By Howard Campbell/Observer writer—
Bob Marley and the Wailers
Rastaman Vibration, the lyrically easy album that marked Bob Marley and the Wailers’ debut on American pop charts, has been re-released on vinyl through a partnership with Tuff Gong International and Acoustic Sounds/Analogue Productions.
The 1976 album, according to a November 11 statement from the Marley-owned Tuff Gong international, is being heard “for the first time ever in ultra high quality record (UHQR) format on clarity vinyl. The limited edition deluxe box set officially releases on November 18 and is available to pre-order today.”
Released by Island Records, Rastaman Vibration was Marley’s second studio album (the first being Natty Dread) since Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston, his colleagues in the original Wailers, left the group three years earlier
Driven by songs like the title track: Rat Race, Roots, Rock, Reggae, Johnny Was, War, Who The Cap Fit, and Crazy Baldhead, it peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Marley and the Wailers did a three-month world tour to promote the 10-song set.
“This UHQR is remastered by Sterling Sound’s Ryan K Smith from the original analogue master tapes. Each UHQR is pressed at Acoustic Sounds’ industry-leading pressing plant Quality Record Pressings (QRP) using hand-selected Clarity Vinyl® with attention paid to every single detail,” the statement reads. “These records feature the same flat profile that helped to make the original UHQR so desirable. From the lead-in groove to the run-out groove, there is no pitch to the profile, allowing the customer’s stylus to play truly perpendicular to the grooves from edge to center.”
It notes that, “Each UHQR is packaged in a deluxe box and includes a booklet detailing the entire process of making a UHQR along with a hand-signed certificate of inspection.
In addition to the UHQR booklet, the package includes an eight-page 12″ x 12″ booklet containing new liner notes by musician and Marley biographer Leroy Jodie Pierson, together with exclusive photos by Kim Gottlieb-Walker.
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