Bob Marley and the Wailers released the
album Natty Dread on October 25th, 1974 under the
Tuff Gong recording label. This was the band's first album without the
counterpoints of
Peter Tosh and
Bunny Wailer, who both left the band soon after
Island Records Ltd. producer
Chris Blackwell recommended that the band be renamed "Bob Marley and the Wailers" from simply "
The Wailers". To fill the harmonic void, the
I-Threes, a singing triplet consisting of
Marcia Griffith,
Judy Mowatt, and
Bob's wife
Rita, joined the
reggae band; consequently,
Natty Dread is the first Wailers album featuring these women.
The inspiration for Bob's lyrics lies in Rastafarianism, and the radical ideas communicated in this album certainly came from Bob's increasing dedication to the Rastafarian world-view. As Bob said of his lyrics in general, "It's Jah who writes all dem songs anyway."
Track List:
1) Lively Up Yourself
2) No Woman, No Cry
3) Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)
4) Rebel Music (3 O'Clock Road Block)
5) So Jah Seh
6) Natty Dread
7) Bend Down Low
8) Talkin' Blues
9) Revolution
The bonus 10th track "Am-A-Do" was added to the album in 2001 with the release of the "Original Recording Remastered" CD of Natty Dread; "Am-A-Do" was recorded during the same sessions as the rest of the album, though it was left off of the original LP release.
The album cover features a head and shoulders portrait of the young Bob, probably drawn or airbrushed, before he had grown the long thick dreadlocks for which today he is so well-known. Along the top of the cover runs in red "Bob Marley & The Wailers," and in green "Natty Dread."
Every Bob Marley album is a beautiful and powerful thing, and Natty Dread certainly follows suit.