Songs of Freedom

Disc 1
1	Judge Not / Bob Marley 2:26
2	One Cup of Coffee / Bob Marley 2:34
3	Simmer Down / Bob Marley 2:50
4	I'm Still Waiting / Bob Marley 3:06
5	One Love/People Get Ready / Bob Marley 3:21
6	Put It On / Bob Marley 3:08
7	Bus Dem Shut (Pyaka) / Bob Marley 2:47
8	Mellow Mood / Bob Marley 3:31
9	Bend Down Low / Bob Marley 2:30
10	Hypocrites / Bob Marley 2:35
11	Stir It Up / Bob Marley 3:12
12	Nice Time / Bob Marley 2:45
13	Thank You Lord / Bob Marley 3:40
14	Hammer / Bob Marley 2:56
15	Caution / Bob Marley 2:44
16	Back Out / Bob Marley 2:18
17	Soul Shakedown Party / Bob Marley 3:05
18	Do It Twice / Bob Marley 2:48
19	Soul Rebel / Bob Marley 3:18
20	Sun Is Shining / Bob Marley 2:11
21	Don't Rock the Boat / Bob Marley 4:31
22	Small Axe / Bob Marley 3:56
23	Duppy Conqueror / Bob Marley 3:39
24	Mr. Brown / Bob Marley 3:32
Disc 2
1	Screwface / Bob Marley 2:23
2	Lick Samba / Bob Marley 2:33
3	Trench Town Rock / Bob Marley 3:28
4	Craven Choke Puppy / Bob Marley 2:52
5	Guava Jelly / Bob Marley 2:17
6	Guava Jelly/This Train/Cornerstone/Comma Comma/Dewdrops/Stir It up/L'M / Bob Marley 12:09
7	I'm Hurting Inside / Bob Marley 3:28
8	High Tide or Low Tide / Bob Marley 4:09
9	Slave Driver / Bob Marley 2:51
10	No More Trouble / Bob Marley 3:59
11	Concrete Jungle / Bob Marley 4:10
12	Get up, Stand Up / Bob Marley 3:14
13	Rastaman Chant / Bob Marley 3:50
14	Burnin' and Lootin' / Bob Marley 4:13
15	Iron Lion Zion / Bob Marley 2:55
16	Lively up Yourself / Bob Marley 5:10
17	Natty Dread / Bob Marley 3:34
18	I Shot the Sheriff / Bob Marley 5:26
Disc 3
1	No Woman, No Cry / Bob Marley 5:22
2	Who the Cap Fit / Bob Marley 4:41
3	Jah Live / Bob Marley 4:15
4	Crazy Baldhead / Bob Marley 3:10
5	War / Bob Marley 3:36
6	Johnny Was / Bob Marley 3:46
7	Rat Race / Bob Marley 2:49
8	Jamming / Bob Marley 5:45
9	Waiting In Vain / Bob Marley 3:59
10	Exodus / Bob Marley 7:25
11	Natural Mystic / Bob Marley 3:28
12	Three Little Birds / Bob Marley 2:56
13	Running Away / Bob Marley 4:14
14	Keep on Movin' / Bob Marley 5:44
15	Easy Skanking / Bob Marley 2:55
16	lS This Love / Bob Marley 4:00
17	Smile Jamaica / Bob Marley 3:13
18	Time Will Tell / Bob Marley 3:32
Disc 4
1	Africa Unite / Bob Marley 2:54
2	Survival / Bob Marley 3:52
3	One Drop / Bob Marley 3:51
4	One Dub / Bob Marley 3:53
5	Zimbabwe / Bob Marley 3:47
6	So Much Trouble In the World / Bob Marley 3:57
7	Ride Natty Ride / Bob Marley 6:22
8	Babylon System / Bob Marley 4:18
9	Coming In from the Cold / Bob Marley 6:04
10	Real Situation / Bob Marley 3:08
11	Bad Card / Bob Marley 2:48
12	Could You Be Loved / Bob Marley 5:26
13	Forever Loving Jah / Bob Marley 3:51
14	Rastaman Live Up! / Bob Marley 5:21
15	Give Thanks and Praise / Bob Marley 3:14
16	One Love/People Get Ready / Bob Marley 7:08
17	Why Should I / Bob Marley 3:33
18	Redemption Song / Bob Marley Live 4:08

Barnes & Noble

It might be slimmer, but the repackaging of Bob Marley's epic box set only means that it's now worth twice its weight in gold. Originally released in 1992 as a limited-edition 6-by-12-inch longbox, the new SONGS OF FREEDOM is a four-CD, storage-friendly brick with a 95-page color book. And then as now, it's indispensable to the Marley fan or reggae aficionado. There's no shortage of posthumous Marley material out there -- from the Wailers' exuberant ska days to Bob's radio interviews to dub collections -- but unlike so many box sets, SONGS OF FREEDOM isn't interested in obsessive overkill; instead it celebrates the first truly worldwide star with an overview that digs deep into a rich and varied career. Marley's biggest hits, collected on the perennially popular LEGEND, bristle with such bright arrangements and undeniable grooves that it's easy to lose sight of his songwriting. But the oft-made comparisons to Bob Dylan are borne out on SONGS's rarities, alternate takes, and live versions. Marley was a master of many things: Rastafarian redemptive philosophy, Jamaican folk idioms, and, of course, American R&B. Plus, he could trade Biblical allusion with a Talmudic scholar. But his greatest skill was, he could get his musical vision across with an easy, disarming sensuality. Disc Two's 12-minute "Acoustic Medley" encapsulates Bob's facility with the simple love lyric ("Stir It Up"), the gospel-inflected redemption song ("This Train"), and the lusty rub-up ("Guava Jelly"). These rare moments, interspersed with standards of the Marley canon such as "No Woman No Cry," "Get Up, Stand Up," and "I Shot the Sheriff," create a portrait of the Gong as a working artist. Even those who credit Lee Perry as the architect of Bob's mystique through his collaborations with the Wailers will be persuaded by the power of Marley's songwriting gift. And by digging up pristine-sounding demos, SONGS rights the wrongs of LEGEND and NATURAL MYSTIC, which presented reconstituted versions of "Could You Be Loved" and "Iron Lion Zion." Top all this off with beautiful sequencing, lovingly restored sound, and literate, informative notes by Timothy White, Derrick Morgan, and others, and you have one of the greatest box sets ever assembled. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

Originally released as a limited-edition box set in 1992, Songs of Freedom presents an alternate history of Bob Marley's career, tracing his progression with outtakes, rare singles, alternate mixes, live tracks, and album tracks instead of the songs that formed the bulk of his legacy, as it were. The question is, is this a reasonable track to take? For the most part, yes it is, even if it tends to be a little misleading. That problem isn't too great, since Songs of Freedom isn't targeted at the audience that would want just the basics -- Legend already exists for them, and that sums up everything they need to know about Marley, the ambassador of reggae. The remainder of Marley's audience realizes this box exists just to get rarities to the diehards, and they're thrilled that it exists for that purpose. Because of its nature, Songs of Freedom isn't especially compelling to anyone that isn't a hardcore fan -- although the first disc of ska and rocksteady material will be delightful to anyone that likes early reggae and isn't thrilled by Marley's rock-star posturing in the '70s -- but for those very fans, it's a valuable addition to their collection, since it rounds up rarities with ease and purpose. What Songs of Freedom should not be seen as is a definitive overview of Marley's career -- it's just for collectors and hardcore fans, the kind of listener who has memorized the original studio albums. For those listeners, it's hard to resist Songs of Freedom, but everybody else will be able to safely pass it by. Stephen Thomas Erlewine