New York, NY (Top40 Charts / Universal Music Enterprises) Bob Marley's 70th birthday year-long celebration (2015) continues with the release of two new box sets, The Complete Island Recordings and The Complete Island Recordings: Collector's Edition. These two stunning vinyl collection sets will release
September 25th, 2015, and feature 11 albums on 180-gram vinyl spanning a decade's worth of
Bob Marley & The Wailers releases on Island Records. The Complete Island Recordings will include 11-LPs packaged in a rigid card box with lift top lid, and wrapped in silver paper that simulates the brushed metal finish of a hinged lighter. The Complete Island Recordings: Collector's Edition will included 11-LPs, a 70th anniversary slip mat and two photos in glassine envelopes, all packaged in a unique metal box set, numbered and lined with velvet and connected to truly emulate a hinged lighter. Both boxes will include Bob's 70th Birthday logo and all nine
Bob Marley & The Wailers studio albums recorded for Island Records, featuring some of their most celebrated releases, including "Catch A Fire," their 1973 label debut, and "Rastaman Vibration," their 1976 breakthrough album in the United States, along with two live albums "Live!" and "Babylon By Bus."
The 11 LP's from the box set will also be broken out and released individually on 180-gram vinyl beginning
September 25th. Apart from the actual disc labels which will feature more recently reissued artwork, the LP's will faithfully replicate the original album pressings. The "Live!" album will include the original poster with the vinyl, while the "
Exodus" album will feature the original gold metallic jacket with embossed lettering. The "Babylon By Bus" album will feature the die-cut cover with the color printed inner sleeves showing through.
LP'S INCLUDED IN BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS - THE COMPLETE ISLAND RECORDINGS & THE COLLECTOR'S EDITION:
Bob Marley:
Bob Marley, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, is notable not only as the man who put reggae on the global map, but, as a statesman in his native Jamaica, he famously brought together the country's warring factions — symbolized by rival politicians Michael Manley and Edward Siega joining hands on-stage -- during his legendary "One Love Peace Concert" in Kingston, which took place on April 22, 1978, less than six weeks before this
Music Hall performance in Boston. It was five years since Marley and the band arrived from Jamaica, with the 1977 release of EXODUS, recorded in London just after an assassination attempt on his life, turned into not just a socio-political statement, but one which included such hits as the title track, "Waiting In Vain" and "One Love," paving the way for their next release Kaya and a world tour in '78. Together with his music's theme of liberation, Marley's own rags-to-riches story brought inspiration to subjugated people around the world, where he was revered as a larger-than-life leader.
Today,
Bob Marley remains one of the 20th century's most important and influential entertainment icons. Marley's lifestyle and music continue to inspire new generations as his legacy lives on through his music. In the digital era, he has the second-highest social media following of any posthumous celebrity, with the official
Bob Marley Facebook page drawing more than 74 million fans, ranking it among the Top 20 of all Facebook pages and Top 10 among celebrity pages. Marley's music catalog has sold millions of albums worldwide
Thirty years after its original release,
Bob Marley & The Wailers', LEGEND, shared the top of the charts, holding the No. 5 spot on Billboard's 200 Album Chart among
Maroon 5 (#1),
Jeezy (#2), Guardians of the Galaxy
Soundtrack (#3), and
Ariana Grande (#4). LEGEND also holds the distinction of being the longest-charting album in the history of Billboard magazine's Catalog Albums chart and remains the world's best-selling reggae album. Marley's accolades include inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1994) and ASCAP Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010), a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award (2001), multiple entries in the GRAMMY® Hall Of Fame, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2001). For more information visit: bobmarley.com and facebook.com/bobmarley.
