Update No.
26
Volume 3: Issue 7: August/September
2003
ONE LOVE: LIFE WITH BOB MARLEY &
THE WAILERS
Lee Jaffe with Roger Steffens
Review by Andy
Clayden
Lee Jaffe has a unique place in Wailers history. The American musician and film- maker first met Bob Marley in January 1973 in a New York hotel room, and the meeting proved to be the first steps in a life altering journey.
Jamming together - Bob on guitar, Lee on harmonica- the pair forged a musical understanding that urged Bob to take Jaffe back to Jamaica, where the American was absorbed into the Wailers fold for the next 2 and a half years.
This book is a wonderful photo-journal of Lee's story, gathering previously unpublished photos, detailed memories and the text of an indepth interview conducted by Roger Steffens.The interview runs fluently throughout, and reveals little known details on Bob's activities prior to the international breakthrough of the Wailers Catch A Fire album.
Among the revelations include are Marley's trip to the Trinidad carnival in 1973, about which he and Jaffe composed the long forgotten "We Don't Like Your Carnival", and the birth of one of his most important compositions " I Shot The Sheriff".
By Winter 1973 Lee Jaffe was living at 56 Hope Road, and well on his way to adopting the Rasta lifestyle, something he claims to have found easy "when you get to smoke pot everyday". The book captures this chapter in Jaffe's life through a series of exquisitely reproduced photographs, including shots of Bob Marley peeling fruit at Little Bay, reading the Bible in Nine Miles and of the house he, Jaffe and Esther Anderson built.
Jaffe was playing harmonica with the Wailers on live dates on the Island, including the 1974 Marvin Gaye concert, prompting Bunny Wailer to proclaim "Lee Jah-free a Wailers". That year he added his talents to Bob's Natty Dread album, blowing on the track Rebel Music, but it was at this point that he fell out with Bob, and Jaffe made his last live performance with Marley at Central Park, New York in June 1975.
Bob, Peter and Bunny's final live performance together at the Wonder Dream show in 1975 is also documented, with splendid, dark photos that capture the intense atmosphere superbly.
Moving from Bob to Peter, Jaffe recounts the sessions for Tosh's debut long player Legalize It at Treasure Isle studio, accompanied by stunning out-takes from the cover shoot. Peter makes a fine study for Jaffe's photography, and the arguably the best images in the book are of the Stepping Razor. Peter is captured in a fine set of black & whites at the soundcheck for the University of Miami gig in 1976, a colour set at the 1978 One Love Peace Concert, and further images at the Beacon 1977, with Jaffe on harmonica. To compliment the fine photography, and Roger's knowledgable interview, Jaffe adds his own written reminices in an expressive and articulate voice.
Unfortuantely the book ends rather abruptly at the Legalize It session, leaving you wanting much more from this period. Another criticism would be that there is no update of Lee's life following the 1970's, and we do not learn what he is doing now.
The final 40 pages feature colourised video grabs from a 1973 home video recorded by Jaffe in Jamaica, and from the Capitol Sessions video. While these are pleasant enough, there is an element of repetition. Further text here could have avoided the shortfall of information that blights the books conclusion.
One Love is a fine addition to the bookshelf. An unmissable tome for any self- respecting Wailers fan. Candid and compelling.
WAILERS LIVE CD RE-
ISSUED
Out now on Alchemy is a budget priced re-issue of the Wailers Live CD titled
"Redemption Songs". Originally released by Image Entertainments in April
and produced by "Famsmuzik", the 2 CD set features 22 Marley classics from
the current Wailers Band line up, with vocals by Gary "Nesta" Pine.
Also back on the streets is the 1998 release "Live At The Maritime Hall" with vocal duties by Don Elan.
Track lists for both sets in the Wailers Band Album discography
TROJAN LAWSUIT
Bunny Wailer/Tuff Gong to sue Sanctuary/Trojan for £100m
BASIL WALTERS, Observer staff reporter
Friday, September 05, 2003
Bunny Wailer... Twenty-eight years of bootlegging and piracy of recordings from the three of us...have resulted in over 700 legal products being exploited worldwide PIONEER Reggae singer Bunny Wailer in conjunction with the estates of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, have instructed their lawyers to file suit against Sanctuary Record Group/Trojan for £100m for unpaid royalties following what he terms "continuous illegal distribution of the Wailers' products in the international marketplace."
As the only surviving original member of Reggae's most famous triumvirate, the Wailing Wailers which also included Marley and Tosh, Bunny Wailer has joined forces with the estates of his two departed singing partners under the umbrella of the Tuff Gong family in an effort to recover royalty payments for approximately 700 albums.
