Bob Marley and the Wailers: Catch A Fire: 50th Anniversary Edition (3 CD)

Bob Marley and The Wailers' Catch A Fire 50th Anniversary Edition is a logical extension of the 2001 Deluxe Edition of the title. Whereas that latter double-CD package included this seminal reggae record in both its original and overdubbed form, this latest exhumation from the vault includes the studio album as originally released, the complete concert of the band 'Live at the Paris Theatre in London' (previously only ever bootlegged) and a third compact disc of alternate, extended and instrumental Jamaican tracks where three more live tracks reaffirm the preternatural bond of the Wailers before Bob Marley assumed top billing.

Carp as we might about the parsimonious approach to archiving that generates multiple versions of the same title, there is really no dismissing the legitimacy of work by an artist like Marley who invariably invites invocations of the otherwise fatuous 'What if...?' school of thought. Still, notwithstanding the significance of the Catch A Fire milestone itself, anyone who owns the double disc package may remain skeptical of the rationale behind releasing the triple set; after all, unless the 'new' content on the 50th Anniversary Edition was only later discovered in the vaults, might it not have made sense to combine the varied expanse of material in a single title (it might still have been released close to the 2024 premiere of the biopic One Love)?

While details of the mixing and mastering of the second compendium at Abbey Road Studios is not sufficiently clarified to confirm if Chris Bolter (the former) and Alex Wharton (the latter) engineered just the previously-unreleased material, the difference in the sonics on the main component are at least slightly significant; comparing the audio of the the two corresponding main discs in each package reveals that the latest production sacrifices presence for the depth that distinguishes the prior release. But that only mirrors the range of material from the jocular sensuality of "Kinky Reggae" to the somber resolve of the title song.

Regardless, the sound adds to the penetrating nature of "400 Years" and "No More Trouble," to name just two selections. Otherwise, the live recordings on the triple-disc set are the most significant inclusions in the anniversary package, both on their own terms and as they correlate to other comparable releases of recent years, in particular The Capitol Sessions '73 (Mercury Studios, 2021).

Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Peter Tosh and vocalist/songwriter/percussionist Bunny Wailer (born Neville Livingston) would take their composing skills and haunting vocal harmonies with them upon their departure from the band following Burnin' (Island, 1973). While the unity of the larger subsequent ensemble certainly seems no less than the smaller unit captured here, the more compact personnel grouping surprises more with the level of exotic, visceral impact from performances such as "Rastaman Chant" from the Paris Theater.

The musicianship and the recording of the three additional live performances as captured at the Sundown Theatre in Edmonton, England, are not quite so pristine. And they might otherwise seem redundant too since all three songs—"Slave Driver," "Get Up Stand Up" and "Stop That Train"—appear on the longer setlist. But the mood of the latter interval is constantly interrupted by introductions of each song.

As a result, that fifty-minutes or so becomes a study in contrast with the continuity arising out of the extended versions, rearrangements and instrumentals from studio sessions. While the most avid Marley devotees and completists might find the most attraction in these eight selections, the casual listener is also bound to be impressed with the durable quality of the material itself, not to mention the seamless nature of the band.

Accordingly, whether or not this content ends up as a soundtrack for activities similar to Marley's as pictured on the front cover (the back replicates the graphics of Zippo lighter design for limited edition early vinyl), it is worth hearing as reaffirmation of its mesmerizing quality as played by veritable masters of reggae. There is an intimacy to the interplay that would become diffuse as the reconfigured Wailers morphed into Marley's accompanists in later years.

As only the titular leader during that period, the late Jamaican icon was nevertheless integral to the mechanics of these musicians' operation(s) in the early going. Such is the implicit point clarified by the juxtaposition of studio and stage recordings in Catch A Fire 50th Anniversary Edition, one reaffirmed by the twenty-four pages of photos, replications of memorabilia and an occasionally poetic yet factual essay by Chris Salewicz bound within the five-inch square hardcovers.

Comments