And this is not my very favorite Bob album (thats reserved for Catch a Fire - you know what they say: you never forget your first)BUT: Survival is an absolute brilliant piece of music-making. From the clarion call of the opening track to "Wake up and Live, ya'll - wake up and live...." to the repeated admonition to "tell the children the truth" in Babylon System, the lyrics on this album are Bob at his very best: passionate, angry, caring, concerned, moving, persuasive, original: with an almost Biblical authority and a heartfelt authenticity that makes you feel as if Bob is speaking directly to YOU, straight outta Yard. Marley's ability to truly connect through these lyrics with everyone (from subarban white Americans to Moari tribespeople and everyone in between) while remaining true to himself and his heritage as a jamaican and member of the african diaspora is on bravura display throughout. For example: 'they bribe us with their guns, spare parts and money... and if you want to get some food, your brother's got to be your enemy..." A more succint and pointed description and indictment of superpower "realpolitik" foriegn policies would be harder to imagine.

And that's just the lyrics. The riddims between Bob, Carly and Familyman on this collection are SO hard, SO right & tight, SO in the pocket, it's hard to describe without simply throwing superlatives at it in a lame attempt to put into words what must be heard to be understood. The album makes extensive yet tasteful use of additional percussion (i.e. the african agogo bells in Ride Natty Ride) throughout, musically reflecting and enhancing the albums' lyrical focus on afrocentric concerns.
The saxaphone is also very heavily used, and it comes off great: I don't know who the soloist is, but he makes that horn growl and wail like a slave under the whip.

Another high point of the collection is the general songwriting. The melodies and structures of the songs reflect Bob's place as one of THE PREMIER pop songwriters ever - up there in Lennon/McCartney, Leiber/Stoller, Goffin/King, Rogers/Hart, territory - he drops out the 3-4 minute gem as naturally as breathing. Ever notice how Bob had distinct verse, chorus AND bridge sections in his mature output...? And still maintains the intergrity of the reggae form.

This album is worth repeated listening for Bob fans, reggae fans, pop music fans, and any lover of music with open ears. If anyone ever argues against Bob's place in music (i.e. he ONLY did reggae, his songs are simple, reggae is all the same, his lyrics stink, he was too "pop", he wasn't "pop" enough, etc), throw this on, adjust the bass up a notch or two and CRANK it.
If they don't change their mind, then they don't know anything about music...


Is this album the greatest of all time?   June 3, 2003
Jonathan M. Mason (Punta Gorda, FL USA)
29 out of 38 found this review helpful

In the few short years of his Island records career Marley produced a string of astonishingly good studio albums as well as two great live albums. These included Exodus, rated by Time magazine as the greatest album of the century, and Kaya, which is my personal favorite. So where does this leave the rest of the Marley canon.

It seems to me that the Marley albums fall into only two categories, the five star and the four star albums, (see my ratings below). Though I am very stingy with the five star rating, Survival easily makes five stars, and it may even be the best Marley album, and quite possibly the greatest album of all time.

How can this be? Well, every song on the album is just irresistible, with great lyrices, impassioned performance, superb orchestration, catchy hooks... just a superb package. I honestly do not believe that anyone who listens to this album will not find it a life changing experience. Well, to be honest, there are probably lots of people who would fall into that category, but my remarks apply to those with discriminating taste and well developed sensibilities.

OK, I am running on, but this is just a great, great album. 'Nuff said.

* A really worthless CD
** A CD that has some good stuff, but some major defects.
*** An OK CD that will please fans of the artist in question.
**** An excellent CD that represents the best work of the artist in question and can be bought with confidence.
***** An absolute classic that is the best, or among the best, of its genre. Your collection should start here.


Top Rankin'   April 26, 2006
Gary Selikow (Great Kush)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

While it is true that Bob Marley was not the FIRST Reggae singer, he was certainly the most famous.
This unique reggae beat, with the pulsations of black nationalism, was released in 1979, and has since make it's mark in the world of music. It starts with the hearty lamentation of "So Much Trouble in the World" and is followed by "Zimbabwe" which was a song of inspiration for Zimbabwe's guerrillas fighting for Black majority rule in that country during the Rhodesian War/ War of Independence. Marley performed at Zimbabwe's independence celebrations of 18 April 1980. He did not know that the performance on the first day would be reserved for the special guests of the new elite. When the masses tried to attend the concert they where tear-gassed and hounded out the stadium by Mugabe' s militia.
Marley responded by singing "War". The next day his performance was subdued as he was already disillusioned by the behaviour of the new Mugabe regime.

Today the song `Zimbabwe' is sung as an anthem of Zimbabwe's pro-democracy movement against the Mugabe tyranny as are other Marley hits like ` Get Up, Stand Up"
It is clear that Marley would not have approved of the genocidal dictatorship that Mugabe built up, in the last 26 years, any more than he did the white minority government of Ian Smith.

There is the angry condemnation of the `Babylon System' and the Black Nationalist anthem " Survival" with the lyrics " Were the survivors! The Black survivors!"

This was one of my first albums so the heady beat of this album holds great memories for me.

"Africa Unite" is another is an ode to Marley's idealistic dreams of Pan African unity. And ` One Drop' is spiritual rendition of the longing for a true spiritual Rastafarian quest for authentic ideas of Haile Sellasie (the Christ of Rastafari) and Marcus Garvey.
" Give us the teachings of his majesty. We don't want no devil's philosophy"

You can always put your own interpretations and feelings into these songs , and my own conception of the sentence sung above may be different to that of most Marley devotees.

But then that only go's to show the genius of Bob Marley, doesn't it?



wake up and live!   February 21, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This album was released in 1979, and the most amazing thing about it is how the percussion instruments stand out. On no other Bob Marley and the Wailers album do the percussion instruments stand out so well, they almost take a lead part themselves. This can be attributed to the increasing technology in the recording industry possibly, or maybe a change in musical style for the Wailers. The band is still as good as ever and rhythms here on Survival will prove it, the basslines and other musical harmonies will pleasantly ring throughout your head and bring a smile to your face. This album promotes African unity, and African freedom and is quite possibly the most militant of the entire Bob Marley and the Wailers catalog. All the songs have lyrics that will stick in your head for years to come, and if you are looking for a place to start your reggae or music collection, Survival is a great place to start.