1974-10-25
Natty Dread
Bob Marley & The Wailers
By Maeve C.
Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer had left by the time Natty Dread was made, and the I-Threes, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, took over the harmonies. Bob Marley co-produced the album with Chris Blackwell, keeping Aston and Carlton Barrett as the rhythm section.
“No Woman, No Cry” looks back on growing up with friends in Trenchtown, while “Lively Up Yourself” and “Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)” revisit songs released earlier as singles. Lee Jaffe’s harmonica runs through “Rebel Music (3 O’Clock Road Block)” and “Talkin’ Blues”. In Britain the album reached number 43 and sold more than 100,000 copies.
Sources
Rights-holder metadata (℗ 2013 Universal Island Records) gives original release date October 25, 1974.Corroborates release on 25 October 1974 by Island and Tuff Gong (US release May 1975); I-Threes; Lee Jaffe harmonica; UK No. 43, over 100,000 sold; tracklist.
Universal label editorial: Tosh and Bunny Wailer had left; Marley co-produced with Chris Blackwell; Barrett brothers rhythm section; I-Threes harmonies; “No Woman, No Cry” about Trenchtown; “Lively Up Yourself” and “Them Belly Full” earlier singles; Jaffe harmonica on “Rebel Music” and “Talkin Blues”. Gives month only, not the day.