Legend – Bob Marley & The Wailers – 1984

First listen?: Yes

I must admit. I was certain that Legend was a studio album by Bob Marley And The Wailers. It wasn’t until I did some quick research that I realised this was in fact one of the few compilation albums on this list. One look through the tracklist and it’s obvious, song after song is a classic. No Woman No Cry, I Shot The Sheriff and Is This Love are all great memorable songs,the first of which appearing in a striking live version. I find it interesting that there is a genre like Reggae is recognised on this list. There’s few genres with an artist as singularly dominant in popular culture. You think of a Reggae song and chances are it’s on Legend. Could You Be Loved is begging for a communal sing along, while Jamming has you doing just that a few bars in. It’s Redemption Song which is the star here for me though, an acoustic performance that allows the pure message to flow through. It’s obvious to see why the songs on Legend resonated so well with people across the world, the compilation released 3 years after Marley’s death. This week it marks its 670th week in the album chart top 100, the third biggest amount of weeks spent on the UK chart in history. As an album Legend is the essential collection from a legend of music himself. Full of life, love and emotion, there’s not much else like it on this list.

Rating: 8/10

Will I listen again?: Probably yes. I’ve always enjoyed most of these songs and together they make for an impressive collection.

Best Track: Redemption Song