Soul Rebels
| Bob Marley
Soul Rebels
Soul Rebels is the second studio album by the Wailers, their first album to be released outside Jamaica. The Wailers approached producer Lee "Scratch" Perry in August 1970 to record an entire album, and the sessions took place at Randy's Recording Studio (from then it was Randy's Studio 17) in Kingston, Jamaica, until November. First issued in the UK by Trojan Records in December 1970, the album has since been re-released several times on several different labels. Perry's production is sparse and haunting, only featuring guitar, bass, drums, electronic organs, and vocals with no horns or other embellishments. - Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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All Music
Marley and crew delivered a strange and wonderful set of early reggae that at times plays fast and loose with the already established conventions of the genre -- on "My Cup" the beat sounds inside out, while "It's Alright" sounds like a slightly Jamaicanized version of Motown soul. Other songs, such as the beautifully harmonized "Try Me," show their deep roots in rocksteady. One of the most arresting tracks on the album is the Peter Tosh sung "Four Hundred Years," on which Tosh unburdens himself of some of his typically dread pronouncements in his rich, chesty voice.
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Pop Matters
Within five years of the record's release, Marley was ingeniously courting the rock & roll crowd while Tosh and Livingstone had left for solo careers. Knowing that, Soul Rebels is about as close to lightning-in-a-bottle as you can get.
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Kinston
Aside from Marley’s obvious talent and incredible band — which featured future reggae legend Peter Tosh — part of this album’s charm is that we get to hear Marley in a formative, pre-politicized context. On songs such as “Soul Almighty” and “My Cup,” Marley’s voice is reminiscent of the smooth but powerful singing of Sam Cooke. Even when he’s singing about lost love or searching for redemption, Marley has a way of putting a smile on the listener’s ears.
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Ultimate Classic Rock
The Wailers' first collaboration with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry bears hallmarks by both artists, with Perry's sparse, spooky production colliding and coupling with the trio's increasingly sharpening performances. They were still a year and an album away from their first great LP – 'Soul Revolution,' also produced by Perry – but 'Soul Rebels' comes close to nailing the sound and style that would rocket Marley and the Wailers to fame in just a few years.
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David Chiarelli
On the whole, Perry stripped down the Wailers sound to its bare essentials. Bob, Peter and Bunny's voices were each pushed forward in the mix and recorded on separate microphones. The tempo and beat was still slowed down further from the frantic ska and rock steady sound of their earlier recordings. The bass guitar was pushed forward in the mix as a lead instrument. The horns were pared back considerably. The new “riddim” section was added. Then the entire “Soul Rebel” album was spontaneously voiced in one day, with the emphasis being upon the Wailers soulful James Brown + Temptation's stylized vocals and the poignancy of their lyrics.
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