Reggae

Bob Marley and the Wailers Live at the Rainbow

On June 2, 1977, London's Rainbow Theatre "caught fire"--in the best possible way, of course. At the time, Bob Marley and the Wailers, already huge in the UK, were on tour in support of the locally produced Exodus. While the show starts off with the slow-burning "Trenchtown Rock" (1973's African Herbsman), Marley's performance grows increasingly incendiary until, by the time they get to the climactic closer, "Exodus," it looks as he's in another world entirely. The turning point is an extended version of "Crazy Baldhead" (1976's Rastaman Vibration), in which Marley seemingly enters a trance, performing primarily with eyes closed. By the late-1970s, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer were long gone, making the electrifying Marley more the focus than ever before (and for the first few songs, the rest of the band is barely visible). Other highlights includes "Lively Up Yourself" (1974's Natty Dread), in which Julian "Junior" Marvin throws some Hendrix-style moves into the mix, and "Get Up, Stand Up" (1973's Burnin'), in which the audience echoes Marley's words, as lost in the moment as the man on the stage. This two-disc set includes the 1984 BBC documentary Caribbean Nights (AKA The Bob Marley Story). It features performance excerpts ("Slave Driver" from 1972, "Stir It Up" and "Rastaman Chant" from 1973, "Bad Card" from 1980, etc.), and interviews with Tosh, Joe Higgs, Chris Blackwell, Judy Mowatt, wife Rita Marley, and mother Cedella Booker. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Legend - The Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers

If you are expecting just the videos for the tracks on Bob Marley's extremely successful greatest hits CD, you are going to be pleasantly surprised with this DVD. Legend is much more than a simple, video anthology. It is a historical telling of the music of Bob Marley presented in 23 videos, most of which are performances, and a 90-minute documentary. The documentary is a collage of images and video clips put to a running dialogue by Marley. Unless you are very familiar with the Jamaican dialect, it is recommended to watch this with the subtitles turned on. Interesting, but there are better documentaries out there (e.g., The Bob Marley Story: Caribbean Nights). It is the live performances, however, that make this DVD worth its weight in gold. Every person remotely interested in his music owes it to himself to witness Bob Marley perform on stage. Musically, Marley is as close to perfection as any artist can hope to achieve. But as a performer, he transcends beyond the secular pop star status to the mythic leader of a movement. Notable performances include eight tracks from the famous Live at the Rainbow recording (June 1977) and the early Wailer footage from The Old Grey Whistle Test recorded for the BBC in 1973 ("Stir It Up" and "Concrete Jungle"). They are simply hypnotic. The sound on the DVD, for the most part, is clear, crisp, and flawless ("Could You Be Loved" could have been touched up a little bit). A nice feature is the "playlist," allowing the viewer to play the videos in any order desired. All in all, a great package for a true legend. --Rob Bracco

Rockers - 25th Anniversary Edition

Writer-director Theodoros Bafaloukos responded to Jamaica's siren call all the way over in Greece and came to the island to make this 1977 movie about a band of Rasta men/Robin Hoods getting their own back at the expense of those perennial bloodsuckers, the "uptown top rankings," as men of money and position are called in Jamaica. The reggae star-studded cast is undoubtedly the movie's most rewarding feature, though some reggae fans have objected to the demeaning sight of the incomparable late singer Jacob Miller threatening a friend with a knife over a purloined chicken leg or the equally great singer Gregory Isaacs exacting chump change for unlocking a tourist's rental car. However, these and other great reggae figures are also seen here in full and glorious performance at their peak. In fact, this film provides our only extended visual record of Miller's kinetic performance style and one of the best pieces of footage on Isaacs. Although Rockers doesn't approach the multilayered complexity of The Harder They Come and it does betray a little superiority now and then to its characters, there are plenty of laughs as well as insights into life at the time for Jamaica's growing Rastafarian movement. Drummer Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace makes an unlikely though quintessentially Jamaican leading man as he moves between wooing the rich man's virginal daughter and making pit stops at the shack he shares with his wife and children. His band of accomplices is priceless, and the scene in which each struts in his own "stylee" to Peter Tosh's "Stepping Razor" is alone worth the price. --Elena Oumano

