Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter, musician, and guitarist who achieved international fame and acclaim. Starting out in 1963 with the group the Wailers, he forged a distinctive songwriting and vocal style that would later resonate with audiences worldwide. The Wailers would go on to release some of the earliest reggae records with producer Lee Scratch Perry. After the Wailers disbanded in 1974, Marley pursued a solo career which culminated in the release of the album Exodus in 1977 which established his worldwide reputation and produced his status as one of the world's best-selling artists of all time, with sales of more than 75 million albums and singles. He was a committed Rastafari who infused his music with a sense of spirituality.

The classic Marley album, the one that any fair-weather reggae fan owns, Legend contains 14 of his greatest songs, running the gamut from "I Shot the Sheriff" to the meditative "Redemption Song" and the irrepressible "Three Little Birds." Some may argue that the compilation shortchanges his groundbreaking early ska work or his status as a political commentator, but this isn't meant to be definitive, it's meant to be an introduction, sampling the very best of his work. And it does that remarkably well, offering all of his genre-defying greats and an illustration of his excellence, warmth, and humanity. In a way, it is perfect since it gives a doubter or casual fan anything they could want. Let's face it, the beauty and simplicity of Marley's music was as important as his message, and that's captured particularly well here.

Mastering was completed by Kevin Reeves at Sterling Sound NYC, using the original U.S. and U.K, album masters from the Island Records vault. The masters were played on a modified Studer A820 with Wolke Butterfly heads and converted to digital at 192khz/24bit resolution using the DCS 904 converter and Sterling’s proprietary mastering systems. As always, the most direct signal path was maintained throughout the mastering process.

Note: tracks 6 and 10 are in 24/96, since that was the highest resolution available at the time of production.

HDTracks-PCM-24bit-192Khz-FLAC