In 1970, Trojan Records released
Bob Marley & the Wailers' first British full-length,
Soul Rebels, with
African Herbsman following in 1973. Both sets were overseen by
Lee Perry, and their tracks have been recycled in infinite combinations on myriad low-budget compilations ever since.
Return to Dunn's River Falls pulls 11 tracks from both these albums and then, to mix it up a bit, adds a trio of numbers recorded with
Leslie Kong a few years earlier -- "Cheer Up," "Can't You See," and "Soul Captive." As is all too typical with these sets, strong songs rub shoulders with less than stellar ones, while the omissions outweigh the hits. Offering nothing new beyond the packaging, the only reason anyone has to buy this set is if by chance it actually contains one's own personal favorites. Somehow, though, that seems unlikely.