Talkin' Blues showcases what I believe to be the only live document of Bob Marley and the Original Wailers (minus Bunny Livingstone). The recording captures a live program made for San Francisco radio cira 1973, with a majority of songs coming from Catch a Fire and Burnin'. Additionally, there are a couple of good outtakes post-Original Wailers and a different live take of I Shot the Sheriff from the same London shows that produced the "Live" album.

As I said, the music is great, particularly the radio broadcast songs; the arrangements are a little tougher in my opinion, and they are leavened with some great harmonizing. What's maddening about this CD is that a 1975 interview with Bob Marley separates most of the tracks on the album. There is little context for the snippets and the songs that follow, plus it takes a while to become accustomed to Bob's accent. I think it would have been better to have the interview run in its entirety at the end of the disc.

However, in this iPod/programmable CD player age, the music can be focused on, and this makes it valuable for the Marley/Wailers fan. Given the recent pricing I've seen for this it a good pickup.

SUPER HOT! If you're a Bob Marley or Reggae fan, this is a "must have".

The bulk of this disc is actually a KSAN radio broadcast from October of 1973. The Band was kicked off the Sly and the Family Stone tour, but before they went back home to Jamaica they had one last comittment to fufill and it was this engagement at the KSAN Record Plant Studios. The only downside to this cd is that the running order is not that of the actual broadcast and the interview here is not from that same year but rather 1975 or those whereabouts. The I shot the sheriff included in this release is actually the version from the other night of the Lyceum concerts in London(Live! album from 1975). I actually prefer the version of I Shot the Sheriff on Talkin' Blues to the version on the Live! album. Another note is that not all the original Wailers are present for this recording at the KSAN studios. Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and the Barrett Brothers are on this recording but Bunny Wailer is not. Joe Higgs who originally taught the group how to sing in the 1960's in Jamaica takes the place of Bunny Wailer on this tour. Bunny Wailer grew tired of touring and someone was needed to replace him in the band, so Peter and Bob both called on Joe Higgs who happily agreed to join them for the 1973 American tour. In case you are wondering the real order of the KSAN setlist, it is as follows
1. Rastaman Chant
2. Bend down low (track 19)
3. Slave Driver
4. You can't blame the youth
5. Stop that train
6. Burnin' and Lootin'
7. Kinky Reggae
8. Get up, Stand up
9. Lively up yourself
10.Walk the proud land

This cd introduced me to the Wailers and it is a classic that any Wailers fan should own. Island records has remastered this and it now has 24 tracks, get that cd instead of this one and you will be able to get the full setlist I mentioned above.

Most people don't realize that Chris Blackwell of Island records hired studio musicians to rework the tapes submitted by The Wailers. Blackwell thought the original tracks were too rough edged for the American/European pop market he was trying to break Bob into. Talkin' Blues and the re-release of Catch A Fire (Original Jamaican Versions) represent how Bob and the boys REALLY sounded, and believe me it sounds so much purer, rawer, and sweeter than the overplayed versions on albums like Legend. These two albums are the real essence of what made The Wailers so legendary. One must listen to understand. Buy these two albums and hear the real sound of The Wailers. You won't be dissapointed.

This is perhaps the rawest of the CD's of Marley's music that has surfaced since his untimely death in 1980. Mostly recorded at San Francisco's KSAN in 1973, we have some amazing versions of somewhat familiar tunes like "Rastaman Chant," "Bend Down Low" and "Kinky Reggae," etc. There is also Peter Tosh's interesting "You Can't Blame The Youth" with it's really thought-provoking lyrics, the title cut, which might surprise some people who still associate Marley mainly with "love and peace" songs like "One Love." The scorcher here is "Get Up Stand Up" with Peter Tosh delivering the original lyrics which were then considered too blasphemous and inflammatory for mass consumption. There are also interviews with Bob inserted between the songs, which require repeated listening for those unfaliliar with Jamaican patois.