AllMovie

Bob Marley's first professional album, Catch a Fire, introduced an enthusiastic international audience to reggae music. In this documentary, the principal collaborators on Catch a Fire recount how the album and its music were created. Featuring an in-depth interview with Wailer percussionist and vocalist Bunny Wailer, as well as archival interviews with Marley and Wailer musician, singer, and composer Peter Tosh ("Peter Mackintosh" on the album), the documentary reveals that Catch a Fire was conceived as a crossover record. Traveling to London with the eight-track tapes they had recorded in Jamaica, Marley and his band polished the recordings in Basing Street Studios, where they got advice and supervision from Island Records' honcho Chris Blackwell. White American session players like keyboard player John 'Rabbit' Bundrick and guitarist Wayne Perkins were brought in to sweeten the sound with overdubs intended to please an international audience. Rare home movies of the Wailers in Jamaica, and performance material of tracks like "Stir It Up," "Stop That Train," and "Kinky Reggae" round out the documentary.