Maps of Music

Live! (1975)

Where the lyrics of Live! take you, and where it was really made.

The first CD edition of this 1975 live album included a full 7:43 version of 'Lively Up Yourself' by mistake.

Key places

Recording at the Lyceum Theatre, London (1975)

Recording site Lyceum Theatre — The band's concerts at the Lyceum Theatre, London, on 17 and 18 July 1975, were recorded by Island Records employee Danny Holloway, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Most tracks on the album came from the 17 July show. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Live! is a 1975 live album by Bob Marley and the Wailers
• Recorded live in concert in July 1975 at the Lyceum Theatre, London
• Released 5 December 1975 by Island Records as a vinyl LP
• The single 'No Woman, No Cry (Live '75)' was released from the album
• A two-disc deluxe edition is a separate release containing both concerts used for the original album

Background

• Concerts at the Lyceum Theatre, London, on 17 and 18 July 1975
• Recorded by Island Records employee Danny Holloway using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio
• Tracks were mostly from the 17 July performance
• 'Lively Up Yourself' came from the 18 July performance, as it was not played on the 17th
• Line-up: Bob Marley (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Carlton Barrett (drums), Aston 'Family Man' Barrett (bass), Tyrone Downie (keyboards), Al Anderson (lead guitar), Alvin 'Seeco' Patterson (percussion)
• Backing vocals by the I Threes: Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths
• Marcia Griffiths missed this tour because of pregnancy

Recording

• Live sound mixing by Dave Harper, recording engineer Steve Smith
• Mixed at Basing Street Studios by mixing engineer Phill Brown
• Produced by Bob Marley and the Wailers, Steve Smith and Chris Blackwell
• At the 17 July concert, Chris Blackwell noted the audience reaction to 'No Woman, No Cry'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in 1963 in Jamaica around Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley, initially as the Teenagers before becoming the Wailers.
• The band had a ska and rocksteady origin and their 1964 hit "Simmer Down" recorded at Studio One shifted Jamaican music toward its own voice.

Members

• Founding members were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer; Tosh and Wailer left in 1974.
• Marley continued with a new lineup including Aston and Carlton Barrett and the female backing trio the I-Threes.

Career

• Signed to Island Records in 1972; albums Catch a Fire and Burnin' followed in 1973.
• Released Exodus (1977) and Uprising (1980), and Marley died of cancer in 1981, after which the group disbanded.
• Legend (1984) became the biggest-selling reggae album ever.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Robert Christgau, in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies, said the rushed tempos take a toll on the album's aura
• He compared it with 'Trenchtown Rock', which he said can be far more precise, painful and ecstatic
• He noted that, like most live albums, it relies on obvious material
• He praised the song selection as choice and the sound as distinct, with economical arrangements, unlike most live albums
• He wrote that the tempos push both the singer and the band into moments of wild, unexpected intensity

Reappraisal

• Christgau wrote that he used to think the 'No Woman, No Cry' from Natty Dread was definitive

Records

• 1987: the first CD edition appeared, with a complete extended version of 'Lively Up Yourself' (7:43) included by mistake
• 2001: the album was remastered and re-released on CD with the bonus track 'Kinky Reggae' from the show
• The single 'No Woman, No Cry (Live '75)' was released from the album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The first CD edition in 1987 included a complete extended version of 'Lively Up Yourself' (7:43) by mistake.
• The 2001 CD reissue added the bonus track 'Kinky Reggae' from the show.
• Kate Simon, the Sounds photographer who shot the cover of Marley's 1978 album Kaya, said she was not prepared for what she saw that night.
• Simon described the voice as magnificent and the message as one of faith, truth and doing the right thing.
• Marcia Griffiths missed this tour because of pregnancy.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact