Many years ago Bob Marley liked jammin’ and he hoped people liked jammin’ too. The Marley family is estimating people still like it, with a CD/DVD set, Easy Skanking in Boston ’78, the first of several releases scheduled throughout 2015 from the estate’s private collection that will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the birth of the reggae king. Marley passed in 1981 at age 36 and, in the subsequent 34 years, has become as prominent a figure around the world, as both musician and messenger, as he was in life. It’s extraordinary, given his enduring global impact on generation after generation, that the Marley vaults haven’t been exhausted, and in fact, very little of what likely exists has actually been made available officially. Two years ago, a deluxe edition of Kaya was issued, with an included second disc culled from a July 1978 appearance from Rotterdam whose sonic fidelity fell short of what many fans had hoped for upon its release. Easy Skanking is drawn from that same touring edition of Bob Marley and the Wailers, though a month earlier, and is thankfully, not only vastly improved in the quality of the recording, just as sizzling a show.

In fact, it’s two shows, as Marley and the Wailers performed twice at the Music Hall on that June 8th evening, and while it isn’t discernible which show, early or late, belongs to the CD portion of the collection and which belongs to the DVD, there are differences between the discs worth noting. The CD features a whole concert, 75 minutes of music, and includes “The Heathen,” left off the set of the concert on DVD, itself containing seven songs and 45 minutes of running time. Filmed by a front-row fan given Marley’s permission, the DVD is as up-close and personal as can be expected, mostly fixed on the Rasta legend at work, with fleeting glimpses of the Wailers and I-Threes. The audio never drops out, but during changeovers in film, the video is interspersed with thematic animation, bridging the visual gaps, provided by the S77 team whose credits include recent projects for Bruno Mars, Pearl Jam, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Novel more than novelty, these animated interludes transform what could be a relatively stationary concert keepsake into a series of individual cinematic moments tied together in performance. Sonically the DVD show is as sharp and crisp as its CD companion, providing a chance to compare and contrast the songs repeated from the audio-only disc. In a far simpler explanation, this terrific pairing is two opportunities to enjoy two separate Bob Marley and the Wailers performances recorded within hours of each other, albeit one basically half the length of the other.

Marley was an international phenomenon at this point in 1978. The Kaya record, released in March of that year, followed a period of self-exile from Jamaica in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on the singer at his Kingston home in the middle of tense political maneuvering on the island nation. It is often referred to as his ‘love’ album, and while as a kind of valentine to cannabis, it was a tonal shift from predecessors like Exodus and Rastaman Vibration, the Boston appearance offered only “Easy Skanking” from its tracklist. Conversely, searing indictments from the early years like “Slave Driver,” “Them Belly Full,” and “Burnin’ and Lootin’” are executed with taut, focused precision, chosen alongside the now-canonized “I Shot the Sheriff” and “No Woman, No Cry,” and feel anything but conciliatory. Marley and his lock-tight Wailers band may have been on the road, away from the danger at home, but certainly were not avoiding presenting the Third World realities his lyrics conveyed. It’s a magnificent live document and, regardless of what follows, should be tabbed essential.