Bob Marley & The Wailers - Exodus (Horns Mix) (1977)

While Bob Marley was recording sessions for the 'Exodus' and 'Kaya' albums in 1977, he began to experiment with including a horn section on the songs, as he thought it would add another dimension to his ever-evolving musical catalog, much like the rock guitar did on the 'Natty Dread' and 'Rastaman Vibration' albums. While he used horns for his remaining studio albums, with their greatest and most persistent use on the 'Survival' album, they only survived on these recordings on the title track of the 'Exodus' album. The Wailers horn section originated with Jamaican trombone and saxophone players Vin Gordon and David Madden, who played on the 'Natty Dread' and 'Rastaman Vibration' albums, and it later included included Glen Da Costa, David Madden, and the Zap Pow horns. Madden recalls "Bob called me, 'David, we have a recording session, do you want to come?' And of course, I said yes. I didn't know Bob was going to become any kind of star. He would say, 'We have a little tour, do you want to come along?' It was a  mixture of professionalism and friendship. We don’t have that superstar air in Jamaica. I might sing the biggest tune yesterday but today I'm still walking down the street. When me and Bob talked, it was because of a session. Or Family Man will say, David, go talk to Bob because he wants to do a session". Madden and the other horn players were paid for the sessions but were not credited with writing parts. "Well, you see, when we reach the studio, the song is already done. It is all there. When you hear a song, the thing is to be able to say, you know, there is a part there that would sound better with horns. I am hearing that there is something that would sound better than if it was left alone. So for them guys, Marley and those, just for thinking to put some order in that tune, to bring it up some more, well that is genius in them. But as for what to play there, they don’t know. That is where we come in. They weren't able to tell us what to play. But because of being in the studio and working and all the practice that we do, we are hearing things. So when we come and they say, alright, roll the song, and we start to play, they say ‘Damn! Here! Yes!’ and the tune go up and it is a hit!" Madden has happy memories of his work with Marley, playing on 17 of his hit songs, including 'Natty Dread', 'So Jah Say', 'Rat Race', 'War', 'Is This Love', and 'Smile Jamaica', and The Zap Pow horns subsequently became the Wailers' horn section for studio sessions and tours. Only a few of these recordings have horns added, as Madden said, sometimes you can just tell that they are not needed, but even those without the addition of the horns are monitor mixes, and so completely different to the released versions. 

Track listing

01 Natural Mystic
02 So Much Things To Say
03 Guiltiness
04 The Heathen
05 Exodus
06 Jammin'
07 Waiting In Vain
08 Turn Your Lights Down Low
09 Three Little Birds
10 One Love