Stephen Marley, the second eldest son of Bob and Rita, has had a spectacular career in the decades since his father's death, garnering eight Grammy Awards, three for his solo projects. His latest release,, is a beguiling set of spare, acoustic interpretations of classic songs and tuneful, sensitive originals bringing in an assortment of collaborators from Buju Banton to Bob Weir
The album is a mix of originals and covers, and not covers you'd expect."There's a Reward" is Joe Higgs number rendered here with Stephen's older brother Ziggy, his long-ago bandmate in The Melody Makers."Thanks We Get " is a Junior Byles/Lee Perry cover, rendered as buoyant acoustic reggae with Buju Banton tossing in some scratchy toasting.
The opener,"So Much Trouble in the World," is not in fact Afrobeats, but Zimbabwe's Zim-dancehall style, in the hands of genre stars Winky D and Nutty O. The two singers take turns toasting, singing and harmonizing with Bob. This intermingling might be jarring to some, but it gives this timeless lament a welcome freshness.