Bob Marley
& the Wailers
Live Forever: The Stanley Theatre,
Pittsburgh, PA, September 23, 1980
UMe/Tuff Gong International
Recently released for
the first time,
Live
Forever is a two-disc
set that documents
Bob Marley’s
last concert before
cancer took his life
eight months later. Marley was already in
pain, but he was in top form, musically.
Supporting the
Uprising album, the show’s
set list played heavily on Marley’s religious
roots-based material. Guitarists will note
Junior Marvin’s, Al Anderson’s, and Bob
Marley’s studio-tight guitar tapestries on
songs like “Coming in from the Cold” and
“Could You Be Loved.” Their skanks and
galloping lines are woven together almost
imperceptibly in their song-serving mission.
The effects-laden accents in songs like “Get
Up, Stand Up” and the gritty rock tones
in the solos for “Is This Love” and “Them
Heathen” are also worth noting, as they
foreshadow where reggae guitar was heading.
Live Forever is a fascinating time capsule
that serves as the missing bookend to
any Marley fan’s collection or a fitting live
recording for the casual reggae listener who
is finally ready to dig deeper than
Legend.