What the 16 show is that in the pre-Island records era, Marley was already fully developed as a singer and songwriter of genius. Many of the songs here are reproduced on later albums like Burnin', Live, and Kaya. What is also apparent is that the true brilliance of these diamonds in the rough only showed through in flashes in this earlier era of shuffling beats and eccentric instrumentation.

So here you have Bob Marley and the Wailers as a work in progress. It is certainly interesting to compare the three songs here (Kaya, Don't Rock the Boat, Sun is Shining)that later reappeared on the transcendent Kaya album with the later versions, but my conclusion would be that the addition of the female backing group the I-Threes, comprising Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, and Judy Mowatt, plus the switch to a guitar driven sound added a dimension that separated Marley's sound from that of the competition--a sound that was much more commercially successful too, I might add.

Here is the key to my star ratings.

* A really worthless CD...

** A CD that has some good stuff, but some major defects...
***An OK CD that will please fans of the artist in question...
****An excellent CD that represents the best work of the artist in question and can be bought with confidence...
*****An absolute classic that is the best, or among the best, of its genre. Your collection should start here.