May 23, 1983 - Confrontation

A week after my last release and a long three years since "Uprising", Bob Marley & The Wailers released their seventh and final album "Confrontation" on May 23, 1983. This was released posthumously, as Bob Marley died as a result of skin cancer on May 11, 1981. Bob's death is terrible news of course as one of the most recognizable men in music who really helped bring reggae into the mainstream. I'm sad that Marley passed away, but at least we get to listen to a final album compiled of unreleased songs and B-sides from the Bob Marley & The Wailers era. Let's give Bob a proper sendoff!

The album begins with "Chant Down Babylon" and after a cool stop-and-start guitar opening they settle into a standard riff with some nice reggae piano by Tyrone Downie carrying the beat. Bob starts his singing in the chorus and the I-Threes nicely echo his lines. This peaceful sounding riff continues into the verse and hearing Bob's smooth voice lead the way makes me sad that we won't hear any more new material by these guys. Junior Marvin adds some cool guitar to the mix as well and things roll seamlessly between verse and chorus as they continue this catchy main beat for the whole two and a half minute song before slowly fading out at the end. Nothing too exciting but certainly another chill song. The next song "Buffalo Soldier" would end up becoming one of Marley's most famous songs and it's easy to see why it was a successful single as it's very hard not to sing along. It opens with some nice horns and after a little drum fill by Carlton Barrett they move into the main riff that drives the song. Marvin plays some slow classic reggae guitar and percussionist Alvin Patterson adds some catchy little clicks and other noises that keep the listener hooked. Bob sings in his usual solid voice and the lyrics of this song are about the history of Black people in America: "stolen from Africa, brought to America, fighting on the rivals, fighting for survival".  They are some deep lyrics but they're presented in a very laid-back manner. Like the last song this one seamlessly shifts back and forth between verse and chorus and when the horns return in the next verse I like what they add to the mix. After a couple more goes through Bob and several others yell in unison in a sing-along "whoa yo yo" part that is really catchy and fun to sing. After this part the I-Threes continue to "woo hoo hoo" in the background while Bob does a nice little rambling part and this bridges nicely right back into the chorus. After the chorus we get another sing-along part followed by a final verse where Bob sings about the Black community moving south and settling into the Caribbean. They end the song with one final sing-along part and slowly fade out while we're serenaded by the "whoa yo yo"s. A very cool song indeed, I'm surprised it was unreleased until now! Track 3 is called "Jump Nyabinghi" and Downie leads the way with a catchy piano riff while Aston Barrett backs him with some solid bass. It still has the slow reggae vibe to it but we hear some keyboards in addition to the lead piano part and together they give things a different sound. Bob begins to sing a soft verse overtop this main riff and unlike the last two songs this has a distinctly different chorus. The I-Threes echo Bob but they only sing the name of the song a few times in a bit of an uninspiring chorus. We do hear some more nice horns though and they continue intermittently for the rest of the song adding a nice touch. After the chorus they move to a new part and we hear Bob sing "we've got the herb" and I think we all know what herb that is! This new verse sounds pretty good and it somehow leads perfectly into the chorus. After this chorus they return to the original verse and everything flows very nicely together. This leads to the chorus once more and they begin a slow fade as we hear the chorus a couple more times to finish it off. Up next is "Mix Up, Mix Up" and The Wailers show that the 80s affected even them as this song is led by a synthesizer riff! It sounds very 80s indeed, but it's a pretty catchy riff and they somehow make it sound nice overtop a reggae backing riff. There is no chorus to this song as they just continue this main jam for basically the whole five minutes and Bob's vocals sound a little off on this one as he sounds kind of distant and perhaps a little too intoxicated. The music is upbeat and still sounds pretty good, but it does wear a little thin the more the song goes on. The synths are tolerable but I'm not a big fan of this 80s-style Wailers. Marvin plays a short little guitar solo that sounds good more because it's a welcome change rather than it being a really good solo. It's right back to the main beat though and when it finally fades to a finish I'm a little happy, which is not a good sign. The final song on this side is "Give Thanks & Praises" and Bob starts singing the chorus right away as he softly leads this nice slow jam. Downie plays some cool funky keyboards and the Barrett plays some nice bass as well in this cool main riff as Bob sings another peaceful anthem. The verse and chorus blend perfectly once again and once again we hear some more horns added to the mix and as usual they spice things up nicely and sound great. The I-Threes do a great job in this song well, playing off Bob to add a nice touch to this slow, smooth riff. The line "would I be alive today?" sounds very ominous indeed now that Bob is dead, but it's just part of the verse here and after a final chorus they fade out the song and side.

