Catch a Fire (The Wailers)

Catch a Fire
The Wailers (1973)

Top Tracks: “Concrete Jungle”, “Stir It Up”, “Kinky Reggae”

While this was their fifth album, The Wailers (and reggae in general) were pretty underground in the USA in 1973. It was actually their following album and Eric Clapton’s subsequent cover of “I Shot the Sheriff” that broke Bob Marley out as an international star. But Catch a Fire, with that Wailers core of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer, established a sound that would resonate for decades to come and bring reggae into the forefront. Memorable side note: I was really high one day at age 16 while at Berklee College of Music when I did a cover of “Stir It Up” with some classmates in a dorm room (May 2020).

Cliff Hanger (Jimmy Cliff)

Cliff Hanger
Jimmy Cliff (1985)

Top Tracks: “Hitting with Music”, ”American Sweet”, “Brown Eyes”

Funny story about this album: it’s not that great. Jimmy Cliff is a great singer and a reggae hall of famer, but I find most of his output on the “lite” side of Jamaican music. What’s he doing here, then? This is a great example of what this blog is all about. In 1985 when this came out, I was spending a lot of time with Michael Gale. We were in a local cover band together and also were buddies for a lot of alcohol and drug-based shenanigans. During my senior year, we had this album on pretty much constantly for things like beach trips and house parties. I couldn’t have left it off the list and felt honest. And yeah, it’s okay. It’s fun. Music can be fun (June 2020).