Lost Bob Marley tapes restored after 40 years in a basement

LOS ANGELES - Bob Marley would’ve turned 72 this week, but we’re the ones who get a present.

If you don’t recall, 13 reel-to-reel tapes that contained four years of the late reggae legend’s concert recordings were found sitting in a box in a basement of a London hotel… for over 40 years! They were discovered by a friend of London businessman Joe Gatt who alerted jazz singer Louis Hoover.

In a recent interview, he said:

“When I saw the labels and footnotes on the tapes, I could not believe my eyes, but then when I saw how severely water damaged they were, it was gut wrenching. There was literally a plasticized gunk oozing from every inch, and in truth, saving the sound quality of the recordings looked like a hopeless task.”

A sound technician successfully worked for a year to restore the sound of 10 out of the 13 tapes. The project reportedly cost about $31,000 and was finished just in time for Marley’s birthday on February 6th.

Does this means we now have rare versions of “Jamming,” “Exodus,” “Now Woman No Cry,” and “I Shot The Sheriff”? No release date is set, so we just have to wait patiently.

In the meantime, get up, stand up and check your basements, people!