Exodus

The CD release of Exodus has been flawlessly remastered from the original recordings and showcases what is probably the Wailers' tightest recorded performance. The initial notes of the album's opening track, "Natural Mystic," fade up from a deep silence, giving the listener the impression that the music generates from within a continuum of the past, present, and future. The first half of Exodus bears witness to Marley's shift in focus away from the mundane problems of Babylon existence and toward a greater understanding of vital universal truths. The second half features songs like "Jamming" and "Waiting in Vain," which take a gently wistful look at the more interpersonal aspect of human relations. --Rebecca Levine