POP MUSIC REVIEW : Marley Day: A Wide Range of Styles

Last year’s Bob Marley Day sellout at the Long Beach Arena was no fluke. Tickets for the ninth annual concert on Sunday at the 13,000-seat arena were gone by early afternoon, and latecomers clustered around the entrance hoping to find a way into the eight-hour concert featuring the re-formed Black Uhuru and the Mighty Diamonds.

The concert spotlighted a wide spectrum of reggae styles, but the closing performance by the original Black Uhuru--Don Carlos, Garth Dennis and Duckie Simpson--was anticlimactic. For the first half of the hourlong set, the music sounded as if it was being pumped through a beat box rather than the same sound system the other artists used.

But even at full volume Carlos proved too soft and sweet a lead singer to put across the new material that dominated the set. Only a reggae-fied version of “Hey Joe” and an encore medley of early hits struck sparks. Surprisingly, the band didn’t acknowledge the recent death of Puma Jones, who teamed with Michael Rose and Simpson in the best-known lineup of Black Uhuru.

The Mighty Diamonds served up a satisfying hour of soul-rooted vocal harmonies in the classic reggae vein that peaked on “Have Mercy” and a rousing, revival-style finale of Bob Marley & the Wailers’ “Keep Moving On.”

Newcomer Shinehead lacked new material, but he quoted a wide range of pop sources in his clever reggae-rap pastiches--most effectively on the entrancing “Who the Cap Fit.” English deejay Tippa Irie also delivered a vibrant half-hour set. (San Diego County Edition) SAN DIEGO PERFORMANCES

The Bob Marley celebration comes to the California Theatre on Thursday and Friday.