The songwriting credits on Natty Dread have long been the subject of conjecture. And in “No Woman, No Cry,” a reverie about the hardships and emotional bonds forged when growing up with his friends in Trenchtown, he created a song of timeless, evocative power. “Forget your troubles and dance” was the kernel of this philosophy.
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS BURNIN FULL
“Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)” was one of the several songs that summed up the incredible power of Marley’s music to identify a deep spiritual sorrow or injustice and turn it into the most joyful song. The melodies were never less than beguiling and if Marley’s voice didn’t get you, his lyrics surely would. The rhythm section of the Barrett Brothers, Aston on bass and Carlton on drums, remained gloriously intact and there was a horn section on hand, which arrived like the cavalry to take several of the songs romping home to the finishing post. “Lively Up Yourself” had been a single in 1971 “Bend Down Low” had been a hit for the Wailers in Jamaica as long before as 1967, and “Them Belly Full” had appeared earlier as a single called at different times “Bellyfull” and “Belly Full.” It didn’t matter a jot to the great majority of fans who were hearing these amazing tunes for the first time, but most definitely not the last.
Anyone who feared the departure of Tosh and Wailer might result in a decline in the group’s vocal firepower would have been quickly disabused of the idea by tracks such as “Rebel Music (3 O’Clock Roadblock)” and “Talkin Blues,” both of which featured the blues-wailing sound of Lee Jaffe’s harmonica threaded between the haunting vocal chants and call-and-response arrangements.Īnother sense in which Natty Dread might have been mistaken for some kind of hits compilation – even in 1974 – was Marley’s and co-producer Chris Blackwell’s continuing policy of re-recording songs that had already been released in previous incarnations of the Wailers.
The songs were notable not only for the richness of the melodies and wordplay but also for the vitality and imagination of the harmony arrangements which were supplied by a newly-recruited vocal section the I-Threes, featuring Rita Marley (Bob’s wife), Marcia Griffiths, and Judy Mowatt. “Natty Dread” was a soubriquet Marley had recently acquired on the streets of Jamaica thanks to his lengthening locks which, as could be seen in the cover photograph, were beginning to flow as freely as his music. Listening now to the opening run of tracks it almost sounds like a Greatest Hits collection – “Lively Up Yourself,” “No Woman, No Cry,” “Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)” – before you even get to the celebrated title track. With Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer now departed from the group to establish solo careers of their own, Marley took hold of the reins with new confidence and stunning results. It reached the top of the US chart in September 1974, a month before the release of Natty Dread, the first album to be credited to Bob Marley and the Wailers. The timing of Clapton’s hit could not have been better. “I Shot The Sheriff” became a US No.1 hit (still Clapton’s only such success) and his enthusiastic endorsement of a Marley song, with an arrangement that did not differ hugely from the original (on the Burnin’ album), was a considerable spur to popular acceptance of reggae music in general and Marley in particular. Clapton, at this point, was the voice and sound of the mainstream rock establishment. But it certainly encouraged a sea change in the popular perception of reggae. It would be overstating the case to say that Eric Clapton’s version of “I Shot The Sheriff” changed everything. They were attempting to introduce a whole genre that was still quite alien to the mainstream music media. The problem which Chris Blackwell and Island Records had to address was not merely that of trying to launch a “new” artist.
Those albums, both released in 1973, would eventually be recognized as classics, but neither of them reached the Top 100 in either the US or the UK. As part of the Wailers and before the release of Natty Dread, Bob Marley had already put in a considerable effort to break into the charts with his first international album releases Catch A Fire and Burnin’. Even a godlike genius can use a helping hand from time to time.