Kaya [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: Bob Marley/Bob Marley & the Wailers
Engineer: Karl Pitterson; Alex Sadkin; Karl Pitterson; Alex Sadkin
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Bob Marley & The Wailers: Bob Marley (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, percussion); Julian "Junior" Marvin (guitar); Tyrone Downie (keyboards, percussion); Aston "Family Man" Barrett (bass, percussion); Carlton Barrett (drums, percussion); Alvin "Seeco" Patterson (percussion). The I Threes: Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt (background vocals). Additional personnel: Vin Gordon (saxophone); Glen Da Costa, David Madden (trumpet). Producer: Bob Marley & The Wailers. Reissue producers: Bill Levenson, Maxine Stowe. Originally released on Island (9517). Digitally remastered by Ted Jensen (2001, Sterling Sound, New York, New York) Personnel: Bob Marley (vocals, percussion); Vin Gordon (saxophone); David Madden, Glen DaCosta (trumpet); Tyrone Downie (keyboards, percussion); Aston Barrett (bass guitar, percussion); Carlton "Carlie" Barrett (drums, percussion); Alvin "Seeco" Patterson (percussion); Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, Rita Marley (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Robert Ash. Photographer: Dennis Morris. Marley is in a mellow and happy mood as the album opens with "excuse me while I light my spliff" on "Easy Skanking" and maintains the feeling throughout. "Kaya" has one of the best bass riffs of any Marley song (played by the wonderful Aston "Family Man" Barrett). The hit single "Is This Love" is included and he sounds upbeat singing "She's Gone," although the subject is that his lover has just left him. Nothing fazed him; he was able to address political and emotional subjects with the same degree of feeling and his manner was truly saintly. KAYA is one of his finest moments. Kaya continues what has become an unspoken tradition in the evolution of Bob Marley & the Wailers' discography -- blending Western sounds and motifs with the icons and traditions from the very core of Jamaican society. In fact, the very word "kaya" is synonymous with marijuana in Rastafarian culture. Likewise, the album Kaya could be easily construed as an open love letter or musical paean to the lifestyle that Marley so eagerly embraced and promoted. Themes of commonality and unity pervade this release more so than previous albums. Likewise, the overt political stances that had become somewhat of a moniker for Marley & the Wailers are temporarily replaced by timeless compositions, such as the eternally optimistic "Easy Skanking" and "Is This Love." Marley had not -- as some proclaimed -- gone soft, however. The light -- at times practically giddy -- rhythms on "Satisfy My Soul" contrast the darker, brooding sonic and lyrical images on "Running Away." The most pressing issues Marley deals with involve ever-increasing spiritual consciousness. Throughout Kaya, humble thanks is offered to, as well as guidance sought from, Jah -- evidence that the spirituality that permeates the Wailers' music is real and not lip service. Kaya could be considered the oasis before the political and personal eruptions that would inform and influence Marley & the Wailers' next studio releases, Survival and Uprising. The 2001 Definitive Remasters edition of Kaya also includes the non-LP "Smile Jamaica." Although initially issued as the flip side of "Satisfy My Soul," the song was recorded more than a year prior to this album, resulting in a somewhat odd juxtaposition. ~ Lindsay Planer

Q (8/01, p.153) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...The real deal. Contemporary punks' chillout soundtrack of choice..." Mojo (Publisher) (8/02, p.85) - "...Captures Marley's quite staggering spirituality, sexiness and sense of fun....a total classic."

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