Bob Marley is most famous as a reggae musician and has been credited with introducing the genre to the world beyond Jamaica. So the fact that “Redemption Song” is, at least on the surface, such a different sound has caught many people by surprise. The song is an acoustic track, just Marley and his guitar. There are no electronics and none of the beats associated with reggae.
But “Redemption Song” isn’t as big of a departure as it appears at first glance. Marley got his start on the acoustic guitar, after all. It was one of the only affordable instruments for poor Jamaicans of his generation, and he did his composing on guitar. His generation of singers was also heavily influenced by Bob Dylan and the folk movement of the 1960s, an influence that showed itself in earlier work by Marley and the Wailers.
The version of “Redemption Song” that made it onto “Uprising” isn’t the one Marley first conceived, however. Per uDiscover Music, The Wailers went through at least 15 iterations of the song while recording, and they weren’t all acoustic showcases. One version, released in the years since (above), is immediately recognizable as reggae. Ian McCann of uDiscover Music felt that it approached ska with its upbeat, bouncing quality. This brighter version — or any other utilizing the full band — might have made the album if not for Chris Blackwell, co-founder of Island Records. He convinced Marley that the acoustic version packed more punch.
