![]() ![]() It’s tempting to call Johnny Was his answer to Mayfield’s Freddie’s Dead: an empathic examination of an accidental death (“from a stray bullet”) that nevertheless has wider implications, the lushness of the harmonies at odds with the lyrics. Marley’s great musical inspiration was Curtis Mayfield – the young Wailers even copied the Impressions’ poses in photos. ![]() Marley’s pre-Island discography can be baffling – umpteen releases, umpteen labels – but the 00s box sets Fy-ah Fy-ah, Man to Man and Grooving Kingston 12 do a good job of sorting through it, revealing gems such as Caution: an odd, tremulous lead guitar, eerie harmonies on the chorus and a winning refrain of “hit me from the top, you crazy mother-funky”. Could You Be Loved?, meanwhile, allied Marley’s sharp pop instinct to disco, with backing vocalists the I-Threes on particularly fine form. The Wailers were always musically open-minded – in the 60s they covered everything from Bacharach and David to the Archies’ Sugar Sugar, while 1971’s Lick Samba dabbled in Latin-American music. ![]() Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 25. (from left) Peter Tosh, Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, Bob Marley, Earl Lindo, Carlton Barrett and Bunny Wailer. ![]()
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