Confrontation (Bob Marley and the Wailers album)

Confrontation
Studio album by
Bob Marley and the Wailers
Released23 May 1983
Recordedca. 1977-80, April–May 1982
StudioTuff Gong Studios, Kingston, Jamaica
GenreReggae
Length37:47
LabelTuff Gong/Island[1]
ProducerBob Marley & the Wailers and Errol Brown
Bob Marley and the Wailers chronology
Chances Are
(1981) 		Confrontation
(1983) 		Legend
(1984)
Singles from Confrontation
  1. "Buffalo Soldier"
    Released: 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauB+[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[1]
Rolling Stone[4]
Select[5]

Confrontation is the thirteenth and final studio album by Bob 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.

Track listing

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Original album (1983)

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All tracks are written by Bob Marley, except where stated

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Chant Down Babylon" 2:36
2."Buffalo Soldier"Bob Marley, N.G. Williams4:17
3."Jump Nyabinghi" 3:44
4."Mix Up, Mix Up" 5:02
5."Give Thanks and Praises" 3:16
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Blackman Redemption" 3:33
7."Trench Town" 3:12
8."Stiff Necked Fools" 3:25
9."I Know" 3:21
10."Rastaman Live Up!"Bob Marley, Lee "Scratch" Perry5:26

The Definitive Remastered edition (2001)

[edit]

All tracks are written by Bob Marley, except where stated

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Chant Down Babylon" 2:36
2."Buffalo Soldier"Bob Marley, N.G. Williams4:17
3."Jump Nyabinghi" 3:44
4."Mix Up, Mix Up" 5:02
5."Give Thanks & Praises" 3:16
6."Blackman Redemption" 3:33
7."Trench Town" 3:12
8."Stiff Necked Fools" 3:25
9."I Know" 3:21
10."Rastaman Live Up!"Bob Marley, Lee "Scratch" Perry5:26
11."Buffalo Soldier" (12-inch mix) 7:37
"Stiff Necked Fools"
"Stiff Necked Fools" audio sample
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Personnel

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Technical

Charts

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Chart performance for Confrontation
Chart (1983) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[6] 11
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7] 18
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 26
French Albums (SNEP)[9] 199
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 31
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11] 6
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] 12
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 16
US Billboard 200 55
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 31

Certifications

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Certifications for Confrontation
Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[14] Gold 7,500^
United States (RIAA)[15] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 510.
  2. ^ "Confrontation - Bob Marley & the Wailers, Bob Marley | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  3. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Artist 2258". www.robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ Schruers, Fred (2 September 1987). "Confrontation". Rolling Stone.
  5. ^ Cook, Richard (September 1990). "Return of the Saint". Select. No. 3. p. 101.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 192. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Bob Marley & The Wailers – Confrontation" (in German). Hung Medien.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bob Marley & The Wailers – Confrontation" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  9. ^ "Lescharts.com – Bob Marley & The Wailers – Confrontation". Hung Medien.
  10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bob Marley & The Wailers – Confrontation" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  11. ^ "Charts.nz – Bob Marley & The Wailers – Confrontation". Hung Medien.
  12. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bob Marley & The Wailers – Confrontation". Hung Medien.
  13. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Bob Marley & The Wailers – Confrontation". Hung Medien.
  14. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Bob Marley – Confrontation". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  15. ^ "American album certifications – Bob Marley – Confrontation". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
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