The deluxe edition of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 1973 breakthrough, Catch a Fire, is like one of those before-and-after photos of dieters: Disc One offers the unretouched — and little-heard — original Jamaican mix, Disc Two the familiar international version produced several months later by Marley and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. This is the rare reissue project that expands what we know about a classic; the lavishly illustrated Deluxe Edition provides a glimpse into the engine room of one of the most important rhythm sections of the Seventies, and offers a new way to appreciate enduring calls to consciousness such as “Slave Driver,” “400 Years” and “No More Trouble.”
 
The first disc includes two songs not on the international Catch a Fire — Marley’s gorgeously sung appeal for Jah guidance, “High Tide or Low Tide,” and “All Day All Night” — and reflects the order in which the songs were originally completed. Many listeners will no doubt still prefer the familiar mix, but the original is important not just as a point-of-origin artifact but because its stark clarity takes us straight to the heart of Marley and the Wailers — into the calming, hymnlike melodies, the impassioned voices, the sense of hope and faith that gave these songs the resonance of evangelical crusades.
 
The Unreleased Jamaican Versions
1. Concrete Jungle - The Wailers
2. Stir It Up - The Wailers
3. High Tide Or Low Tide - The Wailers
4. Stop That Train - The Wailers
5. 400 Years - The Wailers
6. Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby) - The Wailers
7. Midnight Ravers - The Wailers
8. All Day All Night - The Wailers
9. Slave Driver - The Wailers
10. Kinky Reggae - The Wailers
11. No More Trouble - The Wailers
 
The Released Album (Island ILPS 9241)
1. Concrete Jungle - Bob Marley & The Wailers
2. Slave Driver - Bob Marley & The Wailers
3. 400 Years - Bob Marley & The Wailers
4. Stop That Train - Bob Marley & The Wailers
5. Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby) - Bob Marley & The Wailers
6. Stir It Up - Bob Marley & The Wailers
7. Kinky Reggae - Bob Marley & The Wailers
8. No More Trouble - The Wailers
9. Midnight Ravers - The Wailers