Catch a Fire

The band had been stranded in London after a Johnny Nash tour and a dispute with CBS and Danny Sims. A tip from road manager Brent Clarke led to Chris Blackwell, who advanced them 4,000 pounds to return to Jamaica and record. Blackwell then reworked the Kingston tapes in London and added overdubs, including guitar by Wayne Perkins. Island later won the court case against CBS and Sims. It was recorded primarily on an eight-track, the first time a reggae band had access to a state-of-the-art studio, and Blackwell wanted a drifting, hypnotic feel more than a reggae rhythm. He tempered the bass-heavy mix and left off two tracks.

The first sleeve was designed to look like a Zippo lighter, and later pressings used an Esther Anderson photograph of Marley. The album reached number 171 on the Billboard 200 and number 51 on the R&B chart. Robert Christgau wrote that half the songs were worthy of St. John the Divine, and Rolling Stone called it a blazing debut. Rolling Stone ranked it 126th on its 500 greatest albums list in 2012 and 140th in 2020. The album initially sold 14,000 units.