Catch a Fire
Studio album by The Wailers
Released	April 13, 1973
Recorded	Dynamic Sound Studios, Harry J. Studios and Randy's Studios, Kingston, Jamaica and Island Studios, London, England, 1972–1973
Genre	Reggae
Length	38:46
Label	Tuff Gong/Island
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A) link
The Wailers chronology
	Catch a Fire (1973)	Burnin' (1973)
Alternate cover
Reissue cover art

Catch a Fire is the major label debut album for Jamaican roots reggae band The Wailers, released on Island Records in 1973 (see 1973 in music). The album established the band as international superstars, and Marley in particular became world-famous, especially in the Caribbean and Africa, and among immigrants in Europe and African-Americans in the United States. The socially aware lyrics and militant tone surprised many listeners, but others were attracted to songwriters Bob Marley and Peter Tosh's confrontational subjects and optimistic view of a future free from oppression. Cover of The Wailers album Catch a Fire. ... A Studio Album is an album of regular studio recordings. ... The Wailers in the middle of the 1960s. ... April 13 is the 103rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (104th in leap years). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... cover of the Harry J Allstars album Liquidator released in 1969 by Trojan This article is about a reggae producer for other names see Harry Johnson (disambiguation) Harry Johnson aka Harry J (born c. ... The City of Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Tuff Gong is a record label that was formed by the reggae group The Wailers in 1970 and named after Bob Marleys nickname. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... Robert Christgau (sometimes abbreviated in print to Xgau), born April 18, 1942, is an American essayist, music journalist, and rock critic. ... The Wailers in the middle of the 1960s. ... Burnin is a roots reggae album by The Wailers, released in 1973 (see 1973 in music). ... Cover of The Wailers album Catch a Fire. ... The following is a partial list of record labels, both past and present. ... Roots reggae is the name given to Rastafarian reggae music from Jamaica which evolved from Ska and Rocksteady and was made famous outside the Caribbean by the legendary singer/songwriter Bob Marley. ... The Wailers in the middle of the 1960s. ... Island Records was founded in Jamaica in 1959 by Chris Blackwell and Graeme Goodall but moved to the UK in May 1962. ... See also: other events of 1973 list of years in music 1970s in music // January 9 - Mick Jaggers request for a Japanese visa is rejected on account of a 1969 drug bust, putting an abrupt end to The Rolling Stones plans to tour the Orient. ... World map depicting Caribbean : West Indies redirects here. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the six inhabited continents of the Earth. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Robert Nesta Marley, OM (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981), better known as Bob Marley, was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. ... Peter Tosh on the cover of his album The Toughest Peter Tosh (October 19, 1944 – September 11, 1987) was a pioneer reggae musician, as well as a trailblazer for the Rastafarian movement. ...

Catch a Fire peaked at #171 and #51 on Billboard's (North America) Pop Albums and Black Albums charts respectively. It is number 123 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ... Rolling Stone is an American magazine devoted to music, politics and popular culture. ... The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2003. ...

Track listing

Side one

1. "Concrete Jungle" (Marley) – 4:13
2. "Slave Driver" (Marley) – 2:53
3. "400 Years" (Marley/Tosh) – 2:45
4. "Stop That Train" (Tosh) – 3:55
5. "Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby)" (Marley) – 3:57

Baby Weve Got a Date is a 1973 song by Bob Marley & The Wailers released on the Catch a Fire album. ...

Side two

1. "Stir It Up" (Marley) – 5:32
2. "Kinky Reggae" (Marley) – 3:37
3. "No More Trouble" (Marley) – 3:57
4. "Midnight Ravers" (Marley) – 5:10

Stir It Up is a song composed by Bob Marley in 1967, and first made popular by Johnny Nash, peaking on the UK chart in June 1972. ...

2001 Deluxe edition

Disc One Catch A Fire: The Unreleased Original Jamaican Versions

1. "Concrete Jungle" – 4:16
2. "Stir It Up" – 3:39
3. "High Tide Or Low Tide" – 4:45
4. "Stop That Train" – 3:55
5. "400 Years" – 3:03
6. "Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby)" – 4:05
7. "Midnight Ravers" – 5:09
8. "All Day All Night" – 3:29
9. "Slave Driver" – 2:57
10. "Kinky Reggae" – 3:45
11. "No More Trouble" – 5:16

Disc Two Catch A Fire: The Released Album

1. "Concrete Jungle" – 4:15
2. "Slave Driver" – 2:55
3. "400 Years" – 2:47
4. "Stop That Train" – 3:57
5. "Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby)" – 3:59
6. "Stir It Up" – 5:35
7. "Kinky Reggae" – 3:39
8. "No More Trouble" – 4:00
9. "Midnight Ravers" – 5:08

Remixing the "English" Version

On completion, the master tapes were taken to the UK for remixing, and Chris Blackwell enlisted the help of two white US musicians in order to help the album crossover to a white audience - making an "English" version of the album. Wayne Perkins re-did some of the rhythm/ lead guitar, whilst John "Rabbit" Bundrick added some organ to the mix. Chris Blackwell (born June 22, 1937) is the founder of Island Records. ...

Iconic Cover Art

The first 20,000 copies of the original 1973 vinyl release were encased in the famous Zippo sleeve (pictured above). This sleeve worked as a Zippo lighter case would, opening at a side hinge to reveal the record within. A Zippo Lighter is a refillable, metal lighter manufactured by Zippo Manufacturing Company. ...

However, the producers soon realized that this operation would require hand-manufacture, as machinery available was not sufficient to rivet the upper and lower halves of the sleeve together.

Copies of the record from these original pressings have since become collectors' items, and subsequent pressings are recognizable by their alternative cover art (pictured).

See also

Classic Albums Classic Albums and Classic Rock Albums are documentary series about pop music albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of pop music. ...

Personnel

• Bob Marley - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Vocals, Producer
• Aston "Family Man" Barrett - Bass Guitar
• Carlton "Carlie" Barrett - Drums
• Chris Blackwell - Producer
• Carlton Lee - Engineer
• Bunny Wailer - Bongos, Conga, Vocals
• Peter Tosh - Organ, Guitar, Piano, Vocals
• Tony Platt - Engineer
• Bob Weiner - Design
• Rod Dyer - Design