Title: The Complete Island Recordings
Artist: Bob Marley
Label: UMC/Island
Format: 11CD box set, vinyl reissues
Release Date: December 4, 2020
Fans of Bob Marley will have no shortage of Marley-related releases to choose from this holiday season. In December, UMC/Island will release The Complete Island Recordings, a new 11CD box set featuring all nine Bob Marley & The Wailers studio albums recorded for Island Records as well as two live albums (Live! and Babylon By Bus). The set spans a decade, beginning with 1973’s Catch A Fire and concluding with 1983’s Confrontation, a posthumous album released two years after Marley’s death. Additionally, on November 20, Universal is reissuing the same 11 albums and the compilation album Legend on vinyl as half-speed mastered editions. A third set of these albums, which are being pressed at the legendary Tuff Gong International headquarters in Kingston, will also be released on vinyl on December 11. The Tuff Gong set features the original Jamaica-recorded version of Catch A Fire, which is without overdubs, longer fades, and two extra tracks from the sessions.
Title: Bob Marley: Portrait of the Legend
Artist: Ziggy Marley
Label: Rizzoli
Format: Book (hardcover, 228 pages)
Release Date: October 13, 2020
For those interested in a more visual compilation related to Marley, Bob Marley: Portrait of the Legend contains over 150 photographs of the reggae legend both on stage and at home. This oversize coffee table book by Ziggy Marley, released in honor of his father’s 75th birthday, draws exclusively on photos in the Marley family archives to offer a previously-unseen glimpse into the last decade of Bob Marley’s life and the period of his greatest worldwide fame.
Title: Redemption: Reflections on Creating a Better World
Artist: Cedella Marley
Label: Quirk Books
Format: Book (hardcover, Kindle, 144 pages)
Release Date: September 15, 2020
Another recently released book, Redemption: Reflections on Creating a Better World, features quotes from Cedella Marley’s personal collection of interviews with her father and accompanying illustrations. Marking her father’s 75th birthday as well as the 40th anniversary of his “Redemption Song,” Redemption chronicles Bob Marley’s worldview, perspective on redemption, and journey toward spiritual fulfillment through a series of inspiring quotes and lyrics.
Reviewed by Chloe McCormick