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Following in the footsteps of other late legends including Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, Bob Marley will be next to receive the orchestral treatment. Bob Marley & The Chineke! Orchestra is due on May 27 from Island Records/UMe. The 10-song set, recorded at Abbey Road Studios under the aegis of producer Nick Patrick, merges Marley's original vocal tracks with new orchestrations. The album features many of the reggae pioneer's most beloved compositions including "Get Up, Stand Up," "Is This Love," and "I Shot the Sheriff." The "One Love/People Get Ready" medley is currently streaming as the lead single.
The Chineke! Orchestra was founded in 2015 by double bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE to provide new musical opportunities for Black and ethnically diverse classical musicians in the United Kingdom and Europe. Today, the ensemble is the resident orchestra at Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's Southbank. Cellist and BBC Young Musician of the Year Sheku Kenneh-Mason OBE was playing with Chineke! (he's since gone solo) when he devised arrangements of Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" and "Redemption Song" that resonated with Tuff Gong and the Marley estate. The latter is included on the upcoming release.
Chineke! founder Nwanoku comments in the press release, "As a purely trained classical musician, the idea of being involved in a musical collaboration with the legendary Bob Marley was truly mind-blowing. I ardently believe that all genres of music should be open to absolutely everyone, so it was wonderful for Chineke! to be able to bring new orchestrations to these iconic tracks."
Bob Marley's music continues to inspire both in London, where he's the subject of the new West End musical Get Up, Stand Up penned by Billy Elliot author Lee Hall, and around the world. Bob Marley & The Chineke! Orchestra seeks to bring a new dimension to his classic works. It's due from Island/UMe in vinyl, CD, and digital formats on May 27 and can be pre-ordered at the links below.
Bob Marley & The Chineke! Orchestra (Island/UMe, 2022) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
- Exodus
- Stir It Up
- One Love/People Get Ready
- Get Up, Stand Up
- Is This Love
- Redemption Song
- Top Rankin'
- Satisfy My Soul
- I Shot The Sheriff
- Turn Your Lights Down Low
Release Round-Up: Week of November 3
Stir It Up: Bob Marley's 'Catch a Fire' Goes Deluxe for Its 50th Anniversary
Release Round-Up: Week of August 4
Release Round-Up: Week of July 22
I do not care for these kind of things. Even more so when the artists are not alive to approve or disapprove. It just seems like a money grab.
To me this looks like April fool's day joke!
This COULD be interesting, like other similar efforts with Roy Orbison, Rod Stewart, etc. with the Royal Philharmonic.