" and it's driven by a pretty great horns section that plays overtop of a standard reggae beat. Bob sings about how the people at the top don't want the majority to unite, they want to keep people divided and fighting. Marvin plays some nice guitar in the chorus and Bob's vocals and lyrics sound solid in this one. The horns make this one stand out I think as they sound great and keep things interesting throughout this short song. Up next is "Babylon System" and Downie plays some nice piano to drive this riff while the I-Threes "ooh" softly in the background. Bob's rhythm guitar sounds good and Alvin Patterson makes his presence felt for the first time with some cool congas. Marvin's lead guitar sounds pretty smooth and Bob's lead vocals sound smooth as well. It amounts to a pretty good main beat as Bob and the I-Threes lead the way in this peaceful sounding song. They continue to jam out this solid verse/chorus a few more times before it fades to an end. The first side ends with the title track "Survival" as we hear the horns once again in this interesting opening. They settle into the main riff as Bob sings quick in this one and Aston plays a solid bass riff and the horns sound great whenever they come in. The chorus sounds pretty good and I really like the line "some people have hopes and dreams, some people have ways and means". This is my favourite so far I think as it has lots of different cool music and some great lyrics all mixed into a nice upbeat package. The horns and guitars especially sound good as they jam out this first side. 

Side two starts with "Africa Unite" and the lyrics reflect that message as Bob thought that there should be no hate or conflict between Africans. It's driven by a happy-sounding, flute-like keyboard overtop of pretty standard reggae beat. Bob's vocals sound good as usual and the riff has some nice bass and piano. It's another peaceful sounding song and the keyboards sound uplifting as we also hear some horns, albeit some lighter ones than earlier. They jam out the main riff until this short song comes to an end. Up next is "One Drop" and Downie plays some nice organ while the I-Threes sing "nananana" in the background and Bob does a weird "why-yo!" bit. They settle into the main riff as Bob's solid vocals lead the way and the I-Threes provide some nice "ooh"ing backing vocals. Downie's piano carries the reggae beat and the horns section sounds pretty cool once again. It's another unique reggae riff and it's pretty catchy as The Wailers are masters at taking turns spicing up a basic main riff. As usual on this record they are content to jam out the main riff over and over and eventually it fades to an end. Track 8 is called "Ride Natty Ride" and Carlton kicks it off with some drums and the horns sound great again as they settle into the main riff. Aston's bass line sounds pretty good as Bob softly sings along and the horns come in and out of this slow beat. We hear some harmonica as well which is normally not a reggae instrument but it actually fits this mood quite nicely. Bob sings passionately and sounds pretty good and the I-Threes show some passion as well with their "fire!" It's another good main riff but once again they never really stray from it and change things up at all as they repeat the same verse/chorus formula over and over. The next song is called "Ambush In The Night" and the I-Threes do a "ooowee, ooowaa" in the background of this one and they settle into another new reggae beat. Marvin's guitar sounds good in this one and Bob sings about people fighting for power. The horns are again the best part of the riff I think as there's lots of little noises happening. The chorus has some dark keyboards as we hear about getting shot at during an ambush. This continues the militant lyrics that pervade the album but the verse sounds much more uplifting than the chorus, which they play out a few times before this tune is also over. The final song on the album is the longest at nearly five minutes, titled "Wake Up And Live". It's got a bit of a faster beat and the horns feature very prominently on this one, not just showing up from time to time. They sound pretty good as they usually do and they drive this upbeat riff as Bob starts with the chorus. The horns continue to drive the verse as Bob sings well and holds some long notes too. They jam out this verse/chorus formula but for the first time on this album I believe, we hear a solo! It's a trumpet solo from one of the horns players and it sounds pretty fantastic! I love the solo overtop of the main riff and the trumpet passes off to alto saxophone for some more pretty sweet stuff! They resume jamming the chorus but Marvin adds some really great lead guitar that certainly makes things sound better! This song is easily my favourite as they finally make me stand up and take notice musically as Marvin plays some great guitar that takes it to the end of the album.

That is the end of "Survival" and although it ended on a nice note, I thought overall it was a good album but one that never passed the mark of average for most of it. There were several good riffs and there wasn't any song I disliked, but other than "Wake Up And Live" there was never really anything that really made me take notice. The lyrics were much more politically relevant than the weed bathed "Kaya", but the music was definitely on a lesser level I thought. So how does this compare to The Wailers other albums I have? I previously thought their other more militant album, "Rastaman Vibration" was their worst one that I have but I think "Survival" takes the bottom rung on the ladder. I just didn't think there was much that jumped out on this album, but I hope that they can combine all the elements that make them great again next time!