Celebrating his left and legacy, the reggae singer’s family is commemorating his 70th birthday in 2015, with a yearlong commemoration of his music.
According to the Rolling Stones, the Marleys are granting Universal Music Group access to its extensive and private vaults of previously unreleased music to make for stocked reissues, video releases and new live albums.
The first is a never-before-released live concert CD/DVD Easy Skanking in Boston ’78 slated for release on February 10, 2015.
Footage from the gig was filmed on a handheld camera by a fan. As only one camera was used, the cinematographer was forced to change rolls during the performance.
The Rolling Stones said, while the audio of the live album is complete, gaps to the video would be filled with new animated footage created and directed by S77 and Matt Reed, who have worked on music videos for artists such as Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Cee Lo Green.
The Easy Skanking concert footage comes from a June 8, 1978 show at the Bostan Music Hall while Bob Marley was on tour supporting the album Kaya. The gig feature the same setlist with early Wailers tracks including legendary cuts such as “No Woman, No Cry,” “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Get Up, Stand Up.”
Universal also intends to announce more new Bob Marley collections and deluxe editions of some of his most enduring LPs, featuring unreleased bonus material, throughout 2015.
Although he’s been gone for 34 years, Bob Marley remains one of the most essential parts of our musical culture, and his legacy is about to be revived once again.
