Amateur Book Review - Bob Marley Day Edition
Hello Kiddies,
So today as we celebrate the birth of the Hon. Robert Nesta Marley O.M., here's a special edition of the Amateur Book Review.
Today we are reviewing a few different books that have come out about Marley recently.
First we have Chris Salewicz' 'Bob Marley: the untold story'. I was skeptical about it after having read many books about Marley over the years I wasn't sure what could be left 'untold', but there were some nice surprises. Robert Christgau wrote in his Barnes & Noble review: "Salewicz's book is faster, fuller, and fairer than either Timothy White's Catch a Fire, or Stephen Davis's Bob Marley, Salewicz admires Bob Marley deeply without deifying him."
As much as it pains me to agree with perennial grouch Christgau, that's probably the most accurate description of the book. Although I always thought that White's book humanized Marley rather than deified him. As a Marley fan/enthusiast I did find myself saying at times 'Hmmm, I didn't know that' and Salewicz explores some uncharted roads which kept the book from being boring and predictable. The chapter on Jamaican history is very enlightening and so are the origins of the Jamaican sound systems which haven't really been properly documented in most of the books I have read. Most of the revelations are courtesy of reggae guru Roger Steffens who 'gave Salewicz access to the unpublished 1,800 page transcripts of our interviews for Bunny Wailer's now-aborted autobiography.' (Side note: your lovely author here has been in touch with Mr. Steffens for a variety of subjects and I found him to be wonderfully accessible and superbly nice.) Marley's life and career are covered pretty well, and so are that of his compatriots and contemporaries. The early Wailers Junior Braithwaite, Cherry Green, and Beverly Kelso have some of their story told as well as Peter Tosh & Bunny Livingston. Marley's business savvy and notorious womanizing are explored in detail without judgment or opinion. While I did enjoy the book, but would not necessarily call it a very gripping read. It's better than average as far as rock/music bios go though.
If you are going to part with your cash on a Marley read, I would highly recommend Kim Gottlieb-Walker's superb photobook, 'Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae'. It's exactly what it says it is. A wonderfully intimate look at Marley, Tosh, and Bunny as well as other stars of the era such as the Third World band and Toots Hibbert. The unprecedented access that KGW got of these enigmatic figures is both fascinating and illuminating and it says as much about her as it does about them. Commentary by Steffens and Cameron Crowe compliment the photos very well.
Lastly, we have 'Marley Legend' by James Henck, which was released several years ago but only recently procured by your host. It's actually the most 'fun' out of all of the books covered here as it's essentially a story/scrapbook of Marley's career with fascimilies of concert tickets, magazine articles and other ephemera and includes a Marley interview CD.
Whichever you choose to read, you will be given a unique perspective of the enigmatic figure that was Bob Marley. Of course there's nothing like Marley in his own words, so our video today is one of his last interviews given by acclaimed television journalist Gil Noble.
Besides the official website, the Marley Family and Estate has opened up Twitter and Facebook fan pages. Marley offspring Ziggy, Cedella, Stephen, Julian, Damian, & Rohan, all have Twitter pages as well if you choose to follow them.
So today as we celebrate the birth of the Hon. Robert Nesta Marley O.M., here's a special edition of the Amateur Book Review.
Today we are reviewing a few different books that have come out about Marley recently.
First we have Chris Salewicz' 'Bob Marley: the untold story'. I was skeptical about it after having read many books about Marley over the years I wasn't sure what could be left 'untold', but there were some nice surprises. Robert Christgau wrote in his Barnes & Noble review: "Salewicz's book is faster, fuller, and fairer than either Timothy White's Catch a Fire, or Stephen Davis's Bob Marley, Salewicz admires Bob Marley deeply without deifying him."
As much as it pains me to agree with perennial grouch Christgau, that's probably the most accurate description of the book. Although I always thought that White's book humanized Marley rather than deified him. As a Marley fan/enthusiast I did find myself saying at times 'Hmmm, I didn't know that' and Salewicz explores some uncharted roads which kept the book from being boring and predictable. The chapter on Jamaican history is very enlightening and so are the origins of the Jamaican sound systems which haven't really been properly documented in most of the books I have read. Most of the revelations are courtesy of reggae guru Roger Steffens who 'gave Salewicz access to the unpublished 1,800 page transcripts of our interviews for Bunny Wailer's now-aborted autobiography.' (Side note: your lovely author here has been in touch with Mr. Steffens for a variety of subjects and I found him to be wonderfully accessible and superbly nice.) Marley's life and career are covered pretty well, and so are that of his compatriots and contemporaries. The early Wailers Junior Braithwaite, Cherry Green, and Beverly Kelso have some of their story told as well as Peter Tosh & Bunny Livingston. Marley's business savvy and notorious womanizing are explored in detail without judgment or opinion. While I did enjoy the book, but would not necessarily call it a very gripping read. It's better than average as far as rock/music bios go though.
If you are going to part with your cash on a Marley read, I would highly recommend Kim Gottlieb-Walker's superb photobook, 'Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae'. It's exactly what it says it is. A wonderfully intimate look at Marley, Tosh, and Bunny as well as other stars of the era such as the Third World band and Toots Hibbert. The unprecedented access that KGW got of these enigmatic figures is both fascinating and illuminating and it says as much about her as it does about them. Commentary by Steffens and Cameron Crowe compliment the photos very well.
Lastly, we have 'Marley Legend' by James Henck, which was released several years ago but only recently procured by your host. It's actually the most 'fun' out of all of the books covered here as it's essentially a story/scrapbook of Marley's career with fascimilies of concert tickets, magazine articles and other ephemera and includes a Marley interview CD.
Whichever you choose to read, you will be given a unique perspective of the enigmatic figure that was Bob Marley. Of course there's nothing like Marley in his own words, so our video today is one of his last interviews given by acclaimed television journalist Gil Noble.
Click to viewBesides the official website, the Marley Family and Estate has opened up Twitter and Facebook fan pages. Marley offspring Ziggy, Cedella, Stephen, Julian, Damian, & Rohan, all have Twitter pages as well if you choose to follow them.