Songs of Freedom
December 14, 2006 by Jo Minor
One of Bob Marley’s better-known compilation albums, this 4-CD set contains over 70 songs from the legendary reggae songwriter. While there are quite a number of other Bob Marley compilation albums (including the popular Legend - The Best of Bob Marley and The Wailers), no other CD set captures the full spectrum of Marley’s creativity and originality as a songwriter and performer as much as Songs of Freedom does.
Marley’s instantly recognizable classics are evenly distributed among all the 4 CDs, thus making the set relevant and appealing to less-seasoned fans. For example, the first disc of the set has the original version of Stir It Up (definitely one of Marley’s most reputable songs) and a live version of I Shot the Sheriff tops off the end of the second disc. This also allows Songs of Freedom to be a remarkable showcase of Marley’s mainstream songwriting prowess, as the set has a healthy dose of his radio-friendly hits such as No Woman No Cry, Waiting in Vain, Is This Love and Redemption Song.
The sheer quantity of songs evidently adds quality to this set, as there is a tasteful mix of up-beat and slower songs - with remixes, edits and live recordings of the more popular songs thrown in between the regular tracks for good measure. There are also rarer tracks present in Songs of Freedom, especially the live recordings. Since Bob Marley was fated to meet with such an untimely and tragic death, each and every one of his live recordings would be undeniably treasured by his fans.
On the downside, the packaging for Songs of Freedom is dismal. The CDs are stuffed in cardboard envelopes which are then slid into a box - hardly a presentation, I must say. The booklet that comes with the set suffers from the same issue as well - it should’ve been filled with more content and pictures.
For the musical experience that Songs of Freedom is, the set should have at least been presented in a better package, or also re-released in a collector’s set which should house some Bob Marley memorabilia or perhaps even a DVD.
While it’s true that die-hard fans of Bob Marley and reggae in general might pick up the man’s individual albums, Songs of Freedom might capture the attention of casual listeners as it serves as a Bob Marley song collection in its own right. Anyone can pop in all 4 CDs into a stereo for a nostalgic night of easy listening music.
All in all, Songs of Freedom manages to display the memorable essence of Bob Marley and his beautiful contribution to the world of music, thus making it the essential Bob Marley compilation release.
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