Reggae Party: Bob Marley- Stephen Marley- Seagram's Escapes Jamaican Me Happiness Collection
by Kevin Wierzbicki
Our look at reggae-related fun begins with a taste of some new adult beverages from Seagram's before moving into a new album from Stephen Marley on vinyl and an awesome highly-illustrated book about Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Seagram's Escapes Jamaican Me Happiness Collection
Tropical drinks, whether alcoholic or non, are a big part of the fun when visiting Jamaica or at a reggae party anywhere. And now thanks to the new Jamaican Me Happiness Collection from Seagram's Escapes you can enjoy delicious fruity libations without having to mix them yourself. These Caribbean-inspired drinks are malt beverages with an alcohol content of 3.2% but they do not have any distilled spirits in them. We've tried all four varieties, Jamaican Me Smile, Jamaican Me Glow, Jamaican Me Happy and Jamaican Me Sunny, which we have to proclaim as our favorite. Jamaican Me Sunny has a refreshing pineapple taste to it with additional flavorings from natural lemon, strawberry, watermelon and guava. Talk about feeling sunny! Jamaican Me Smile has the same ingredients but exchanges pineapple for orange while Jamaican Me Glow also has the same ingredients but with passionfruit as the primary flavoring. Jamaican Me Happy (and it sure does!) is flavored with natural lemon, strawberry, watermelon and guava. All of the Seagram's Escapes Jamaican Me Happiness Collection flavors go down nice and easy and will surely be a hit at your reggae party or anytime. Available in 11.2 ounce bottles or 12 ounce cans; Jamaican Me Sunny also comes in 7.5 ounce cans. Seagram's Escapes Jamaican Me Happiness Collection can be found at your favorite purveyor of adult beverages and you can find a location near you
here.
Stephen Marley - Old Soul - (Vinyl on 2 LPs, gatefold jacket)
In a definite departure from previous releases where he worked in the roots-rock-reggae style as his late father Bob Marley did, here Stephen offers a set of more sedate songs, demonstrating his fondness for vintage non-reggae music as well as performing his own songs written in a similar vein. One of the covers that Stephen performs here that appeals to his old soul is "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)," a cut from 1936 that's been done by the likes of Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Rod Stewart and many others; here Marley adds a jaunty bounce and a trombone line to the American classic, his Jamaican accent being the only nod to the islands. A take on Hoagy Carmichael's also oft-covered "Georgia on My Mind" moves to a similar groove while a version of the Beatles hit "Don't Let Me Down" is powered by acoustic guitar and a sublime and gentle overall interpretation of the cut's melody and rhythm. Notably Stephen turns in a cover of his father's "I Shot the Sheriff" done in a mellow and jazzy mood and featuring Eric Clapton on guitar. Among the best of the self-penned or co-writes here are the advisement to not believe "everything they tell you" that's found in the sedate "Don't You Believe," "Cool as the Breeze" that is indeed as carefree as a sunny Caribbean day and the touching and uplifting "Old Soul." Guest players on the album include Slightly Stoopid, Jack Johnson, Bobby Weir, Don Was, Buju Banton and kin folk Ziggy, Jeremiah and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley. Order your copy
here.
"Bob Marley and the Wailers: The Ultimate Illustrated History" - By Richie Unterberger
Here's a coffee table-style book that any fan of Bob Marley would be proud to own, and as the title indicates there is plenty of eye candy here in the form of candid and performance photos, depictions of album covers and singles releases and various pieces of memorabilia and rarities. Author Unterberger sources the graphics from various places while providing, with a couple of exceptions, all of the commentary himself. He begins with some background on Bob and the band, chronicling history from Bob's birth to his first single release ("Judge Not") at the tender age of 16, with subsequent chapters delving into the Wailers ska days and their releases on the Coxsone label, their reggae period from 1967-1971, their breakout and eventual superstardom in the mid-to-late 1970s and their final years in 1980 and 1981 (Marley died in 1981). Every album along the way is reviewed by Unterberger or a guest author and all of these are loaded with info that many Marley fans probably have not been previously exposed to, with the overall result of perusing the book being that fans will feel closer than ever to Marley. Also covered are various special events and shows, the solo careers of some of the Wailers including the assassinated Peter Tosh and a look at the final months of an ailing Marley. The book is appended with a select discography and touches briefly on the recent film "Bob Marley: One Love." Yes the parts about Bob's and Peter's deaths are sad but "Bob Marley and the Wailers: The Ultimate Illustrated History" will otherwise have readers feeling irie. From The Quarto Group/Motorbooks, hardcover, 208 pages. Order yours
here.
