"If you are the big tree, we are the small axe sharpened to cut you down," the defiant cry of David against Goliath, opens this collection. Because Jamaicans almost invariably do not pronounce the letter H, tree and three sound exactly the same when spoken.Thus the lyrics have an immediate double meaning. The big tree was actually Jamaica's Big Three recording, pressing and distribution outlets: Federal, Dynamic Sounds and Studio One, against whom Lee Perry and the Wailers were making their stand. "Whosoever diggeth a pit shall fall in it," warns Bob, as Bunny and Peter echo his words, underlined by the horn play of Tommy McCook on tenor sax and "Deadly" Headly Bennett on alto. "No weakheart shall prosper." Tired of being robbed at every turn, the Wailers announce that not only shall they achieve their rewards, but they shall see the thieves destroyed in the process. In one of the more interesting ironies of the on-going Wailers story, Rita Marley purchased Federal Records plant, and it is now the home of the new Tuff Gong in Kingston. Today Dynamic Sounds is still going strong, and even Studio One operates occasionally when Mr. Dodd finds his way back to Jamaica from his current HQ in Brooklyn.

liner notes by Roger Steffens and Leroy Jodie Pierson

Explore Soul Rebels and the Soul Revolution portions of this boxset

Learn more about Bob, Bunny, Peter, Rita