Bob Marley And The Wailers Catch A Fire - 50th Anniversary Editions Released

11-04-2023

(UMe) Catch A Fire, Bob Marley And The Wailers seminal first release on Island Records, universally regarded as the album which put reggae music on the global stage, is out now, as a beautiful deluxe edition via UMe. The release celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the album's original release in 1973. In addition three classic tracks, Slave Driver, Get Up, Stand Up & Stop That Train, all recorded live at the Wailer's legendary performance at the Sundown Theatre in the village of Edmonton, North London in 1973.

A hugely anticipated new film Bob Marley: One Love, celebrating the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity, is in theatres February 14th, 2024. Produced by Ziggy Marley, Cedella Marley and Rita Marley, and with Stephen Marley as the music supervisor, the film tells the inspirational story of how Bob overcame huge adversity to become one of the world's most revered musical and cultural giants through the power and beauty of his revolutionary music. Produced in partnership with the Marley family, the film stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob and Lashana Lynch as his wife Rita.

Catch A Fire is the fifth studio album by Bob Marley and the Wailers and was the first to be released by Island Records UK. The album originally had a limited release and was credited to The Wailers. Housed in a memorable sleeve, in the shape of a Zippo lighter designed by graphic artists Rod Dyer and Bob Weiner, Catch A Fire's future versions would feature the classic portrait of Marley smoking a "spliff", taken by Esther Anderson. From then on, the artist credit was Bob Marley and The Wailers. After touring and recording in the UK with Johnny Nash, Nash's departure to the United States left the Wailers without enough money to return home. They approached Island founder and producer Chris Blackwell, who advanced them the money for an album and paid their fares back to Jamaica, where they recorded Catch a Fire. The album features nine songs, two of which were written by Peter Tosh and the rest by Bob Marley. After Marley's return to London to present the tapes to Blackwell, the producer reworked the tracks with contributions by Muscle Shoals session musician Wayne Perkins, who played guitar on two overdubbed tracks.

Marking the beginning of the anniversary celebrations will be the unearthing of the "Slave Driver" performance from the Edmonton show in 1973, available on his YouTube page. Fans can enjoy an ensemble of videos over the next few months to mark the release of the 50th anniversary editions in November.

Catch A Fire is available on two special formats; a 3 x Vinyl LP + 12" set, a 3 CD set, as well as digitally across all platforms. LP1/CD1 features the full final studio recording, LP2/ CD2 is the 10-song live album, "Live From The Paris Theatre London", while LP3/CD3, entitled Sessions, features alternative, extended and instrumental Jamaican versions of the original album tracks. The additional 12", available with the vinyl offering, and also included on CD3, features 3 classic tracks, Slave Driver, Get Up, Stand Up & Stop That Train, recorded live at the Wailer's legendary performance at the Sundown Theatre in the village of Edmonton, North London. These historic recordings have only previously been available as a bootleg. The reverse side of the 12" has an etched image of the iconic Zippo lighter illustration.

Both LP & CD packages will include a book comprised of classic images of Marley, from a photo shoot with long time collaborator Arthur Gorson, who shot images of Bob for 2 weeks in Jamaica. The packages will also include press clippings from the era while brand new sleeve notes have been written by renowned music journalist and author, Chris Salewicz. The formats will utilise both iconic sleeve designs, the original famous Zippo lighter illustration & the later version with Bob smoking a spliff. The D2C offering will be a LTD run pressed on coloured vinyl.

The album has received enormous critical acclaim, including being listed on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, the second highest placement of the five Bob Marley albums on the list, after the posthumous compilation album, Legend. It is also rightly regarded as one of the greatest, most important and influential albums, across all genres, of all time.

The full track listing is as follows:

3xLP+12"

LP1 - Studio Album
Concrete Jungle
Slave Driver
400 Years
Stop That Train
Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby)
Stir It Up
Kinky Reggae
No More Trouble
Midnight Ravers

LP2 - Paris Theatre London / 24th May 1973
Rastaman Chant
Slave Driver
Stop That Train
No More Trouble
400 Years
Midnight Ravers
Stir it Up
Concrete Jungle
Get Up, Stand Up
Kinky Reggae

LP3 - Sessions
Slave Driver (Jamaican Extended Version)
400 Years (Jamaican Extended Version)
High Tide Or Low Tide (Jamaican Alternate Version)
Stir It Up (Jamaican Alternate Version)
No More Trouble (Jamaican Extended Instrumental)
Stir It Up (Jamaican Extra Organ Version)
No More Trouble (Jamaican Extended Version)
Stop That Train (Working Mono Version)

12" - Edmonton Sundown May 1973
Slave Driver (The Sundown Theatre in Edmonton, England. May 1973)
Get Up, Stand Up (The Sundown Theatre in Edmonton, England. May 1973)
Stop That Train (The Sundown Theatre in Edmonton, England. May 1973)

3CD Tracklist
CD1 - Studio Album
Concrete Jungle
Slave Driver
400 Years
Stop That Train
Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby)
Stir It Up
Kinky Reggae
No More Trouble
Midnight Ravers

CD2 - Paris Theatre London / 24th May 1973
Rastaman Chant
Slave Driver
Stop That Train
No More Trouble
400 Years
Midnight Ravers
Stir it Up
Concrete Jungle
Get Up, Stand Up
Kinky Reggae

CD3 - Sessions + Edmonton Sundown May 1973
Slave Driver (Jamaican Extended Version)
400 Years (Jamaican Extended Version)
High Tide Or Low Tide (Jamaican Alternate Version)
Stir It Up (Jamaican Alternate Version)
No More Trouble (Jamaican Extended Instrumental)
Stir It Up (Jamaican Extra Organ Version)
No More Trouble (Jamaican Extended Version)
Stop That Train (Working Mono Version)
Slave Driver (The Sundown Theater in Edmonton, England. May 1973)
Get Up, Stand Up (The Sundown Theater in Edmonton, England. May 1973)
Stop That Train (The Sundown Theater in Edmonton, England. May 1973)