Next year marks what would have been the 70th birthday of Bob Marley, the biggest figure in "world music" history, and as you would expect, there will be a boatload of special releases on the way. The Marley family has allowed the Universal Music Group access to his back catalogue to gather up unreleased material for deluxe rereleases of classic albums, probably including Exodus, Natty Dread and more (from Rolling Stone).
If you've already got his entire discography and you don't feel like shelling out for demos, there will be at least one release that features entirely unreleased content: Easy Skanking in Boston '78, an audio and video treatment for Marley's two-show stop at Boston Music Hall. No one's really sure which of the two dates the footage is from but both gigs featured the same setlist. Included among the set are "No Woman, No Cry" and "I Shot The Sheriff."
The video footage of the concert might actually be the more interesting release in this case (we as music writers have a bias toward audio) as the only footage was gathered by a fan standing in front of the stage with a handheld camera. Marley had granted permission for the show to be filmed but, as it was only one fan, there is also only one angle for the entire performance. Plus, the "cameraman" needed to switch out rolls of film mid performance, leaving gaps. This gaps have been filled for the DVD release by animations from esteemed artists S77 and Matt Reed, who have done similar work for Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Fortunately, for us audiophiles, the sound from the concert is complete thanks to stage mics.
Easy Skanking in Boston '78 will become available for sale on February 10.
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