Confrontation, the thirteenth and final studio album by the reggae legend Bob Marley & the Wailers turned 40 this year. The album was released posthumously in May 1983, 2 years after Bob’s death with previously unreleased recordings. Some of the tracks were Marley demos like “Jump Nyabinghi,” from a 1979 dub plate with added vocals from the I-Threes.
The Island Records album has surpassed 500 million streams on Spotify and receives over 200,000 streams per day. It is Bob Marley & The Wailers’ 17th album to reach the milestone.
It peaked at No. 55 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart and has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association Of American for selling 500,000 units. Confrontation is also certified Gold in New Zealand for selling 7500 units.
Notable songs on the album include ‘Black Man Redemption’ co-written by Lee Scratch Perry and the Rhythm and Blues infused track ‘I Know,’ but the stand out single is “Buffalo Soldier,” written by Marley and Jamaican DJ King Sporty born Noel George Williams.
William’s original version of “Buffalo Soldier” was recorded and released in the late 1970s for the Konduko label and Marley recorded the song while on the Kaya tour in 1978 in Miami where Williams lived since the 1960s.
Marley’s version peaked at No. 4 on the U.K. Official Singles chart the week of May 7, 1983 and spent 13 non-consecitive weeks on the chart. The song is certified Platinum in the U.K. by the British Phonographic Industry for selling 600,000 units as of June 3, 2022.
The album cover designed by Neville Garrick portrays Bob Marley as Saint George, the military saint who is bravely vanquishing the dragon of Babylon. A similar emblem can be found on the reverse of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie’s imperial standard.
but Confrontation’s cover is likely to have come from a World War I British recruitment poster.
Inside the album’s sleeve lies a vivid artist’s rendition of the historic Battle of Adowa, a monumental clash in 1896 where Ethiopian forces triumphed over Italy.
