While the majority of Catch a Fire‘s compositions are by Marley - who takes lead vocals on all but two songs - the solid propulsive rhythm section provided by brothers Aston and Carlton Barrett, the staccato guitar patterns of Peter Tosh, and the vocal interplay of Bunny Livingston, Tosh, and Marley emphasize that the Wailers at this point were very much a group, not simply a band centered around Marley. This would be the album to break Burning Spear beyond Jamaica.) (Two years later, Island would take a similar approach with Burning Spear’s Marcus Garvey, an album that was remixed in order to dilute the dark roots grooves of producer Jack Ruby. Nevertheless, in its historical moment, the subtle transformation and finessing of the band’s sound worked well and, particularly in the UK and the US, the album garnered the acclaim Blackwell had sought for the Wailers. In places this so-called “English” version of the Wailers’ material now sounds a little too saccharine and awkward - for example, the rock licks of “Concrete Jungle” and the slide guitar twang of “Baby We’ve Got a Date (Rock It Baby)”. Having taken the master tapes to London, Blackwell enlisted two white American session musicians - guitarist Wayne Perkins and keyboard player John “Rabbit” Bundrick - to flesh out the Wailers’ sparse textures and had the album remixed, effectively translating it into a format that British and American rock audiences would find more palatable. Ever the shrewd businessman - Lee “Scratch” Perry would say a “vampire” - Blackwell convinced the Wailers that certain changes were in order if they were to achieve the degree of success he had in mind. On hearing the tapes of the album that would be Catch a Fire in late 1972, however, he changed his tune slightly. Chamusso and Precious are released, and he joins the ANC and sneaks across the border into Mozambique to train and eventually help stop the brutal government.C atch a Fire, Bob Marley and the Wailers’ first major label release, was the album that set the band - primarily Marley, of course - on the road to global fame.Īs numerous music critics have noted, this was a little ironic since the record that broke the group outside of Jamaica was not, strictly speaking at least, the album that Bob Marley and the Wailers presented to Island Records boss Chris Blackwell.Įxcited by their work with producer Lee “Scratch” Perry on records like 1970’s Soul Rebels, Blackwell recognized the Wailers’ potential as the band to take reggae to the rest of the world and signed them to Island. He refuses to confess, but when Precious is arrested, he accepts responsibility for the bombing. Chamusso is innocent, but his alibi doesn't hold up. Vos is an officer in the Police Security Branch charged with identifying and arresting members of the African National Congress (ANC), whose goal is to rid South Africa of apartheid. When an explosion rips through the facility, Chamusso is arrested, tortured, and held in a shabby, makeshift jail by men supervised by Col. That's just what happens at the refinery. South Africa is ruled by fear and government-enforced apartheid (rigid segregation), and the only way to instigate change, according to some activists, is with guerrilla warfare and terrorism. He has a good job, a beautiful wife named Precious (Bonnie Henna), and two small girls. Set during the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa in the 1980s, CATCH A FIRE tells the story of Patrick Chamusso ( Derek Luke), a black foreman at a white-owned oil refinery near Johannesburg.
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