Track Listing

1. Concrete Jungle
2. Slave Driver
3. 400 Years
4. Stop That Train
5. Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby)
6. Stir It Up
7. Kinky Reggae
8. No More Trouble
9. Midnight Ravers
10. High Tide Or Low Tide
11. All Day All Night

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32548 in Music
• Released on: 2001-06-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued

Amazon.co.uk Review
Catch a Fire stands alongside some of rock's great debut LPs. Of course, the Wailers had been making great low-budget records for years in Jamaica--first as a vocal trio and then as a band--but this first effort for Chris Blackwell's Island label in 1973 is the one that broke reggae music into an international market (and finally gave them some dough as well). Bob Marley's "Stir It Up" had been a major pop hit in America and Europe the year before via a cover version by Johnny Nash, priming the market for reggae, but nothing prepared the world for Marley songs like "Concrete Jungle" and "Slave Driver", which fully revealed Marley's seemingly mystical political militancy. Marley's magic was already there, for sure, but Peter Tosh's "Stop That Train" and "400 Years" both display why Tosh and Marley together made a peerless reggae music team. --Bill Holdship

CD Description
It is nearly impossible to imagine a time when reggae was not part of the cultural currency. Though Bob Marley and the Wailers cannot be said to have invented the style, they certainly brought it to the world stage, and this album was the torch that lit the way. CATCH A FIRE hit with the force of arevelation when it was released in 1973, and though Chris Blackwell tailored its sound with a rock audience in mind, the album was still unlike anything that had ever come down the pike. Ironically, even given its relatively full production and electric guitar solos, CATCH A FIRE sounds more organic and rootsy than any of the Wailers' subsequent releases.
While the percolating rhythms and burbling bass lines of the Barrett brothers, and the sweet, impeccable harmonies of Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer soothe and move, CATCH A FIRE also introduces the conscious, politically minded themes that would remain at the centre of Marley's songwriting for the rest of his career. "Concrete Jungle", one of the towering standout tracks, addresses the trap of inner cities, while "Slave Driver" and "400 Years" take on racial/historical issues. Yet Marley's penchant for gorgeous love songs is evident here too on his all-time classic "Stir It Up". Even after everything that followed, and the cult of idolatry that formed around Marley, this remains soulful, message-driven music that goes straight to the blood. Utterly essential.

Customer Reviews

THE BUSINESS!!!
Best price is here, because this marvellous double-act sells at a much higher price retail in other countries. Even at around 20 quid in Hong Kong its still worth every cent and penny. The re-master of the one you know and love sounds great to me. But what you really do need to buy is the original Jamaican release, remastered here with the original running order and two tracks removed for release elsewhere. Everyone will have their favourite comparison to draw. For me its "Stop That Train", now cut back to the Jamaican studio version and blows me away. The new track 3 "High Tide Or Low Tide" is a beautiful tribute to the mainstream black music the Wailers must have been listening to on their radio, is my guess. Chris Blackwell, in the also-superb "Classic Albums in Rock History" documentary, agrees this is a wonderful song but not what he wanted for the non-Jamaican release. Why the second new song - track 8 - didn't make Blackwell's cut is more of a mystery. Perhaps the harmonies were just a little too sweet, even though he used a fair amount of saccahrine in the overdubbs in London. "All Day All Night" however is another perfectly-welcome driving mid-tempo reggae beat. "The Feel" as various people on the documentary call it. Even if you are not a die-hard Marley/Wailers fan, this Jamaican version is an absolute gem that you should own. Every so often you may revert to the western release to check, but you'll be right back to Kingston afterwards.

Awesome!
This is how all reissues should be done! A superb package consisting of a newly remastered CD of Bob Marley's groundbreaking Catch A Fire album, along with a previously unreleased version of the album recorded in Jamaica before Bob Marley and The Wailers re-recorded the album for Island Records, and all housed in a deluxe slipcase which replicates the original Zippo lighter LP sleeve. Like the packaging, the sound is also first-rate and it seems like a decent remastering job has been done here. The unreleased version of the album does not have the slick production of the later version but has a certain quality that was not captured for the re-recording. This is a must-have for casual or avid Marley fans alike.

Reggae's missing link
Catch a Fire was the first Reggae album I became aware of... OK I knew about Desmond Decker, and Jimmy Cliff, but to my mind, at that time they were singles artists.
The Wailers' timeless single Stir It Up had percolated into my consciousness, I had seen them plying their spiritual/political-but- oh-so-laid-back tunes on Whistle Test and I wanted to know more. Island had obviously pumped a lot of cash into these guys, the album cover was amazing... a 12" scaled up, fully hinged and opening cardboard effigy of a Zippo lighter!

The album is chock- full of great tunes; 400 Years, Concrete Jungle, Kinky Reggae, Stir It Up... they became much loved tunes. I since became a fan, bought all of the albums, but to my mind this one, along with African Herbsman is their best. The later albums are more coffee table friendly, but I still prefer the rootsy feel of the earlier releases.
Chris Blackwell of Island wanted the album to have more crossover appeal to break Marley to an international market, and overdubbed synths, clavinet and other instrumentation and axed a couple of tunes.
Here with this release, we have a digitally remastered version of the UK release, along with a remastered disk of the original Jamaican release. The differences are subtle but telling, but when the Blackwell magic is removed, what we re left with is the pure and raw sound of a Jamaican rising star.

I am personally well pleased with this new found mix and it gets played with preference to the 70's release at every opportunity. This is the missing link between early Marley and his commercial international breakthrough and it makes fascinating listening.