Survival (Bob Marley & The Wailers album)

Survival
Studio album by Bob Marley and The Wailers
Released	2 October 1979
Recorded	January–February 1979
Studio	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 and The Wailers chronology
Babylon by Bus (1978)Babylon by Bus1978 Survival (1979) Uprising (1980)Uprising1980

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Smash Hits	5/10[2]

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

Survival is an album with an outwardly militant theme. Some critics 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.^[3] 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.

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.^[3]

Track listing

Original Tuff Gong LP

All tracks written by Bob Marley, except where noted.

Original Island Records LP

All tracks written by Bob Marley, except where noted.

Tuff Gong cassette

All tracks written by Bob Marley, except where noted.

Island Records LP re-issue

All tracks written by Bob Marley, except where noted. Issued by Island Records with a Tuff Gong disc label. Track list revised, all tracks on side A move to side B and vice versa..

The Definitive Remastered edition (2001)

All tracks written by Bob Marley, except where noted.

Personnel

Musicians

• Bob Marley – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion
• Aston "Family Man" Barrett – bass, rhythm guitar, percussion
• Carlton Barrett – drums, percussion
• Tyrone "Organ D" Downie – keyboards, percussion, backing vocal
• Alvin "Seeco" Patterson – percussion
• Junior Marvin – lead guitar, backing vocal
• Earl "Wire" Lindo – keyboards
• Al Anderson – lead guitar
• Rita Marley – backing vocals
• Marcia Griffiths – backing vocals
• Judy Mowatt – backing vocals
• Carlton "Santa" Davis – drums on "Africa Unite"
• Mikey "Boo" Richards – drums on "Wake Up And Live"
• Val Douglas – Bass on "Wake Up and Live"
• Dean Fraser – Tenor and Alto Saxophone
• Headley Bennett – Alto Saxophone
• Ronald "Nambo" Robinson – Trombone
• Melba Liston – Trombone
• Luther Francois – Trombone
• Junior "Chico" Chin – Trumpet
• Jackie Willacy – Trumpet
• Micky Hanson – Trumpet
• Lee Jaffe – Harmonica^[4]

Production

• Producers – Bob Marley & The Wailers, Alex Sadkin
• Mastering – Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, NYC

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
P.R. Congo[d]	Tanzania[e]	Burundi	Zimbabwe (ZANU)	Mauritius	Mauritania	Gabon
Benin	Equatorial Guinea	Papua New Guinea	Malawi	São Tomé and Príncipe	Djibouti	Rwanda

The album's title appears in white (City typeface) with the Brookes slave ship engraving in the background.

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