Bob Marley Remixed by Various Artists/Bob Marley

Bob Marley Remixed

People keep thinking that the work of Bob Marley needs to be translated into a 21st century recording language in order to reach a young, beat-happy audience that has grown up on rap and hip-hop, an assumption that may not actually be true, but folks keep trying. This set features remixes of sides originally tracked by Marley & the Wailers with Jamaican producer Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1970 and 1971 and tweaked by the New York-based team of Brian Tarquin and Chris Ingram, known together as Asphalt Jungle, at the Jungle Room in New York City. It's all drum'n'bass, fast and furious, and leaves songs like "Duppy Conqueror" and "Don't Rock My Boat" (this one is presented in two different mixes) sounding positively huge and echoing. What gets lost in all this hyper rhythmic manipulation are the emotional nuances of Marley's singing, particularly on songs like "Fussing & Fighting," where what he had to say is the whole point to the recording. Marley really doesn't need to be reinvented. The best of the music he made with the Wailers is deservedly timeless and enduring, and outfitting everything with busy breakbeats is a bit like whitewashing over solid wooden floors. It probably won't look better when you're done, and that's the case here. -All Music Guide