Exodus

Some 1976 material came from Harry J in Kingston, and the main sessions were in London in early 1977. One account has the London recording starting in February. Marley chose the album title before he wrote the song. The shooting and exile shaped the record, with the first half given to religious politics and the second to love and faith. He told Vivien Goldman of Sounds that after the shooting he would go in a different bag.

Punky Reggae Party, written after the Clash covered Police and Thieves, was the B-side of Jamming. Stevie Wonder's Masterblaster was inspired by Jamming. The album reached number 20 in the United States, number 15 on the R&B chart and number eight in Britain. Singles were Jamming, Waiting in Vain, One Love/People Get Ready and Three Little Birds. AllMusic gave it 4.5 stars and Pitchfork 8.4, and Time named it the best album of the 20th century in 1999. Rolling Stone ranked it 169th on its 500 greatest albums in 2003 and 48th in 2020. Pitchfork wrote in 2007 that the album balances politics, religion and romance, and that its mellower side sets the tone. Marley played four successive nights at the Rainbow Theatre in London from 1 to 4 June 1977, and the highlights were recorded in the BBC documentary Live at the Rainbow 1977.