The Original Wailers
14th December 2017
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Mike Thornton. Photography by Leah Victoria.
It’s been another hot day in Auckland’s early summer, but tonight the heat got turned up even further. I should say warmth, as well as heat. Warmth – because warmth, spirit and love is what the music celebrated by The Original Wailers is ultimately all about. Heat – because it’s also impossible to not move your body to – whether you are a clumsy stand-on-the-spot kind of person, or an out and out skanking machine – and so yes, it was also hot inside at the Powerstation tonight!
This was an interesting gig to research and to review (and for anyone with even the tiniest fondness for reggae – an absolute ripper to attend). I don’t class myself as a reggae aficionado at all – but this music has seemingly always been there for me (my first awareness from around 1975 in the UK), so the setlist is an utter joy. It was in that very year – 1975 (not that I knew it as a young lad just arriving from NZ to England) that Al Anderson recorded as lead guitarist on the celebrated “Live!” Bob Marley and the Wailers album at the Lyceum in London. He had been invited to join the band a year earlier – overdubbing some of the lead guitar on “Natty Dread”. And so here is in Auckland again (last here in the summer of 2014/2015) Al Anderson: the guitarist on many hits and multiple albums across his years-long association with Marley (though not all examples at their original pressings, as compiled on 1984’s “Legend” compilation LP that the band are presenting in its entirety tonight). He has been at the core of the sound of so many classics – recording as guitarist and touring with the band as their popularity grew, decades ago. His band – the Original Wailers – describe themselves being “Original” in the sense that they remain true to the original sounds, feeling and message of this powerfully evocative music, ensuring the legacy of these recordings continues to transport listeners to powerfully moving places. Anderson really does have a central and integral role in the history of the legendary band and its sound, and of course in the band on stage tonight. It’s a sound that for the writer and for a generation either side of me (my son is in the audience tonight, at 32 years separate us in age I’m sure there were some “elder statesmen” in the crowd with a few years on me, too – Al Anderson himself is a fit and sprightly 67!) has ultimately formed part of our musical vocabulary.
New Zealanders have a long and proud association with reggae and a deep affiliation with the messages of love, peace and hope that this music brings, so it’s no surprise to recognise joy on the faces of those in attendance. Judging by the enthusiastic feeling amongst the crowd that are gathered to bask in the joy of the music enshrined in “Legend” – the stratospherically popular 1984 compilation of best-sellers by Bob Marley and The Wailers – all participants tonight are amped for the set that follows.
“Legend” is a simply stunning compilation, and tonight The Original Wailers have absolutely lived up to the billing by putting on an equally stunning set.
The songs tonight were interspersed with comments and crowd participation. Ripping in to “I Shot the Sherriff”, we are welcomed with messages of praise and thanks for reggae music, and reminded that Bob Marley loved NZ. Right through the night – track after track, hit after hit, they take the warmly appreciative audience on a journey back through all those “moments in time” that one always reminisces when casting back across the decades. Just the opening chords of any given track are enough to spark loud and enthusiastic appreciation and beaming smiles. At many points on multiple songs there is such rousing sing-along participation by the crowd that singer Chet Samuel simply steps back from the mike and beams as the lyrics are chanted in rousing chorus from two-tiers of crowd back to the stage. Crowd engagement was a dialogue of sorts, too – we receive the dedication: to “the revolutionaries” – because we have we one of the world’s most beautiful countries, and the message is clear: “Don’t let them dirty up your water / Don’t let them poison up your land / Stand up for your rights / Fight to keep it pristine”. It’s clear The Original Wailers understand to whom the sing, and why they do so.
It may be the case that Al Anderson is the only band-member to share direct history with the Bob Marley and the Wailers phenomenon, but close your eyes and feel the power of the vibe in the room, and you’d be excused for not knowing it. This is not just a covers band with a link to the past. This is a band that has a deep connection to the soul of the message they convey. You can’t fault the mastery of performance as that sound just washes over and through your very being. Some tracks are a little slower than one remembers them, others a little quicker, but all delivered with skill and power. Crowd participation was never going to be a challenge with songs such as these, but our bassist this evening brings everyone together with a collaborative hand-clap and proceeds to break into a super funky solo jam, then back into “Jamming”, proper. This band (despite the drummer being a local talent roped in at the last minute) truly are continuing a legacy with what they do, and what they clearly love doing.
Every single track was a joy, so along with some extras thrown in for good measure, there can’t be a soul in the audience who by the time they spill out into the now cool, clear and refreshing air of Mt. Eden; doesn’t feel as though they haven’t earned their goosebumps a few times over, having connected with – in the words of the immortal Bob Marley himself – “One love, one heart, one destiny.” Truly a gig to live up to its billing: Legend.
Were you there at the Powerstation for this legendary gig? Or have you seen The Original Wailers perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.