Starring Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace and Richard "DirtyHarry" Hall, ROCKERS is a Robin Hood style story of oppressed Jamaican musicians getting even with the "mafia types" in the business. Featuring Burning Spear, Bunny Wailer, Third World, Peter Tosh, Ja

The Legend Live

The Harder They Come - 30th Anniversary Edition

Director-producer Perry Henzel's all-Jamaican-made 1973 classic, one of the most beloved and longest-running of all international cult favorites, fiercely expresses the live-wire Jamaican spirit--an impoverished Africa tuned to American radio. The film also incorporates an archetypal passion for "outlaw" justice common to American Westerns, which were a staple of the Caribbean theater circuit at the time. Released just 12 years after Jamaica achieved independence, The Harder They Come also reflects the disenchantment that soon followed a massive post-independence exodus from the island's country hamlets to the tropical ghettos of Kingston, where a more grinding urban poverty awaited. Brilliantly shot, directed, written, and acted, especially by singer Jimmy Cliff in the leading role and Carl Bradshaw as his archenemy, the film tells an anthemic Jamaican story to seductive rhythms of a soundtrack that became a reggae bestseller. Ivan, a country boy who dreams of fame as a singer, rides into Kingston on a rickety country bus in the opening scenes, only to meet with disaster heaped on disaster, always at the hands of those masked as friends. In a breathless defining climax, Ivan finally breaks from his passivity and begins to wreak his revenge. Soon Kingston's music Mafia and the equally corrupt authorities are after him, but like the real-life people's hero (a man named Rhygin) on whom this character is partially based, Ivan leads them on a maddening chase--much to the delight of the people--eluding capture until the movie's shocking final moments. --Elena Oumano

Ziggy Marley: Love Is My Religion Live

One Love - The Bob Marley All-Star Tribute

Conceived with DVD release in mind, this high-end, live video concert taped in Jamaica lives up to its title with a generous repertoire of Bob Marley songs performed by reverent pop, hip-hop, rock, and reggae veterans. Shot on a rainy night in December 1999, the home video version expands upon an inaugural TNT cable telecast with an additional hour of performances. The DVD edition adds a premium level of special features and exclusive content.

The music's the main thing, of course, and on that front One Love is uniformly respectful, orbiting around Marley's songs and infused with whiffs of his Rastafarian world view and reggae's broader Third World perspectives. Marley's family members serve as hosts and frequent collaborators, with a limber house band further reinforcing a coherent, communal element to the performances, and the titular all-stars immerse themselves in Marley's world. Lauryn Hill opens the concert with what is clearly one of its highest points, a joyful "Turn the Lights Down Low." Chrissie Hynde and Erykah Badu take turns duetting with Jimmy Cliff, and another reggae titan, Toots Hibbert, proves a perfect, ebullient fit with a current lineup of the Wailers. The celebrity choices include a conspicuous subset of American folk-rockers in Tracy Chapman, Ben Harper, and Hootie and the Blowfish's Darius Rucker, with Chapman the most convincing in a glowing version of "Three Little Birds."

Avid reggae fans may be mildly frustrated by the overall crossover thrust of this homage, which favors Yankee rap and hip-hop (via Busta Rhymes and Queen Latifah) instead of homegrown dancehall; it tantalizes us with glimpses of Marley's peers, like Cliff and Hibbert, while being largely occupied with sustaining its parade of non-reggae marquee names. For most viewers, though, the scope of the concert and the first-rate sonic finish will sustain the spell, an effect powerfully expanded on the superb DVD version. --Sam Sutherland

One Love documents the December 1999 tribute concert honoring reggae pioneer Bob Marley produced in Oracabessa Bay, Jamaica, and originally broadcast on the TNT cable network. Featured is a cross-section of major rock, pop, hip hop, and reggae talent including Lauryn Hill, Chrissie Hynde, Jimmy Cliff, Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes, and Tracy Chapman.

For its DVD release, the producers have restored an hour of additional footage not included in the broadcast, including bonus songs performed by the Marley Family and a behind-the-scenes featurette. Exclusive DVD features also include a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix and a multi-angle presentation of the concert finale, enabling users to select from five separate angles.

