BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS - Milan, Italy 1980

Now that spring is officially upon us, I figure it might be time to slow down, lie back in the green grass and take a match ta tings, mon. So why not change it up and lay it down with a top-qual Marley boot, from his final tour in the summer of 1980?

According to the spliff-heads at Wikipedia, "The performance in Milan, Italy on June 27, when Marley performed for about 120,000 people in the sold-out San Siro stadium, is historical and still regarded in Italy as the biggest music event ever. At that time no other musician had reached to have a bigger audience than Marley till then." Well, you catch the drift.

The sound quality couldn't be better if Jah himself had blazed up a fatty and recorded it. This one is just magnificent, and so comprehensive it even includes the four-song opening set by the I Threes, Rita Marley's singing trio and Bob's backup ladies. Providing additional amusement (or bemusement) are the very early-'80s, almost Rush-sounding synth washes throughout. I also never before noticed the similarity in tone between Bob's guitar and Jerry Garcia's, a sound I like to call the "rubber bubble," where the strums sound fat and round, like "Whoa. Whoa. Whoa..."

I think you'll find many of the performances here surpass the studio versions, including the encore of "Coming in from the Cold", one of my fave Bob jams of ever.

Only time will tell if Marley was actually a god, but he’s certainly as close as any musician has ever gotten.

Now, lively up your damn-ass self!

BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS
Stadio San Siro - Milan, Italy - June 27, 1980 (SBD)
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