Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On Explained

Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On
Type:compilation
Artist:The Wailers
Cover:Natural_Mystic.jpg
Released:23 May 1995
Recorded:Various
Genre:Reggae
Length:54:56
Label:Tuff Gong/Island
Producer:Bob Marley & The Wailers, Alex Sadkin, Steve Smith, Chris Blackwell, Lee Perry
Prev Title:Songs of Freedom
Prev Year:1992
Next Year:1997

Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On is a collection of album tracks by Bob Marley, and is an addendum to the 1984 compilation album, Legend.

Lyrics

The material on Legend consists mainly of love songs with a few of Marley's more politicized and religious themed works; the selection on Natural Mystic therefore attempts to redress the balance. On the opening title track, he warns of how "one and all got to face reality now" in a world of massive upheaval and change. Other songs explore salvation through oneness ("Africa Unite"), the greed that propels the world towards an inevitable Armageddon ("So Much Trouble In The World") and Marley's own role as a persecuted leader ("Iron Lion Zion"). The inclusion of "Easy Skanking" shows a meditative and laid-back Marley, partaking in Jamaica's most profitable cash crop during a spiritual time-out amidst the chaos of everyday life.

All tracks have been digitally remastered on GOLD version.

Alternative versions

To give Natural Mystic some individuality from its previous counterparts, the compilers placed an alternate extended cut of "Crazy Baldhead" in which more emphasis was given to the "silly noises" breakdown. They also included the remix of Bob Marley's late 1970s rendition of "Keep on Moving" featuring the vocals of Aswad and released exclusively for the UK market in 1984. The new remix, which was intended strictly for this particular album project, was fashioned in the same way "Iron Lion Zion" was done for Songs of Freedom, and at the ending of "One Drop", the song is an alternate version and it plays a noise, possibly the noise at the ending of Bob Marley & The Wailers's "Satisfy My Soul" [released 1978 on the album "Kaya" by Tuff Gong/Island].

Credits

Original Producers: Bob Marley & The Wailers, Alex Sadkin, Steve Smith, Chris Blackwell and Lee Perry.
Compilation producers: Chris Blackwell, Trevor Wyatt and Bill Levenson.

Track listing

The Definitive Remastered edition (2002)

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (1995)!scope="col"
Rank
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[1] 46
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[2] 46

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1995. The Official NZ Music Charts. 26 May 2022. 8 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210108010618/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=3884. live.
  2. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20120818120257/http://www.anuariossgae.com/1999/pdfs/grabada/grabada%20anexos.pdf#page=7. 18 August 2012. LOS 50 TÍTULOS CON MAYORES VENTAS EN LAS LISTAS DE VENTAS DE AFYVE EN 1995. es. Anuarios SGAE. 26 May 2022.