Survival (Bob Marley & The Wailers album)

Survival
Studio album by Bob Marley & The Wailers
Released 2 October 1979
Recorded January–February 1979, Tuff Gong Recording Studio, Kingston, Jamaica
Genre Reggae
Length 38:02 (Original)
44:25 (2001 Remastered)
Label Island/Tuff Gong
Producer Bob Marley & The Wailers, Alex Sadkin
Bob Marley & The Wailers chronology

Babylon by Bus
(1978)		 Survival
(1979)		 Uprising
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Smash Hits 5/10[2]
A sample of Zimbabwe.

Survival is a roots reggae album by Bob Marley & The Wailers released in 1979.

Survival is an album with an outwardly militant theme. Some speculate that this was due in part to criticism Marley received for the laid-back, ganja-soaked atmosphere of his previous release, "Kaya", which seemed to sidetrack the urgency of his message. In the song "Africa Unite", Marley proclaims Pan-African solidarity. The song "Zimbabwe" is a hymn dedicated to later-independent Rhodesia. The song was performed at Zimbabwe's Independence Celebration in 1980, just after the official declaration of Zimbabwe's independence. "Zimbabwe" is seen as an unofficial national song.

Survival was originally to be called Black Survival to underscore the urgency of African unity, but the name was shortened to prevent misinterpretations of the album's theme. Marley originally planned to release Survival as the first part of a trilogy, followed by Uprising in 1980 and Confrontation in 1983.

In South Africa the album was partly censored by the then white apartheid government.[3]

Track listing

Original Tuff Gong LP (Jamaican pressing) (1979) and Tuff Gong CD (422-846 202-2 Barry Diament remaster) (1990)

All songs written and composed by Bob Marley, except where stated. 

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "So Much Trouble in the World"   4:00
2. "Zimbabwe"   3:51
3. "Top Rankin'"   3:10
4. "Babylon System"   4:21
5. "Survival"   3:53
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "Africa Unite"   2:54
7. "One Drop"   3:51
8. "Ride Natty Ride"   3:50
9. "Ambush in the Night"   3:12
10. "Wake Up and Live" (Bob Marley, Anthony Davis) 4:58

Original Island Records LP (ILPS 9542)(1979)

All songs written and composed by Bob Marley, except where stated. 

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Wake Up and Live" (Bob Marley, Anthony Davis) 4:58
2. "Africa Unite"   2:54
3. "One Drop"   3:51
4. "Ride Natty Ride"   3:50
5. "Ambush in the Night"   3:12
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "So Much Trouble in the World"   4:00
7. "Zimbabwe"   3:51
8. "Top Rankin'"   3:10
9. "Babylon System"   4:21
10. "Survival"   3:53

Tuff Gong cassette (Jamaican pressing 7910 DP) (circa 1984)

All songs written and composed by Bob Marley, except where stated. 

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Wake Up and Live" (Bob Marley, Anthony Davis) 4:58
2. "One Drop"   3:51
3. "Ride Natty Ride"   3:50
4. "Ambush in the Night"   3:12
5. "Top Rankin'"   3:10
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "Africa Unite"   2:54
7. "So Much Trouble in the World"   4:00
8. "Zimbabwe"   3:51
9. "Babylon System"   4:21
10. "Survival"   3:53

The Definitive Remastered edition (2001)

All songs written and composed by Bob Marley, except where stated. 

Current CD Version
No. Title Length
1. "So Much Trouble in the World"   4:00
2. "Zimbabwe"   3:51
3. "Top Rankin'"   3:10
4. "Babylon System"   4:21
5. "Survival"   3:53
6. "Africa Unite"   2:54
7. "One Drop"   3:51
8. "Ride Natty Ride"   3:50
9. "Ambush in the Night"   3:12
10. "Wake Up and Live" (Bob Marley, Anthony Davis) 4:58
11. "Ride Natty Ride" (12-inch mix) 6:23
Total length:
 44:25

Musicians

Front Cover

The album's front cover depicts 48 African flags, 14 of which (in italics) are now obsolete, and the flag of Papua New Guinea:

 Kenya  Angola  Côte d'Ivoire  Ethiopian Empire[a]  Chad  Egypt  Ghana
 Senegal  Sierra Leone  Cameroon  Tunisia  Niger  Nigeria  Guinea
 Gambia  Somalia  Upper Volta[b]  Zaire[c]  Guinea-Bissau  Liberia  Swaziland
 Madagascar  Togo  Mozambique  Central African Republic Zimbabwe (ZAPU)  Seychelles  Zambia
 Lesotho  Uganda  Algeria  Mali  Sudan  Botswana  Morocco
People's Republic of the Congo[d]  Tanzania[e]  Burundi Zimbabwe (ZANU)  Mauritius  Mauritania  Gabon
 Benin  Equatorial Guinea  Papua New Guinea  Malawi  São Tomé and Príncipe  Djibouti  Rwanda
Notes
a. ^ Now the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
b. ^ Now Burkina Faso.
c. ^ Now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
d. ^ Now the Republic of the Congo.
e. ^ The flag is shown upside-down on the front cover.

References

  1. ↑ Planer, Lindsay. "Review: Survival Bonus Track". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  2. ↑ Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (November 1–14, 1979): 29.
  3. ↑ Tribute to Bob Marley The Daily Star.