Some people mellow as they get older. Bob Marley gets angrier and wiser. Following the relaxed, self-fulfilled "Exodus" and "Kaya", "Survival" marks a surprising but welcome return to the frontline of political entertainment with a passion strengthened by reasoned analysis….

"Survival's" firm grounding in the three Rs—Rasta, Rebellion and Rhythm—informs without preaching and entertains without condescension. It's a fiery mix and a potentially difficult one, but it's made possible by the Wailers' oozingly confident playing and the expressive simplicity of the songs.

If the language is readily comprehensible, the songs themselves fall into a larger, complex framework which outlines the problems facing Africans both inside and outside Africa and the more subtle methods of oppression used against them. The album ends with an insistence on black pride and culture, which is both the core and method of resistance….

The separate strands of identity found in Rastafarianism...