Just Shoot Me

Bob Marley - I Shot The Sheriff



I really do love the Wailers. I promise, I do. I'm not about to disavow Robert Nesta Marley's importance to music, socio-politics and the war against racism and colonialism &c &c. But don't make me listen to this song again. Please. Hell, I'll listen to the live versions of Lively Up Yourself or No Woman, No Cry from 1975's Live album a million times over and never get tired of them, but this song just doesn't capture the essence of Marley's or the Wailers' talent. It's not raw enough. Great reggae should, like the blues, be raw as hell, not sanitised and overproduced. This is a song about killing a policeman over drugs - it's not meant to be an out-and-out pop song.

The only time you really hear Marley singing is at about 3:28 in the song, when he's belting it out with all the conviction of a man who shot the sheriff and realises that this may not have been the smartest career move. The rest of the song is just far too clean and poppy for me, which is a shame, because had it been a bit darker and rawer (like the live version), it would have made for a better song, in my opinion. But then again, what do I know?

That said, how did Marley fare on the Rock Nutter Scale (tm)? Pretty well, really. Needless to say, he has the drugs aspect covered, what with being the figurehead of stoned Trustafarians everywhere. He managed to piss off enough people to get shot, probably due to his political views, and was arrested and convicted in the UK for possession of marijuana (what a suprise?). He was also an alleged womaniser of note who managed to father a brood who seem pretty keen on destroying the Marley name in music. OK, so his real name was actually Robert Nesta Marley but, apart from that, most of the boxes are checked. He may not be Keith Richards, but he's done himself proud.

Verdict: Maybe he should have shot the deputy too?

Tomorrow: Little Richard - Keep a Knockin'