Selections include:

1. Turn the Lights Down Low--Lauryn Hill
2. Waiting in Vain--Chrissie Hynde
3. Jammin'--Chrissie Hynde & Jimmy Cliff
4. No More Trouble--Erykah Badu
5. No Woman No Cry--Erykah Badu & Jimmy Cliff
6. Who the Cap Fit--Queen Latifah
7. War--Darius Rucker
8. Three Little Birds--Tracy Chapman
9. Rasta Man Chant--Busta Rhymes & Julian Marley
10. Kinky Reggae--Chris Robinson & Damian Marley
11. Get Up Stand Up--Ben Harper
12. Lively Up Yourself--Toots Hibbert & the Wailers
13. Trenchtown Rock--Tracy Chapman, Stephen Marley & Ziggy Marley
14. Rat Race--Eve & Stephen Marley
15. Africa Unite--Marley Family Band, the Melody Makers & the Wailers
16. Redemption Song--Lauryn Hill & Ziggy Marley
17. Could You Be Loved--Marley Family
18. Pass It On--The Melody Makers
19. One Love--FINALE (all performers)

Plus five bonus tracks.

UB40: Live at Montreux 2002

One of the must successful British acts ever are featured here in this 2002 Montreux concert. Includes 21 songs.Song Titles:The Way You Do the Things You Do Here I Am One in Ten Come Back Darling If It Happens Again Homely Girl Kingston Town Reggae Music Don't Break My Heart Love It When You Smile Rat in Mi Kitchen Rudie Cover Up Since I Met You Lady Maybe Tomorrow/Anything Mi Chat Johnny Too Bad Wear You to the Ball Red Red Wine Can't Help Falling in Love Cherry Oh Baby Many Rivers to Cross.System Requirements:Running Time: 96 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSIC DVD/CONCERTS Rating: NR UPC: 801213914890 Manufacturer No: EE39148-9

It's All About Dancing: Jamaican Dance-U-Mentary

It's All About Dancing reveals dancehall culture in its truest form. Filmed in Jamaica, this DVD incorporates the best of the local dancehall selectors, DJ's and dancers, almost all of whom are native to Jamaica including Ding Dong, the host. Other star performers featured are Beenie Man, Elephant Man, T.O.K., Mr. Vegas, Voicemail, Macka Diamond, Tanto Metro & Devonte, Tony Matterhorn, Scatta, Richie Feelings, Bogle, John Hype, Ice, Sadik & G-Unit, Latisha and Kiyo (dancehall queens). Together in one "dance-u-mentary," all the key figures of dancehall describe the style, history, language and their personal definitions of dancehall culture. It's All About Dancing entertains viewers by showing the essence of dancehall through interviews and candid monologues inter-spliced with improvisational dance sequences that can teach anyone the basics of the cross-cultural, multigenerational, phenomenon called dancehall.

Rebel Music - The Bob Marley Story

The legend of Bob Marley (1945-1981) is well served by this comprehensive and clear-eyed look at the turbulent life and times of the reggae great. Jeremy Marre's documentary presents the man as a vitally important artist, but a flawed--if immensely appealing--human being. The trajectory of his rise is traced from his humble beginnings as the son of a poor, teenage mother in rural Jamaica to the heights of international superstardom in the 1970s. Along the way, Marre provides a context for the development of his artistry by exploring the political situation in Jamaica at the time, the roots of Rastafarianism (to which he was intensely devoted), and his unconventional relationships with women. Although he remained close to wife, Rita, until his death, Marley enjoyed a number of public relationships with other women (Rita admits she found this difficult; Marley claims he didn't see anything unusual about it). The sheer number of interviews is impressive. Aside from the clips of Marley himself, Bunny Livingstone and Peter Tosh (the Wailers), Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, two Jamaican prime ministers (Socialist Michael Manley and Conservative Edward Seaga), and even a CIA official (Philip Agee) all make an appearance. The breadth of Marley's music is represented by over 40 tracks, from the early ska hit "Judge Not" to later political numbers like "Africa Unite." Although Marley never actually considered himself a "political" person, he was surely a rebel--brave, passionate, committed--in the best sense of the word. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Rebel Music tells the fascinating and heart-wrenching story of legendary reggae superstar Bob Marley, his extraordinary life and revolutionary music. He was a gifted musician, an inspired poet, and a prophet of peace who fervently decried the injustices of all people by remaining true to his roots and devoting himself to spreading the gospel of Rastafari. "The most influential artist of the second half of the 20th century" - The New York Times. ?