Side two begins with "Blackman Redemption" and it has some breezy keyboards that make things feel like a tropical reggae song. Marvin plays some nice lead guitar while Bob and the Barrett's provide the standard reggae backing riff. Bob begins his singing in the chorus and it's a pretty tame one as he just sings the name of the song and "whoa-yo" a couple times. Things flow right into the first verse and the I-Threes add some catchy backing vocals while Bob leads the way with his peaceful voice. After a slow verse they return to the chorus and we hear some more horns this time around that spice things up a bit. They stick around for the next verse as well and like a good Wailers song there's many different instruments combining and one of them is always playing something nice. They don't stray from the smooth main riff very much and after a final verse and chorus they fade things out. The next song is called "Trench Town", the place where Bob Marley grew up in Jamaica. It begins with some cool horns before settling into a slow reggae beat as Bob begins the first verse. He sings about his childhood a bit as we hear some nice guitar overtop the main riff and they segue nicely into the chorus where Bob lets out some nice yells, singing about "freeing the people with music". The horns come in and out of the mix and as usual sound pretty good when they do come in as they roll right into another verse. They repeat this formula a couple more times and for once I think I enjoy the chorus more than the verse! They jam out the chorus riff at the end as Bob does some great yelling, rambling vocals as the song slowly fades to an end. Track 8 is "Stiff Necked Fools" and Downie plays a cool piano intro that leads into the main riff. It's mostly another solid reggae beat but there's also a weird organ-like riff that is repeated in the background. Bob's vocals sound pretty good as he leads the verse and Marvin breaks away from the main beat for some cool guitar occasionally and it sounds pretty good! The organ grows on you as the song goes on and it actually has a nice little groove to it! Bob does some great yelling vocals in the later verses and although the backing reggae riff is the same throughout the song, there are lots of great guitar, vocals and keyboards that keep things interesting throughout this pretty cool song. Up next is "I Know" and amazingly it does not have your typical stop-and-start reggae backing riff! Downie plays a great lead piano riff and we also hear some epic synths in the background while the Barrett's provide a nice upbeat rhythm section. This style is certainly unlike your typical Bob Marley, but things sound pretty good I think as Bob sings a quick verse. The I-Threes join in once they reach the chorus and everything sounds quite pop-y and very upbeat as we get a glimpse of what 80s Marley might have sounded like. I normally don't like going pop-y so much, but it's a welcome change to a reggae dominated album. They play another nice verse and chorus and then this short song is wrapped up, but I thought it sounded great and cutting things of old before they get stale is a wise decision. The final song on the record is "Rastaman Live Up!" as they return to their reggae ways with some stop-and-start guitar and piano. Bob and the I-Threes all sing together in this opening chorus and both Aston and Carlton Barrett keep things interesting with some cool bass and drums. The chorus and verse blend together with the same riff and Marvin adds some bits of cool guitar in the verses while Downie throws in some extra piano in the chorus's. They find a catchy riff and stick to it once again but with great contributions from everyone they all take turns being in the brief spotlight while Bob and the I-Threes softly serenade us for this whole five-plus minute song. It didn't feel like it to me though, I thought it was a solid way to end a pretty great tribute to our fallen star.

That is the end of "Confrontation" and I thought it was a decent album. Aside from "Buffalo Soldier" side one was just okay, but side two had a few cool songs that brought this album up for me and I think it was a pretty solid way to say goodbye to Bob Marley. I'm sad that we won't hear any new music from The Wailers, but they certainly had a lasting impact and Bob will be dearly missed. I think this posthumous effort easily surpasses their last couple albums and I like it better than "Rastaman Vibration" as well, but it is there I must stop as I believe "Natty Dread" to be a better album for sure. There won't be any more reggae for a while in my library, but it will live on! And with that here are my final rankings for Bob Marley & The Wailers:

1. Exodus
2. Burnin'
3. Catch A Fire
4. Kaya
5. Natty Dread
6. Confrontation
7. Rastaman Vibration
8. Survival
9. Uprising