Blackheart Man

Following Bunny Wailer's 1973 departure from the Wailers, he spent three years retired in the Jamaican countryside before returning to the recording studio. The result was the triumphant Blackheart Man, an essential album for any serious reggae collection. Backing Wailer were a number of legendary Jamaican musicians including the Barrett Brothers (Carlton and Aston), Robbie Shakespeare, Skatalite Tommy McCook and former bandmates Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. It's easy to hear the influence of American R&B in the swaying horns and chugging rhythms. Wailer's gorgeous tenor wraps itself around the optimistic This Train, a song Curtis Mayfield might have written had he grown up in Kingston rather than Chicago.