Bob Marley & The Wailers-Kaya ****

Kaya is the stereotypical Marley album. This is the album that satisfies that theory that Marley was a laid back pot head instead of a activist, street fighting man called tuff gong. Which blows my mind because next to Natty Dread this is his least popular album and only contains one true hit. Two if you count 'Satisfy My Soul.'

Many have a love or hate relationship with the album. The first half is genius and full of some of his and the Wailers best music. No one will deny this, not on my watch anyway. The second half is decent but could have been a lot stronger.

The entire album is made up of random tracks through Marley's career that for one reason or another didn't end up on other albums. The relaxed title track/stoner anthem dates all the way back to 1972. But most of the second side is left overs from the brilliant Exodus album.

'Could You Be Loved' 'Easy Skanking' 'Sun Is Shining' and 'Satisfy My Soul' make this the perfect album for the morning after. 'Crisis' and 'Running Away' while both could have been way better serve as conscious anthems making this a true Marley album. 'Shes Gone' is both sad and uplifting. 'Time Will Tell' could have been a nice change but comes up short, though it does end the album well enough.

Kaya is a great album despite being Marley & The Wailers' weakest effort. But for an album of left overs this kills. In my book Marley & The Wailers are one of the truly great bands. I feel they never really made anything bad, and Kaya is no exception.

First time I heard this record, i loved the first three songs, the rest were alright, and I hated the final two (excluding the bonus track "Smile Jamaica.") This album grows with more listening, and probably makes me happier than listening to any other album ever. It also is probably in my top three favorite Bob Marley albums, Survival is the best. One of the reasons it is not my favorite is the lack of political lyrics which I think characterizes Marley's most important music. Most of these songs are about love and relaxation. The very next album, "Survival" hit it hard with the strong lyrics and amazing music. The music on "Kaya," is almost as good, and the happier songs make me feel good. It is also not devoid of political issues, the song, "Crisis," is more somber, and contains some powerful political statements. Buy this album if you are a reggae fan, it is essential, and will always put you in a good mood.

This is one of the most powerful records in the Bob Marley canon, probably my favorite by the reggae master. The album is very mellow musically, boasting two of Bob's best love songs, "Is This Love" and "Satisfy My Soul". The whole album is just excellent, in particular the haunting "She's Gone", written in the wake of the shooting at Marley's house when his wife left him briefly, fearing for her safety. The lyrics convey a deep sense of longing, coupled with an evocative Junior Marvin guitar lick. Other outstanding cuts are "Time Will Tell", "Sun is Shining", and the title track. There are still political songs on this album, but perhaps not as overt as on other releases. The songs here are more reflective, written by a man who has seen some of the consequences of daring to speak his mind. They are the words of a man resolved to stand for his principles, but all too aware of the personal cost involved.

The remastered version adds the superb bonus track "Smile Jamaica", the B-Side from "Satisfy My Soul". The packaging is much nicer than the original CD release, as is the sonic clarity. Island has really done a good job in reissuing the Marley catalog. A reggae classic, highly recommended.

If you buy into the image of Marley as being this really mellow, optimistic, happy guy, this album pretty much will solidify that image in your mind. Even when the lyrics are melancholy ("She's Gone"), the grooves are so sunny you'd think they were meant as the soundtrack to some long-forgotten commercial pushed by the Jamaican tourism industry. That doesn't matter, though, because the first side of this is as good as anything else Bob has ever done, which for the most part is fantastic. Several classics - the lazy "Easy Skanking", with a slightly jazzy sax; the slightly disjointed, slightly menacing "Sun is Shining"; "Satisfy My Soul", a great reggae groove with a slight touch of R&B; and especially the catchy "Is This Love", with a great chorus and guitar hook. Oh, and the title track too, I guess. It's good. But side two slightly falters. Now, other than the gimmicky "Time Will Tell" there ain't a single bad song on this puppy, but I'd still much rather be listening to side one - it's loaded down with mediocre material, and it seems like most of it was just reprised from Exodus (a must-have essential classic that's amongst my favorite albums ever, thought I'd add that little tidbit) - "Misty Morning" has a similar horn part; and "Running Away" could easily be any track off Exodus' first side. I honestly wouldn't notice the difference. A couple other songs on that side are forgettable too, like the aforementioned "She's Gone", which practically defines "uneventful", and "Crisis", which tries to reclaim the "Lively Up Yourself" vibe. I mean, diversity was never Bob's strong point - he had a lot of other stuff going for him, so that didn't matter - but for the most part I can tell Bob Marley songs apart, even if they all fit a general formula. I can't tell these apart, though. Sorry. Anyway, side one's classic stuff, but I'm not big on side two, so I'm not really gonna recommend it unless you own the essentials - Catch a Fire, Burnin', Natty Dread, Live!, Exodus, Babylon By Bus and the compilation to end all compilations, Legend.

One can't fail to be moved by music such as this. Drop this disc into your digital player, slip on the best pair of headphones you can afford (the quality of the remaster is astounding, with superb dynamics audible even at low volumes), and really listen...listen as if your ears were brand new, and let this music penetrate your soul...who knows, you might even envision living in a world where the Golden Rule was not about who has the gold. Perhaps you might begin to understand the singular power and universality of this man's music.

BTW, as this album is replete with musical subtleties, sobriety is mandatory for maximum listening enjoyment.