Reading · Exile on Newbury St.

Ken’s Pitch:

Let’s face it, summer without Bob Marley is like a beach without waves or a BBQ without burgers. It’s technically possible, but why would you even want that kind of existence? Bob Marley’s Live!, recorded in 1975 at the Lyceum Theatre in London, isn’t just a concert, it’s a lifestyle upgrade. It's the perfect companion to literally every summer activity under the sun, moon, and rainbow.

Imagine you're flipping ribs in the backyard, battling mosquitos and trying not to burn the corn. Add Live! to the mix, and suddenly you’re not a suburban dad with a pair of tongs, you’re a reggae warrior on a mission for perfection in al fresco dining. The intro to “Trenchtown Rock”? Instant vibe check. “No woman, no cry”? Boom, your neighbors are dancing by the potato salad. Marley turns charcoal smoke into incense and that shitty canned margarita into holy water.

Sand between your toes. Salt on your skin. And then... “Lively Up Yourself” drops. Suddenly, your little circle of friends mindlessly grabbing UV rays has rhythm. Your sunbathing becomes almost spiritual. The seagulls seem less aggressive and your sunburn feels like a temporary badge of reggae honor. The sound of Bob’s voice coming through a Bluetooth speaker under the umbrella (loud enough to be fun, soft enough to be respectful of the beach neighbors…I’m not a monster) is the closest most of us will get to nirvana.

Golf is not a traditionally “reggae” sport, but hear me out. When you're lining up a putt, and “I Shot the Sheriff” plays softly in the background? It’s a metaphor, man. That bunker? Babylon. Your driver? Justice. You slice a ball into the woods and laugh, because Bob has reminded you: "Every little thing’s gonna be all right." Suddenly your nine (or nineteen) over par feels like a Major victory.

A day on the boat can feel aimless. But toss Live! into your playlist and suddenly every nautical mile feels necessary. “Get Up, Stand Up” turns into a call to hoist the mainsail of good vibes. With Bob playing, you don’t care if you’re cruising to nowhere—the journey is the destination.

Fishing is about patience. Stillness. Quiet contemplation. But pair it with Marley’s Live! magic, and that silence becomes sacred. “Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)” is suddenly the anthem of waiting for a bite. Whether you catch a fish or not, you reel in a deeper understanding of serenity and sunshine.

In the hierarchy of summer essentials, sunscreen, cold drinks, and sand, Live! is king. Bob Marley doesn’t just soundtrack your summer, he sanctifies it. He’s telling you to chill, live, love, and dance.

So crank the speakers, light the grill, launch the kayak, and let Bob Marley Live! make your summer not just great, but legendary. Because everything’s better with Marley.

Mitch’s Response:

It’s weird that Ken pitched Bob Marley as summertime music, because I’ve never thought of Marley, or the Wailers, or reggae music in general, as being summertime music.

Jimmy Buffett is definitely summertime music. Nothing says summer like a little Jimmy and the Coral Reefer Band.

The Beach Boys are obviously summer music. Sure, they were frauds who never surfed, and they’re perhaps the most over-rated band in history, but at least it’s summertime music.

For me, EONS Hall of Famer Bobby Brown is the king of summertime music, as Don’t Be Cruel was the soundtrack to my bad boy era hanging out on Cape Cod.

Summer music is light, frivolous, upbeat, and sunny.

Bob Marley was the opposite. His music was deep, profound, and spiritual.

As a kid I connected to it deeply because I always assumed that Bob, like me, was Jewish.

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Obviously I was then, and remain today, an idiot.

It turns out that Bob wasn’t Jewish after all. Shocker.

But when you’re 12 years old, and barely paying attention in Hebrew school, and then you hear lyrics including “Babylon”, “Zion”, and “Exodus”, well, you start to connect the tallis strings.

Bob Marley was always the common ground between disco-loving me and my metal-loving older brother Steve. We wore those Wailers tapes out, so it’s hard for me to be objective about Bob Marley. I love Bob Marley and Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer in an irrational way. The debate isn’t really whether Live! should get in, but whether the equally-amazing Babylon By Bus should have been the pitch.

Pitch Successful (there ain’t no cure for the summertime Jews)

Don’s Response:

During the pandemic, my family and I journeyed to Jamaica for a jolly Christmas/New Year’s week. I checked the weather before departure to discover the 7-day forecast was identical. High 81. Low 75. Every day. Even the graphic for each day was a perfectly sunny ☀️ without a hint of potential clouds. I thought the Apple weather app had glitched. It looked too good to be true.

Well, I’ll be damned if every day was, in fact, exactly the same. The pool, the ocean, the waterslide, the service. Everything was perfectly smooth. Even the soundtrack that wafted through carefully hidden speakers all over the joint was on point. Reggae out the wazoo, every day beginning and ending with Bob Marley & The Wailers.

But the experience, including the music, blended together. Nothing stood out. In fact, I can’t remember what we did. I think we just sat there. Call me crazy, but with Jamaica, and evidently Marley, sometimes there’s too much of a good thing.

Live! Starts strong with “Trenchtown Rock” and certainly has other highlights. Especially “No Woman, No Cry,” which is one of the great songs of the 20^th Century.

But about halfway through Live!, I realized it had devolved to background music. One tempo, one note, and, alas, no “One Love.”

Like that all-inclusive Jamaican resort, it’s pleasant, but not memorable. Nothing really happens.

Personally, I think the sun is most beautiful when it breaks through the clouds. I wish Marley’s live performance was moodier and messier. Less pretty, more gritty, like the real Jamaica.

I prefer live albums that move me. Live! – ironically named – does the opposite. It just sits there.

Pitch Failed (Wanted to love it but gave up the fight)

CJ’s Response:

My first thought was that Ken got it wrong. He chose Bob Marley & The Wailers’ 1975 show at the Lyceum when he could have just as easily tabbed their 1977 show at The Rainbow and skanked (look it up) his way right onto Newbury St.

Consider that in June of ‘77, Bob had just released the transcendent Exodus album and that the Rainbow show featured the title track, “Jammin’” and one of my favorite cuts, “The Heathen.” Not to mention standards like “Rebel Music,” “War” and “Running Away,” which weren’t part of the Lyceum show.

Guess what? It didn’t matter.

“Trenchtown Rock” is always a lock to get the crowd into the show right from the jump. But the back-to-back of “Burnin’ and Lootin’” and “Them Belly Full” are so gripping that the rest of the show was a foregone conclusion.

I forgot how much I love Bob Marley music and, at the same time, I remembered why I don’t listen to much reggae outside of it. Seems that Bob and his wailing Wailers spoiled me for everything else. To my ear, most reggae music is either trying (unsuccessfully) to imitate Marley or deliberately trying not to sound like him only to lose the thread and drift into some sort of ska/reggae hybrid.

In fairness, it’s hard to match the swaying rhythms that the band created and it’s nearly impossible to equal the incisiveness of Bob’s lyrics. He fought injustice through his music and he never bowed to the dangerous forces who sought to silence him.

Any live manifestation of his unquenchable fire would have done.

Pitch Successful (From one heathen to another)

Ken’s pitch was successful and Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Live! has easy skanked into the Newbury St. Collection. What do you think about Bob Marley, summertime music, and reggae? Please let us know in the comments section.

Bob Marley & The Wailers, "Live!"

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