Maps of Music

Soul Rebels (1970)

Where the lyrics of Soul Rebels take you, and where it was really made.

Recorded in a Kingston studio above a record shop, this was the Wailers' first album released outside Jamaica, and the band was unhappy with its cover.

Key places

Randy's Studio 17, Kingston (1970)

Recording site Dynamic Sounds — The Wailers recorded the album at Randy's recording studio, also known as Studio 17, above Randy's Record Mart in Kingston. The sessions ran from August to November 1970. The point is shown at city level, not at the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Soul Rebels: second studio album by the Wailers
• Their first album released outside Jamaica
• Producer: Lee "Scratch" Perry
• Recorded at Randy's recording studio (Studio 17) in Kingston, Jamaica
• First issued in the UK by Trojan Records in December 1970
• Re-released several times since, on several different labels
• Sparse, haunting production with only guitar, bass, drums, electronic organs and vocals
• No horns or other embellishments

Background

• The Wailers approached Perry in August 1970 to record a full album
• Sessions ran until November 1970
• The first track, "Soul Rebel", came from the first collaboration of Perry and Bob Marley
• Marley initiated the idea for the song
• Perry arranged and co-wrote the music

Recording

• Sessions took place at Randy's recording studio, also known as Studio 17
• The studio sat above Randy's Record Mart at 17 North Parade, Kingston
• Perry's arrangement left out horns and other embellishments

Cover

• According to the book I & I: The Natural Mystics, the band was unhappy with the "soft porn" look of the cover
• The look clashed with the band's sensibilities
• The band was upset that it was not consulted on the cover's look

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, writing in Newsday in 1973, found Soul Rebels superior to Catch a Fire
• Catch a Fire was the only American release by Marley and the Wailers at that time
• The comparison put Soul Rebels above the group's one US album of the period
• The review came in 1973, while the album was first issued in the UK in December 1970 by Trojan Records

Reappraisal

• AllMusic gave Soul Rebels a glowing retrospective review
• AllMusic described it as a strange and wonderful set of early reggae
• The review noted that the album at times plays fast and loose with the already established conventions of the genre
• The retrospective view treats the album as an early reggae record that bends genre rules
• Since its first UK issue, the album has been re-released several times on several different labels

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The first track, "Soul Rebel", was the first result of the collaboration between Perry and Bob Marley.
• Marley dictated the lyrics of the song while Perry arranged and co-wrote the music.
• The band had no say in the cover's look and was upset about it.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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