In 1999, Time magazine called Bob Marley & the Wailers' 1977 record "Exodus" the Album of the Century.

Exactly 10 years after that proclamation, the Wailers will perform "Exodus" in its entirety, from start to finish, at Harry O's in Park City, part of a 24-city "Exodus" tour.

So much is going on in the world -- poverty, war and recession -- that the world needs to listen to the messages of the 10-song, 37-minute album, said Wailers Elan Atia and Ashton "Family Man" Barrett in an interview. "Reggae is the heartbeat of the people," said bassist Barrett, the only remaining original member of the group. "Music is the power of the future."

Barrett was considered Marley's right-hand man when Marley died in 1981 at age 36. Responsible for creating the innovative bass lines and many of the arrangements of Marley's songs, Barrett, now 62, has continued to carry the torch of Jamaican music and Rastafarian pride through the years.

Part of that responsibility has led to Barrett anointing 31-year-old Jewish-American singer Atias as Marley's latest successor. Born the same year "Exodus" was made, Atias said the album was influential in determining who he became as a singer as he aged.

"The majority of the world is poor and they're crying out for change," he said. "The Wailers' music speaks to everyone's problems, what they are going through in their lives. ... It gives you a message."

The landmark "Exodus" was Marley's last studio album. While its content still addresses political and societal problems, the music conveys an air of spirituality and optimism that's filled with compassion, never veering into self-righteousness. The album plays like a prayer, bolstered by the Wailers, who provided the steady, tight beats that bolstered Marley's lyrics with honey.

That blending of sugar and vinegar is why the recent musical partnership between the Wailers and country superstar Kenny Chesney isn't as odd as it might seem, Barrett said.

Chesney approached the Wailers to contribute music to "Everyone Wants to Go to Heaven," which became his 15th No. 1 country song when it was released in 2008. The song features a reggae-tinged orchestration by the Wailers, with the lyrics focusing on a narrator listening to a preacher who has told him to abstain from sexual decadence and drinking, in favor of religion. In the chorus, the narrator responds, "Everybody wanna go to heaven / But nobody wanna go now."

"[Country and reggae are] all about love and consciousness," Atias said. "It's a great marriage."

"Reggae and country are both uncut without commercials," Barrett said.

Wanna go to heaven? For music fans, that's the opportunity posed by Wednesday's landmark concert.