With the release of the Bob Marley: One Love movie on February 14^th, Island Records and Tuff Gong Records release a ten track EP Bob Marley: One Love Music Inspired by the film. These are ten songs written and created by Bob Marley that the Marley family had a hand in choosing for this release. It is a nice choice of contemporary stars that paired up nicely with the songs, six of which come from Exodus, the album that the movie centers around.

Bob Marley songs have been redone many may times, bands play them in concert, there are many versions out there.  I am a huge Bob Marley fan and I honestly do not like most remakes of Marley songs.  There is so much to the songs, not just the song itself, but the meaning, the feeling, the vibe. The songs are either done as, basically a cover, or are changed to make it unique, but it rarely hits.  This album was done very well, I actually caught myself listening to it over and over. They don’t all hit, but most do.

We start off with “Natural Mystic” by Bloody Civilian, a Nigerian singer, she has a great flow to this song, has a nice baseline to take us through this nice jam. Just a nice groove with this and a perfect way to start us off. Next is a song by Bob Marley’s grandson Skip Marley, “Exodus.” One of Bobs most popular songs, but a song that I have never really liked.  It is an amazing song, the lyrics and meaning, I just could never get into it. But this track is done so well by Skip. The music changed up just enough with Skips vocals sounds really nice. The third track is “Waiting In Vain” by Daniel Caesar, a Canadian R&B/Soul singer. This is slowed down a little for a really nice chill vibe. Love his voice with this song. Not one of my favorite songs by Bob but I really enjoy this take. Kacey Musgraves brings us “Three Little Birds,” with a little bit of a county feel to it.  Not one of my favorites on this album, even a little country is too much for me. She does have a beautiful voice to carry this song.

“One Love” by Nigerian Afrobeats star Wizkid is next, and to my surprise is not an Afrobeats groove. He gives a nice soulful reggae riddim that sounds so nice. He shows us his beautiful voice and versatility. One of my favorite tracks on this. That brings us to “Is This Love” by Jessie Reyez, a nice upbeat take on this song with a nice guitar throughout.  The Canadian R&B and Hip Hop singer sounds wonderful on this track. Another solid track. We come to my favorite Bob Marley song, “Redemption Song” a song I used to sing to my kids at bedtime, a song I have tattooed on my arm. Leon Bridges, American soul singer, sounds great, he has a beautiful soulful voice, but this version just doesn’t do it for me. When it comes to “Redemption Song” I find it very hard to find a good remake, I don’t know if it is because what the songs means to me, or maybe it is just one of those songs that can’t be redone. I give him credit for the attempt, but it just doesn’t hit for me.

“Rasta Reggae (Jammin)” by Farruko, the Puerto Rican Reggaeton artist, hits us with a great Reggaeton flow in this “Jammin” groove. I love the switch up of tempo in the song with some nice bass but also his flow. He really does a beautiful job with this song. We have another one of Bob’s grandchildren, Mystic Marley, on “Misty Morning.” She sounds wonderful on this track, she would make Bob proud. This is slightly slowed down and has a nice bass throughout, with a little Bob singing “MISTY.” Really nice song to groove to. The album is finished off with my favorite track, “No Women, No Cry” by Shenseea the Jamaican Dancehall queen. It is a much different take on the Marley original, but Shenseea makes this work so well.  She has such a beautiful voice that plays out so well with the lyrics. The electronic music is not the typical music I would like, but her voice is so wonderful it just dances overtop of the riddim.

This is a really strong album, one worth a listen. I normally wouldn’t go for something put together like this, with the wide-range of artists and styles, but it all comes together nicely.  It is really about ONE LOVE, spreading Bob’s message around the world. Everythings Gonna Be Alright!

One Love – Todd Judd