Bob Marley: Kaya [BACK TO BLACK/ISLAND/TUFF GONG]

Why you'll love it

This Back to Black edition presses Kaya on 180g vinyl in the Netherlands. The album reached the top five of the UK albums chart.

This edition

• 180g vinyl
• Remastered
• Pressed in the Netherlands

About the album

Kaya came out in early 1978, just as Bob Marley was heading home to Jamaica from his London exile to headline the One Love Peace Concert. After the urgency of Exodus, it's the sound of a man exhaling: warm, unhurried love songs and gentle reflections, recorded in the same sessions as its famous predecessor.

The Wailers produced it themselves, and the band is in sublime form: Aston "Family Man" Barrett's bass and Carlton Barrett's drums set the easy pulse, Junior Marvin and Tyrone Downie colour around them, and the I Threes (Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt) float over the top. "Misty Morning" and "She's Gone" glow softly, "Easy Skanking" sets the tempo for the whole record, and "Sun Is Shining" and "Kaya" revisit songs from 1971's Soul Revolution Part II with a richer sound. "Running Away" and "Time Will Tell" bring a quieter, searching mood to side two.

Robert Christgau said Marley had never sung more subtly, and the album earned a 40th anniversary remix in 2018. It's the Marley record for slow Sunday mornings, and we've found it pairs nicely with a second cup of coffee and no plans whatsoever.

Also at Kops: more Bob Marley on vinyl · browse Reggae & Caribbean

Tracklist

Listen

On Island / Tuff Gong, a reissue of the 1978 album.