Bob Marley & The Wailers New Footage: ‘The Capitol Session ‘73’ Makes It Debut
Bob Marley fans are in fi a treat dis weekend as a new film, Bob Marley And The Wailers: The Capitol Session ‘73, debuts exclusively pon di Amazon Prime channel, The Coda Collection.
Marley’s Tuff Gong label a guh also release di film pon CD/DVD, CD, 2LP colored vinyl, and inna digital audio formats pon di same date. Di flick features a never-before-seen studio session wid 12 performances from Marley’s vital Catch A Fire years, featuring di Wailers lineup of Peter Tosh, Joe Higgs, Aston Barrett, Carlton Barrett, and Earl “Wya” Lindo.
Reggae music buss out pon di international scene inna di 70’s and quickly became a force to be reckoned wit’. Cultural gems such as The Harder They Come and its landmark soundtrack signalled an increasing appetite fi di genre’s grooves, and di Wailers were soon in high demand. By 1972 dem had signed to Island Records, completed successful UK and US tours and released two acclaimed albums wid-in six months. But while on di cusp of celebrity status, Bunny Wailer left di group over den manager Chris Blackwell’s policies and was replaced by di band’s mentor, Joe Higgs.
The Capitol Session come bout wen di remaining group did meet up wid producer and filmmaker Denny Cordell after two celebrated San Francisco gigs. Cordell, a longtime supporter, sought Marley’s permission and arranged an intimate session before a small invited audience. However, di resulting footage disappeared, and di glorious takes of tracks like Rastaman Chant, Duppy Conqueror and Midnight Raver remained hidden fi well ova fawty years.
Afta a 20-year search of archives and storage units across di globe, di footage was recovered, restored and remastered. Bob Marley and The Wailers: The Capitol Session ’73 is directed by Martin Disney and produced by Denny Cordell’s son, Barney Cordell. Di ‘records and films’ enthusiast expressed satisfaction dat di film was finally available fi di world fi si. “Finding and bringing this incredible footage to the world has been an extraordinary, challenging and ultimately unbelievably fulfilling journey,” Cordell said in a release.
Capitol Studios has hosted some of music’s biggest names — from Michael Jackson to Justin Timberlake — but di Wailers’ reggae reverbs create a memorable soundscape from start to finish. Fans can expect sixty-plus minutes of musicality layered wid messages of liberation, love and longing on tracks like Stir It Up and Stop That Train. Despite di 30 year setback bringing di film to di big screen, it’s a timely addition to di Marley canon as di world celebrate him 76th birthday anniversary unda di theme, ‘Survival’, proving once again how Marley was simply ahead of him time.
Bob Marley and the Wailers’ performance of Slave Driver from ‘The Capitol Session ’73 is now available to watch on Bob Marley’s official YouTube channel. Press play below.
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Source: dancehallmag.com | Sasha Lee
