THE works of iconic Jamaican reggae and ska artistes Bob Marley and The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytals, and Black Uhuru are being celebrated by esteemed American music publication ‘Rolling Stone’ on its list of ‘The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time’, which was updated and released last week.

Two albums from Marley and the Wailers, the 1977-released ‘Exodus’ and the 1973 album ‘Catch A Fire’, ranked at #48 and #140, respectively, on the magazine’s widely debated compilation of recordings from influential music artistes spanning the genres of reggae, rap, rock, pop, country, rhythm and blues, and electronica.

Of the top 50-placed ‘Exodus’ album, the magazine said: “As the title suggests, this album wasn’t recorded in Jamaica; after Bob Marley took a bullet in a 1976 assassination attempt, he relocated the Wailers to London. But tracks such as ‘Jamming’ are still suffused with the deep essence of reggae and life at home. ‘Three Little Birds’, for example, had been written on the back step of Marley’s home in Kingston, where he would sit and smoke herb. Each time Marley rolled a spliff, he would discard the seeds — and the birds of the song’s title would pick them up. ‘The music have a purpose,’ Marley said, and his spiritual intent was never clearer than on the anthem ‘One Love’, with its message of redemption and revolution.”

In its ode to ‘Catch A Fire’, ‘Rolling Stone’ rhapsodised “this was the album that introduced the whole world to Bob Marley, expanding his audience beyond Jamaica without diluting his bedrock reggae power.”

The 1972 soundtrack for ‘The Harder They Come’ by Jimmy Cliff and various artistes landed at #174.

“This was the album that took reggae worldwide,” the magazine noted. “The movie was a Jamaican stew of ‘Robin Hood’, ‘High Sierra’ and ‘Easy Rider’ — reggae singer turns outlaw hero, goes on the run with guns blazing — with patois dialogue so thick that US audiences needed subtitles. But the soundtrack needed no translation, introducing Babylon to the new beat.”

Meanwhile, Toots and the Maytals’ 1973-issued album, ‘Funky Kingston’ registered at #344.

“Loose, funky, and exuberant, Kingston is the quintessential document of Jamaica’s greatest act after Bob Marley. Showcasing some of the Maytals’ best songs and borrowing from soul, pop and gospel, ‘Funky Kingston’ introduced the world to the great Toots Hibbert,” was the periodical’s praise.

And, Black Uhuru’s 1981 album ‘Red’ came in at #466, with expressed adulation for it being “the peak of a landmark five-LP run. On tunes like ‘Sponji Regga’ ‘Youth of Eglington’ and ‘Utterance’ singers Duckie Simpson and Puma Jones go high over lead vocalist Mykal Rose’s cantor-like wails while Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare’s rhythm machine bore into the deepest part of the beat.”

Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time was originally published in 2003, with a slight update in 2012.

According to the magazine, “It’s been the most widely read — and argued over — feature in the history of the magazine.”

The 2023 list was recrafted with votes from ‘Rolling Stone’ staff, journalists, music industry figures, artistes, songwriters, and producers.

Voters were asked to submit ranked ballots listing their 50 favourite albums of all time. Votes were tabulated, with the highest-ranked album on each list receiving 300 points, the second highest 290 points, and so on, down to 44 points for number 50. More than 3,000 albums received at least one vote. (Loop News)