‘A natural mystic’: Music from Bob Marley movie hits Billboard Reggae Albums chart
Published:Thursday | February 22, 2024 | 12:08 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
With Bob Marley’s 15-time-platinum Legend reigning at number one on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart for the umpteenth week, Marley mystic continues to flow through the chart with Bob Marley And The Wailers – One Love: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Bob Marley: One Love (Music Inspired by the Film), debuting at numbers nine and 10. Both albums are released via Tuff Gong/Island Records.
The soundtrack for the movie, Bob Marley: One Love, features 17 of Marley’s most loved songs, which are showcased in ground-breaking biographical musical drama. The film opened on Valentine’s Day and made a record box office debut in the United States at number one and also snagged a quintuplet of records at home, among them: Jamaica’s biggest opening day ever; biggest Wednesday ever; biggest weekday ever; biggest February ever and biggest Valentine’s Day ever.
The songs on the soundtrack album are: Get Up Stand Up, Roots Rock Reggae, I Shot The Sheriff, No More Trouble, War/No More Trouble (Film Version), So Jah S’eh (Film Version), Natural Mystic, Turn Your Lights Down Low, Exodus, Jamming, Concrete Jungle, No Woman No Cry (Live at the Rainbow, 4th June, 1977), Three Little Birds, Redemption Song, One Love/People Get Ready, Is This Love and Rastaman Chant.
Bob Marley: One Love (Music Inspired by the Film) features contemporary artistes such as Skip Marley, Wizkid, Jessie Reyes, Daniel Caesar, Bloody Civilian, Leon Bridges and Kacey Musgraves reimagining seven Marley classics.
Skip Marley, Bob’s grandson, puts his own spin on Exodus, and he noted that “it’s an honour to play a part in telling this story ... @bobmarley’s music continues to inspire every day”.
There are also other “vocals” in the biopic, one of which is that of Beninese-French singer, Angélique Kidjo. Close to the start of the movie, Kidjo is heard on the anthemic Redemption Song and she’s certainly not shy to share this with the world. After attending the premiere in Paris, she took to social media and posted a picture of herself with Ziggy Marley, Kingsley Ben-Adir – who plays Bob Marley in the movie – and Ziggy’s wife, Orly, along with the comment: “From the Paris premiere of @onelovemovie the #1 movie about @bobmarley life! Proud to be the singing voice of Cedella, @bobmarley’s mother in the movie!”
Ziggy reposted with a heart emoji and commented: “You set the tone from the opening.”
For music marketer, Sean ‘Contractor’ Edwards, the biopic’s musical muscle “is not at all surprising” and he feels that this should be a proud moment for all Jamaican and Caribbean people. He also hailed the longevity of Marley’s message.
“The success of the Bob Marley: One Love movie and the soundtrack hitting the Billboard Reggae Album charts shows the power of his music and message. His Rastafarian message in the music of love and peace is still relevant to this day,” Edwards said in an interview.
He added, “This is also good for Jamaica’s tourism and for the reggae music genre as it will attract more visitors to the country as Jamaica will be on foreigners’ bucket list as a place to go. The renewed interest in Bob Marley’s music should also help to decrease racism, cultural and religious differences that cause conflict and wars worldwide.”
Broadcaster Fae Ellington also alluded to this feeling of pride during the glitzy, red carpet premiere in Jamaica in January.
“Absolute pride and privilege,” Ellington, who worked closely with the project as a dialect/language coach, said when asked how she was feeling, while at the screening.
“The privilege of working with Paramount and the Marley family, especially Ziggy, who was hands-on as producer, and Cedella, who was there. Other members of the Marley family came on set, but Ziggy was just there ... there... there. I also have a little bit of sadness because I miss mi friend Neville Garrick. Neville was so critical to the development of this movie because he played such an important and seminal part of Marley’s life. He developed and designed 12 album covers, did the design for the lighting of his shows whether it was in Paris, Belgium, New York or London. Neville lived with Bob in London ... along with the other band members. It was him and Marley that were taken out of here the very night that the shootout took place ... so dem bond, they were soulmates. Neville was like the cultural historian on the project,” an ebullient Ellington told The Gleaner.
Although Garrick passed away before the film had its premiere, he remains a current presence. A press release noted that in conjunction with the new biopic, Island/UMe will be releasing a new limited edition of Exodus on May 24.
“As depicted in a critical scene in the One Love film, this special edition will feature the original cover design of the album created by longtime Marley family friend, creative designer, and lighting director Neville Garrick. Originally conceived in the context of flight, depicting a green, gold, and red-winged migrating bird, with Marley and the Wailers enclosed in a global sphere overseen by Haile Selassie, the design was symbolic of the parting of the Red Sea. Garrick’s final and now-classic album art will adorn the back of this new package,” the release stated.