Editing Catch a Fire (section)

==Recording==
The album was recorded in 1972 at three different studios in [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], [[Jamaica]] – Dynamic Sound, Harry J's, and Randy's, respectively – on eight-track tape by engineer Sylvan Morris.<ref name="Irvin">{{cite book|author=Jim Irvin|year=2007|title=The MOJO Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion|publisher=Canongate Books Ltd|isbn=978-1841959733|page=307}}</ref><ref name="Masouri">{{cite book |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=daLO4--rNqcC&pg=PT302 |title=Wailing Blues: The Story of Bob Marley's Wailers |chapter=Chapter Twelve: Catch A Fire|author=John Masouri |publisher=Music Sales Group|date= 1 September 2010 |access-date=17 May 2012 |isbn= 9781847727060}}</ref><ref name=mosk29>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QPZEqZHKq2AC&pg=PA29|page=29|title=The Words and Music of Bob Marley|author=David Moskowitz|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|date= 2007|isbn=9780275989354}}</ref> According to Aston Barrett, "some of the songs had been recorded before ... in different studios and with different musicians, but we gave them that strict timing and brought the feeling out of them more." "Baby We've Got a Date (Rock It Baby)" is similar to "Black Bitter", recorded in an earlier session.<ref name="Masouri"/> The musicians consisted of Marley on vocals and acoustic guitar, Peter Tosh on vocals, guitar and keyboards, Bunny Wailer on backing vocals and bongos, Aston "Family Man" Barrett on bass, and Carlton Barrett on drums.<ref name=musicians>{{cite book|title=The Words and Music of Bob Marley|author=David Vlado Moskowitz|page=29|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2007|isbn=978-0-275-98935-4|url=https://archive.org/details/wordsmusicofbobm00mosk/page/28/mode/2up?view=theater}}</ref> In addition, [[Robbie Shakespeare]] played the bass on "Concrete Jungle" and "Stir It Up", [[Tyrone Downie]] played organ on "Concrete Jungle" and "Stir It Up",  Winston Wright played organ on all other tracks, and Alvin "Seeco" Patterson played akete drums on several tracks.<ref name=musicians/> The female backing singing was performed by [[Rita Marley]] and her friend [[Marcia Griffiths]].<ref name=White214>{{cite book|author=Timothy White|date=2 May 2006|title= Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley|publisher= Henry Holt| isbn= 9780805080865|page=214}}</ref> [[Tommy McCook]] played the flute.<ref name="Masouri"/>

In the winter of 1972, Marley flew back to London to present the master tapes to Chris Blackwell. CBS and Sims, with whom the band were already contracted, took Blackwell and the Island Records label to court over the recording. Island won the case, and received US$9,000 (about $68,000 in 2024) and two percent of [[royalties]] from the band's first six albums, while Sims received {{GBP}}5,000 and the publishing rights to the Wailers songs.<ref name="DT164"/><ref name=White214/> Blackwell remixed the tracks at the Island Studios on Basing Street, and included [[overdub]]s. [[Muscle Shoals Sound Studio|Muscle Shoals]] session guitarist [[Wayne Perkins]], who at that time was recording a new Smith, Perkins & Smith album at the Island studio, recorded a [[guitar solo]] overdub for "Concrete Jungle", including the three-[[octave]] [[audio feedback|feedback]] at the end, [[slide guitar]] on "Baby We've Got a Date (Rock It Baby)",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Catch-Fire-Classic-Albums-DVD/dp/B00005O41I/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1463306564&sr=8-3&keywords=classic+albums+bob+marley |title=Catch A Fire – Classic Albums [DVD&#93; [2001&#93;: Amazon.co.uk: Bob Marley: DVD & Blu-ray |website=Amazon.co.uk |date=December 2008 |access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref> and the [[Wah-wah pedal|wah-wah]]-laced lead on "Stir It Up".

The songs' lyrics deal with political injustice towards blacks and poverty, as is the case in much of their musical output. ''Catch a Fire'' is about "the current state of urban poverty", and "Slave Driver" "connects the present to past injustices". However, politics are not the only theme; "Stir It Up", for example, is a love song.<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web|url=http://allmusic.com/album/catch-a-fire-r2277489|work=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=18 April 2012|author=Vik Iyengar|title=Catch a Fire&nbsp;– Bob Marley & the Wailers}}</ref> "Stir It Up", along with other Marley songs, was covered by Johnny Nash on the ''[[I Can See Clearly Now (Johnny Nash album)|I Can See Clearly Now]]'' album, peaking at number 12 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart in 1973.<ref name=White213/>