Bob Marley: Uprising [BACK TO BLACK/ISLAND]

Why you'll love it

This Back to Black edition is pressed on 180g vinyl in the Netherlands with an MP3 download voucher. Uprising was a UK top ten album, and "Could You Be Loved" reached No. 5 on the UK singles chart.

This edition

• 180g vinyl
• Download card included
• Pressed in the Netherlands

About the album

Uprising was the final studio album to come out in Bob Marley's lifetime, and it is a record of remarkable range. Out in June 1980, it is one of his most openly spiritual albums, with nearly every song touching on his faith, yet it also carries the most irresistible dance track of his career.

"Could You Be Loved" mixes reggae with a disco-ready pulse and became a club hit on both sides of the Atlantic. "Coming In From the Cold" opens the album with a lift, "Zion Train" rolls along on the Barrett brothers' rhythm section, and "Forever Loving Jah" is a warm hymn. Then side two ends with "Redemption Song," just Marley and an acoustic guitar, a quiet closer that has become one of the most covered songs he ever wrote. Chris Blackwell executive produced, Errol Brown engineered, and Ted Jensen mastered it, with the I Threes and guitarists Junior Marvin and Al Anderson in support.

Neville Garrick's sunrise cover art matches the mood, and the songs have kept their glow for more than four decades. It's the kind of record that can fill a dance floor and then send everyone home thoughtful, which is a lot to ask of ten songs and rather more than we ask of our playlists.

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

Tracklist

Listen

On Island / Tuff Gong, a reissue of the 1980 album.