Confrontation (Bob Marley and the Wailers album)
Confrontation is the thirteenth and final studio album by Marley & the Wailers and the only one to be released posthumously in May 1983, two years after Marley's death. The songs were compiled from unreleased material and singles recorded during Marley's lifetime. Many of the tracks were built up from demos, most notably "Jump Nyabinghi" where vocals from the I-Threes were added, which were not there when Marley released the song as a dubplate in 1979. In addition the harmony vocals on "Blackman Redemption" and "Rastaman Live Up" are performed by the I-Threes in order to give the album a consistent sound – on the original single versions they are performed by the Meditations. The most famous track on the album is "Buffalo Soldier".
The album cover depicts Bob Marley taking the role as the military saint Saint George slaying the dragon which symbolizes Babylon. Perhaps not coincidentally, this motif was also displayed on the reverse of the imperial standard of Rastafari icon Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, though the direct model for the album art is a British recruitment poster from World War I. Inside the album sleeve is an artist's depiction of the Battle of Adowa where Ethiopian forces defeated Italy in 1896.
Personnel
- Bob Marley – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Aston Barrett – bass, guitar, percussion
- Carlton Barrett – drums, akete
- Tyrone Downie – keyboards, background vocal
- Junior Marvin – guitar, backing vocals
- Earl Lindo – keyboards
- Alvin Patterson – percussion
- I Threes – backing vocals
- Glen DaCosta – tenor saxophone
- David Madden – trumpet
- Ronald "Nambo" Robinson – trombone
- Devon Evans – percussion
- Carlton "Santa" Davis– drums
- Neville Garrick – art direction and graphics
- Errol Brown – recording and mixing engineer
- Michaell Reid – assistant engineer
- Errol Brown, Chris Blackwell and Aston Barrett – mixers
- Bob Marley & The Wailers and Errol Brown – producers
- Azdean Marley – executive producer
- Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, NYC – mastering