Changing industries: The Wailers - Catch a fire

As mentioned earlier, the reggae industry, both in Jamaica and Britain, beforehand had revolved around the production and marketing of singles rather than albums. Singles were generally cheaper to manufacture, had an earlier turnover and required less investment. They were generally better suited to the consumption of reggae’s black target audience. The rock market, in contrast, was based on album sales by particular artists or groups which although requiring greater initial investment and ultimately took much greater profits. The Wailers’ changeover from a studio, singles-based vocal group to an album-based touring band signalled an attempt to repackage reggae in a form to suit the needs of the rock market. Rock albums were designed for consumption by an audience prepared to sit and listen for a considerable length of time. The order of songs on such albums were pre-arranged in the production process as mentioned by Davis in 1983, “The European and American audiences that Blackwell wanted the Wailers to penetrate were accustomed to getting their music from albums on which ten or more tunes clicked together in a more sustained atmosphere. Bob Marley was asked to make the first reggae album, which Blackwell would then transform into a record that could appeal to the rock fans who were his principal customers.”

Blackwell’s decision to market reggae as album music and to establish the Wailers as more profitable artists heavily shaped the production and packaging of the Wailers’ album Catch A Fire. The first change in the production of the album was the increased scale of financial investment made in recording the album. As Blackwell explained “In Jamaica they were just making records on a very limited budget. And the records were made very much just for the Jamaican market. And they weren't in stereo. Their early records were great for what they are, but for getting to a wider market they needed more money spent on them.”

Blackwell had doubled the normal rates for Jamaican session musicians, permitting them to record for longer than the standard two and a half to three minute. In accordance with Island's marketing plans, Catch A Fire was also recorded in stereo. The latest technical facilities of the recording process were employed to “clean up” the music. The improved standards of sound reproduction were designed to broaden the music’s appeal commercially by contrasting opinion of rock fans stating that reggae was a music of inferior quality. Although the backing tracks for the album were recorded in Jamaica, they were subsequently remixed and edited in London under Blackwell’s supervision. As part of this procedure, session musicians were brought in to overdub the rock guitar, the tabla and the synthesizer parts over the Wailers’ music. Blackwell also speeded up Wailers’ basic rhythm tracks by one beat, thinking that a quicker tempo could enhance the music’s appeal to the rock market. Afro-American-influenced rhythms and back-up vocals were also added to give the music a cosmopolitan sound.

These transformations amounted to a distinct move away from Jamaican music’s traditional emphasis on drums and bass towards a new produced sound, filled out by keyboards and guitars. The addition and remixing of instruments became a permanent feature of Island’s production of all the group’s following albums.

Unlike most previous reggae albums Catch A Fire was retailed as a full-price album and was the first in a series of glossily packaged and well-produced stereo albums that could be promoted, reviewed and consumed in rock terms as complete “works of art”. Island’s ground-breaking marketing strategies were most clearly reflected in the elaborate packaging and design of their album sleeves. Catch A Fire’s sleeve cover was designed in the form of a large cigarette lighter creating a novel selling point. These ploys confirmed Island’s intention to sell the Wailers’ as “rebels” by stressing the uncompromising and open political aspects of their music.

In 1973, as Bob Marley’s career progressed as he continued to reflect the struggles of all oppressed people, including those from his homeland of Jamaica. “He could not be just a singer,” noted Rita Marley. “I mean, even looking at him when he’s singing, he’s fighting a war.”  As unrest in Jamaica escalated by the mid-70s, Bob Marley brought the message of change to the masses in a language to which they could all relate.

Bob Marley’s music was to inspire peace and profess the merits of the Rastafarian religion, which, among other things, proposed the healing power of marijuana.

Jamaican sayings and metaphors saturated Bob Marley’s music. In fact, it was a conversation between Chris Blackwell’s colleague Esther Anderson and Bob Marley that inspired one of his most well known songs. “Well if you shot the guy and he’s been bothering you all the time, well the thing is ‘everyday the bucket goes well, one day the bottom must drop out.’ Well, it’s a Jamaican thing we say all the time. It means, you know, everyday you are messing with me, one day you are gonna get it.” These words later became lyrics to “I Shot the Sheriff.”