Bob Marley & The Wailers: Catch A Fire 50th Anniversary & Show # 975

When People think of Reggae, Bob Marley often comes to mind. Before he became more famous, he had been involved in the Jamaican music scene as far back as 1962, when he was just a teenager. The Wailers were a group that formed early on with friends and went through a few different band name changes before becoming known as The Wailers. They first released an album in 1965 called The Wailing Wailers. The group featured Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, all of whom would be successful reggae artists on their own. Catch A Fire was the fifth full-length studio album released by Bob Marley & The Wailers (on some editions credited as The Wailers). This album was originally released in April of 1973 and was their first release for Island Records. It also featured the original line up of the band of Bob Marley (guitar/vocals), Peter Tosh (organ/guitar/piano/vocals), Bunny Wailer (bongos/congas/vocals), Aston Barrett (bass) and Carlton Barrett (drums).

“Concrete Jungle” starts off Catch A Fire, with a funky and soulful dynamic as the vocals come in and the bass moves throughout the background Marley sings “No sun will shine in my day today/The high yellow moon won’t come out to play,” and “Cause life/Must be somewhere to be found/Instead of concrete jungle,” exposing a global audience to themes of harsh poverty and brutality that surrounded West Kingston, presenting audiences to the socially conscious lyrics that Marley & The Wailers would be known for. The song also instils a hopefulness. Throughout this song and album the backing vocals of Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and backing singers Rita Marley and Marcia Griffiths are a highlight, while the instrumentation from the musicians on "Concrete Jungle" displays a laidback, yet cautiousness dynamic. The chemistry of the group on this album is undeniable. “Slave Driver” is the second track on Catch A Fire. With its meaningful message emphasizing how racism is still thriving within the structures of society, this song with its deep bass and drum grooves from Aston & Carlton Barrett, reggae guitar staccatos, organ/guitar from Peter Tosh, additional percussion from Bunny Wailer, strong vocal harmonies and Marley’s passionate fiery vocals is another one of Catch A Fire’s songs featuring heartfelt urgency. The next two songs “400 Years” and “Stop That Train” were written by Peter Tosh.

”400 years” features a haunting social criticism referring to slavery and its many forms. With chilling backing vocals, melancholic synthesizer and a striking band chemistry, the song is another standout track on Catch A Fire. “Stop That Train” with its soulful bass grooves combined with the reggae guitar and strong vocal harmonies is a catchy track that is rich in themes of despair and heartbreak. It also reflects Tosh’s abilities that would lead to his successes as a solo artist. “Baby We Got A Date (Rock It Baby)” is a love song that is both mellow and upbeat, while “Stir It Up” has a longer history. The song was originally released by The Wailers in 1967 and it found new success in the US and the UK in 1972 when it was covered by Johnny Nash reaching the top 20 in the US and the UK. Prior to the recording of this album, the band had been on tour in the UK with Johnny Nash, who in turn began recording with the band in London around this time. Due to clashes with Nash and a CBS record contract, tensions started rising within the band. They were advanced money to record an album with Chris Blackwell and Island Records when their manager approached him. They band wound up going back to Jamaica to record the album before returning to the UK to work on the album with Blackwell. The version found on 1973’s Catch A Fire is often seen as the best version of the song. This is one of Bob Marley’s best known songs. The 1973 version encompasses an excellent mix of reggae elements, the guitar, congas, bass, keyboards and steady beat are hypnotic as Marley sings “Stir it up/Little darlin’” with relaxed smoothness. “Kinky Reggae” follows “Stir It Up” with its in the pocket upbeat reggae grooves and skanking guitars. Lyrically it has been said that it could be an allegory relating to drug use, sexuality or both. “No More Trouble” is a soul-stirring track with not too many words that holds the listener transfixed, while “Midnight Ravers” ends Catch A Fire.

Catch A Fire and the Burnin’ album that followed later in 1973 were recorded around the same time. After the release of Burnin’, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley would all go onto pursue solo careers (Marley continued with The Wailers, but with a different line up). This is one of the last albums to feature all three original members of The Wailers, as also around this time tensions within the band and management were on edge. It was recorded at three different studios in 1972 in Kingston, Jamaica, the tapes were then flown back to London, England with Marley and worked on with producer/label founder Chris Blackwell. With Marley’s supervision, Blackwell remixed the tracks at Island Studios and overdubbed on the some of tracks with Muscle Shoals session guitarist Wayne Perkins. Lyrically the album would address issues of oppression, other socially conscious themes, as well as featuring love songs. Containing now classic tracks such as “Kinky Reggae,” “Slave Driver,” “Concrete Jungle” and two excellent tracks written by Peter Tosh (“400 Years” & “Stop That Train”), Catch A Fire was one of the first international roots/reggae records distributed (following the Harder They Come Soundtrack in 1972) and would set Marley on the path to superstardom.

Punky Reggae Party II Playlist (Originally Aired On February 18th, 2023):

1.  Bob Marley & the Wailers - Concrete Jungle (Catch a Fire - Island Records - 1973)
2.  Bob Marley & the Wailers - Burnin' and Lootin' (Burnin' - Island Records - 1973)
3.  Toots & the Maytals - Sit Right Down (Funky Kingston - Mango Records/Dragon Records - 1973)
4.  The Upsetters - Black Panta (14 Dub Black Board Jungle - Upsetter Records - 1973)
5.  Earth, Roots, & Water - Zion (Innocent Youths - Summer Records/Light In The Attic - 1977/2008)
6.  Leroy Brown - Money Barrier (Money Barrier - Rhythm Gits - 1981)
7.  Winston Hart - Slaves Made Them Rich (Slaves Made Them Rich - Rose Royce - 1977)
8.  Noel Ellis - To Hail Selassie (Noel Ellis - Summer Records - 1983)
9.  Oscar Peterson - In the Still of the Night (Plays The Cole Porter Song Book - Verve Records - 1959)
10. Oscar Peterson - I Love Paris (Plays The Cole Porter Song Book - Verve Records - 1959)
11. Oscar Peterson & Dizzy Gillespie - Mozambique (Oscar Peterson & Dizzy Gillespie - Pablo Records - 1974)
12. Otis Redding - Shake (Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul - Volt Records - 1965)
13. Curtis Mayfield - Wild and Free (Curtis - Curtom - 1970)
14. Wilson Pickett - Mercy, Mercy (The Exciting Wilson Pickett - Atlantic Records - 1966)
15. Howlin' Wolf - Evil (Is Going On) (Moanin' in the Moonlight - Chess Records - 1959)
16. Willie Dixon (with Memphis Slim) - Move Me (Willie's Blues - Prestige Bluesville - 1959)
17. Bob Marley & the Wailers - Stop That Train (Jamaican Version) (Catch a Fire: Deluxe Edition - Island Records - 2001)
18. Toots & the Maytals - It Was Written Down (Funky Kingston - Mango Records/Dragon Records - 1973)
19. The Upsetters - Drum Rock (14 Dub Black Board Jungle - Upsetter Records - 1973)
20. King Tubby - East Arrows of Hi Fi Dub (Dub From the Roots/A Declaration of Dub - 1975/2014)

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the February 18 file to download/stream the episode.