Though he’s the focal point of over 400 pages, Bob Marley appears only ever so briefly in Roger Steffens’ So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley. Instead, Steffens allows for nearly 80 others with connections ranging from family and bandmates to friends and journalists to offer their memories of the international reggae superstar. Cumulatively, this produces a broad, yet painstakingly detailed and sometimes conflicting view of not only who Bob Marley was but what Bob Marley was, as well. Steffens has devoted over half of his own 75-year life to the pursuit and acquisition of all things reggae, amassing the largest private archive of reggae music, interviews, and ephemera in existence. Known and universally respected as the genre’s voice of authority enables the author not only access to all of the key players, but also their trust to share with him their truth. Critical choices Steffens makes in his introductions and asides, as well as transcribing responses in native Jamaican patios, lend both a contextual backdrop and helpful guidance. Not only does he avoid the colonizing of language and culture for the sake of an audience, he acclimates the outsider with a more complete and honest understanding of its subject. Do not come to this book expecting to hear from Bob Marley much more than a few answers, but do come expecting many of the answers to the life and legend of Bob Marley, as Steffens achieves the rare combination of insight and analysis with engrossing entertainment and myth (busting and perpetuating) that makes the revolutionary Jamaican musician an infinitely worthy topic.
News
Archive- Listen: Alex Koford Releases First Self-Produced, Recorded and Mixed Single, “When I Rise”
- Brooklyn Bowl to Host Benefit for Bad Brains’ HR, with Members of Bad Brains, Fishbone, Living Colour and More
- Warren Haynes, Bill Kreutzmann, Devon Allman and More Share Tributes to Dickey Betts
- Visual Splendor: Phish Commence Sphere Residency with Classics
- Listen: Brian Eno Updates David Bowie’s “Get Real” with Nature Sounds
- Listen: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Announce Fourth Full-Length Album ‘South of Here’ with “Heartless” Preview
- The String Cheese Incident Unveil The Mexico Incident with Daniel Donato, moe., Chromeo and More
- Lettuce Expand 2024 Tour Schedule: John Scofield, Ziggy Marley, BISCOLAND and More
Most Popular
- That’s Hot: Paris Hilton Plays Cornhole While Vampire Weekend Deliver Phish, Grateful Dead Medley Jam at Coachella
- Blues Traveler and Big Head Todd & The Monsters Revive Blue Monsters Tour for Summer 2024
- Grateful Dead Release 16 Previously Unheard Outtakes, Alternate Versions and Mixes of “Scarlet Begonias,” “Ship Of Fools,” “China Doll” and More
- Billy Strings Starts Spring Tour with Bluegrass Standards in Tampa, Fla.
- Bob Marley’s Sons Detail The Legacy Tour, First Joint Run in Two-Decades
- Listen: Sean Ono Lennon and James McCartney Unveil Collaborative Single “Primrose Hill”
- Watch: Ronnie Wood and Chuck Leavell Join The Black Crowes, Perform Faces “Stay With Me” for First Time Since 1990
- Ventura Offers Array of Alternatives to Skull & Roses This Week
No Comments comments associated with this post