SPILL BOOK REVIEW: RICHIE UNTERBERGER – BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS: THE ULTIMATE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY

RICHIE UNTERBERGER – BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS: THE ULTIMATE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY

MOTORBOOKS

BOOK REVIEW BY GERROD HARRIS

It is challenging to pinpoint Bob Marley’s influence over pop culture. Interest in the reggae pioneer seems to be unwaveringly larger since his passing in 198—the 1984 compilation Legend and the recent biopic, Bob Marley: One Love speak to this—than when he was actually alive. In such, Richie Unterberger has attempted to catalogue the life, music, and legacy of Marley with Bob Marley And The Wailers: The Ultimate Illustrated History.

Bob Marley And The Wailers: The Ultimate Illustrated History is a strong book that, like much of Motorbooks’ previous releases, centred around musicians, teeters between a biography and a coffee table book. On one hand, you can easily pick up the book, flip through it at random and appreciate the collection of imagery which ranges from photos—live, shoots, and behind the scenes—of Marley to album and single artwork, and additional posters. In this case, Bob Marley And The Wailers: The Ultimate Illustrated History succeeds in the idea of a coffee table book. On the other hand, however, Unterberger’s narrative requires that you read through it from the beginning. While more of a biography in this sense, doing so greatly enriches the visual experience of his work.

Unterberger’s story pulls from a wealth of sources making for a very well researched read that is condensed to the most essential information necessary for understanding the course of Marley’s life. In doing so, Unterberger has expertly detailed Marley’s ascension in music while doing his best to reconcile how, despite not selling many records in his lifetime, Marley became an incredibly influential figure within both popular music and culture. Most importantly, however, is Unterberger’s attention to Marley as a global ambassador for reggae music. Through this, he is best able to dig deep into one of the most vital pieces of Marley’s legacy. This is further done through his continuing narrative of founding Wailers Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, both of whom would depart the band following 1973’s Burnin’. By continuing to follow their stories as solo artists, Bob Marley And The Wailers: The Ultimate Illustrated History is not only a story of Marley, but reggae music as a whole, allowing for Unterberger to examine the importance of Jamaican folk music and how Marley, Tosh, and Wailer—all  to varying degrees—brought  reggae music to the world.

Bob Marley And The Wailers: The Ultimate Illustrated History marks a strong entry point into understanding the life and legacy of Marley. For anyone wishing to understand the hold in which Marley still has over the world as a pop culture icon would benefit from reading Unterberger’s work as a starting point to such a rich legacy of music and cultural importance. Ultimately, Bob Marley And The Wailers: The Ultimate Illustrated History is equally valuable as a biography as it is a visual piece that documents the life of Marley.

ISBN-10: 0760388679
ISBN-13: 978-0760388679 

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