L.A. Vie

Marley completists, make room

From the Trojan Video Archive comes Bob Marley: The Legend Live (TLL) for the first time in DVD. Filmed in 1979, this video captures the irrepressible reggae god spread third world music of peace, love and jamming in California's center of affluence - the Santa Barbara Country Bowl.

Touted as one of his last recorded performances, TLL captures a Marley consumed with passion in a gig that otherwise oozes with bright vibes and good cheer. It starts slow but steady with Positive Vibration. The concert purposefully picks up energy as Marley and the Wailers try out a slightly different rendition of I Shot the Sheriff, the song that put Jamaica and the reggae music movement on the international music map.

After the hippie crowd settles inside the Bowl, the momentum picks up further as Marley and the Wailers play popular hits like Africa Unite, Exodus, Jamming. There are quite a few surges in the concert that spice up the groove of the show especially in the trilogy of politically-charged songs, Crazy Baldhead, Them Belly Full, and Heathen.

The show ends with arena faves Stir it Up and Get Up Stand Up -- songs that not only excite everyone to sway and move to contrapunctal beats but most especially, incite the the world to action - to not just watch but participate in politics, in music, in the goal towards peace.

The excitement, however, doesn't explode to a climax as most performances. Good thing with reggae, this tantric quality is a good thing. The thrill lifts us securely to an ethereal plane - to a most welcome state of constant buzz that enthralls even long after the last note has been played.

This aural treat was made possible because of the crisp audio transfer from the masters. There may be some parts of the video that have become pixelated but editor Don Letts (a renowned film director of musical performances by the Clash and Elvis Costello, to name a few) made sure the unmistakable skank and surges of Marley and the Wailers' rasta beats are brought into one's living room.

Another reason why reggaeheads should grab this DVD is the extras. TLL comes with gems like Prophecies and Messages, a documentary brimming with insight about Marley, reggae music and Rastafarianism. Included in this feature is a rare interview with Marley and Wailers' keyboard player Tyrone Downie about the tenets of Rastafarianism. Also included are a bonus track from the performance (War/No More Trouble) and an ambush interview of Marley fans queuing up for a performance at the Roxy Theater in LA.

Arguably, there are more celebrated DVD releases of Bob Marley's colorful live performances. However, Bob Marley: The Legend Live is just one of the those gigs that's just too memorable to pass up on.

Somewhere, somehow throughout the 92 minutes of this Santa Barbara concert, one hears a pained Marley, one who was bravely weathering the devastation that was cancer. A soul that refuses to be silenced.

If one keeps a closer listen, one may even hear a voice, transcending the third world woes and political instability of the 70s and 80s, singing about a better place, much like our own, where peace, love and perhaps, kinky reggae reign.