"Twenty-eight years of bootlegging and piracy of recordings from the three of us, including the Wailers' catalogue of songs recorded between the years 1967 to 1993, albums starting with Soul Rebel, Soul Revolution Part One recorded on the Upsetters label in Jamaica, Best of the Wailers, recorded on the Beverley's Record label, along with over 25 songs recorded on the Wailers' own Wail N Soul and Tuff Gong labels, have resulted in over 700 legal products being exploited worldwide", Bunny Wailer told Splash.
The London based law firm, Lee and Thompson, has been appointed as legal representatives for the Tuff Gong family. Gordon Williams, an attorney-at-law- with Lee and Thompson, is currently engaged in the process of filing writs against Sanctuary/Trojan.
"The Wailers have never collected any kind of royalties, not even credits, neither the estates of Bob (Marley) or Peter (Tosh) nor myself. We are not getting anything and we've been chasing after those who have pirated us for all these years without any success. But it's absolutely necessary at this time to proceed against the pirates as the pirated records affect the legitimate catalogues that the Wailers have out. That is why we now have reasons to unite all the forces to attack the piracy. We're now one family under Tuff Gong and we are ready to go seek whatever rights there is for us under those songs that we did prior to a 1999 settlement," Bunny Wailer said. The settlement mentioned by Bunny Wailer, whose real name is Neville Livingston, refers to an agreement made with Tuff Gong in 1999 to end all disputes pertaining to the ownership of Tuff Gong, royalties and other such matters and to forge together as a single unit. At present Rita Marley, widow of Bob and a member of the I Threes group, is the head of Tuff Gong.
Livingston explained that in 1971-72, the Wailers had their own independent record label which was established in 1966 as Wail "N" Soul. Wail "N" Soul went over to Tuff Gong before it became a label in 1972.
"We recorded on the Wail "N" Soul / Tuff Gong labels and we were very dominant and prominent in music at the time. We also wanted to venture into territories outside of Jamaica, so we started to seek other producers like Beverley's for whom we also did an album which he (Leslie Kong) the man in charge at the time, co-produced entitled The Best of the Wailers. Unfortunately Kong died just as the album was about to be released. So that album was put on hold. But somehow it came out later through piracy," Livingston revealed.
Bunny Wailer admitted in the interview with Splash that time simply did not allow him or his now departed colleagues to properly manage and oversee their interests hence the rampant piracy which subsequently took place.
"It turned out that we were so involved in the establishment of Reggae music at the time (1973) when we did the Catch A Fire (album) with Island that we weren't around to keep an eye on things. So what others did was to take the tapes with our songs and sell them to other people. They in turn started the piracy which is still continuing today," he said.
SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
DVD
Released in October comes another Bob Marley documentry entitled "Spiritual
Journey".
The 55 minute film will feature "film footage shown for the first time and exclusive interviews with the people who were closest to this musical legend" according to the press release.
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. and extras include a 40-minute audio
interview with Bob Marley, a photo gallery, 32-page booklet and a bonus CD The
Lion Of Reggae:
Lively Up Yourself
Soul Rebel
Treat Yourself Right (actually Treat You Right)
Rebels Hop
Soul Almighty
Kaya
Trenchtown Rock
Soul Shakedown Party
Natural Mystic
Fussing And Fighting
African Herbsman
Keep On Moving
Go Tell It On The Mountain
How Many Times
Full review will appear here.
JXL TOSH REMIX
CONFUSION PT. III
Further information on the Junkie XL/Peter Tosh track has come in from Bart Hekman.
The song featured on JXL's album; and credited as featuring Peter Tosh
& Friends was written by Chris Hinze and originally recorded for his Bamboo
Reggae album.
The remix features the credit " from the original recording of Sleepy Policeman" and "Vocal sample Peter Tosh used with kind permission of the Tosh family". However, Peter's voice is no where to be heard on either the original or the remix, and there is very little similarity between the tracks.
Anyone expecting to hear a previously unknow Tosh performance here will be very disappointed.
Previous Updates:
Number 25, July
2003 Number 24, June
2003
Number 23, May 2003 Number 22, April 2003
Number 21, March 2003 Number 20, February 2003
See side links for full on-line www.wailers.co.uk archive.
Please visit these Wailers/reggae sites:
The OFFICIAL Wailers website: www.wailers.com
www.bobmarley.freeserve.co.uk Django! Ska, Rocksteady & Reggae
http://robertnestamarley.free.fr http://intelligentdiplomat.free.fr
www.melodymakers.de bobmarleyshop.com
www.caceinternational.com The Wailers News
Bob Marley Magazine http://go.to/bobmarleyshows
www.mentomusic.com http://membres.lycos.fr/semayat
Contact: jahlight@wailers.co.uk