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The Pepsi Challenge- Catch A Fire Style

DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
edited February 2007 in Strut Central
A record that I have been listening to for almost 25 years. Never gets boring. Now you can hear it as it was first conceived. The deluxe edition of the The Wailers' Catch A Fire is a two-disc set. Disc one contains the original JA mix delivered to Chris Blackwell, head of Island records. Blackwell decided that the mix needed tweaking and had some American style slide guitar thrown into the mix as well as some polishing of the sound. Catch A Fire was a huge crossover break through sending BMW into the international pop music market. Now you can judge for yourself if Blackwell made the right move or not. Link 1 is the JA mix and Link 2 is the Island Records original release mix. Some songs sound quite a like but others such as Stir It Up are noticeably different. DL them both and you make the call. There is a unreleased track as a bonus for your efforts. Catch a Fire JA Mix Catch a Fire Island Records Mix

  Comments

  • PrimeCutsLtdPrimeCutsLtd jersey fresh 2,632 Posts
    this has been out for awhile. Both versions are great. I got to tell you though I like the Chris Blackwell version. I'm sure strutter purists will choose the other.
  • BurnsBurns 2,227 Posts
    alright another challenge, very easy:

    Jacob Miller - "Girl Name Pat" or "Girl Name Pat - version"

    red
    or
    blue


    jah
  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    Here the short version of the challenge: 2 different versions of Stir It Up. First is the original release Island Mix and below is the JA version.




  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    alright another challenge, very easy:

    Jacob Miller - "Girl Name Pat" or "Girl Name Pat - version"

    red
    or
    blue


    jah

    SOrry but I couldn't think of anything when I first read your post.

  • ZEN2ZEN2 1,540 Posts
    The JA mix definitely wins in my book. The Wailers never needed any studio trickery mucking up their sound.
  • meistromocomeistromoco 953 Posts
    here is a challenge...how do you open an .rar file???
  • G_BalliandoG_Balliando 3,916 Posts
    go to download.com and download winRAR. every PC should have this program.
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    this has been out for awhile.

    Around five years.

    It was never clear to me how "authentic" the JA mix was; my understanding is that it was actually done pretty recently.

    Regardless, I think it vastly superior, if only for removing the guitar and clavinet overdubs and putting some of the bass back in. Harmony vocals are also more prominent and there's at least one standout cut that was presumably left off the official release because the multi-part vocals were too reminiscent of guys in matching suits with coordinated dance steps, rather than of the singer-songwriter/lone figure with a guitar that Blackwell must have known he had to establish Marley as to reach a rock audience.
  • aleitaleit 1,915 Posts
    Yo.
    i don't know about this Catch a Fire release.

    But I was in Good Records the other day and jonny was telling me how like the best release that Bob Marley ever did was called Legend. He had an MP3 of it that he had downloaded of vinyl vulture i think and that shit was from start to finish.

    does anyone know whether it saw an original Jamaican vinyl release? i'm only interested in the OG.

    Also, kind of unrelated but does anyone know whether Marley Marl was related to Bob Marley and Ziggy and all those guys?

    THANKS!
  • BigSpliffBigSpliff 3,266 Posts
  • meistromocomeistromoco 953 Posts
    Yo.
    the best release that Bob Marley ever did was called Legend. from start to finish.

    does anyone know whether it saw an original Jamaican vinyl release? i'm only interested in the OG.

    Also, kind of unrelated but does anyone know whether Marley Marl was related to Bob Marley and Ziggy and all those guys?


  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    this has been out for awhile.

    Around five years.

    It was never clear to me how "authentic" the JA mix was; my understanding is that it was actually done pretty recently.

    Regardless, I think it vastly superior, if only for removing the guitar and clavinet overdubs and putting some of the bass back in. Harmony vocals are also more prominent and there's at least one standout cut that was presumably left off the official release because the multi-part vocals were too reminiscent of guys in matching suits with coordinated dance steps, rather than of the singer-songwriter/lone figure with a guitar that Blackwell must have known he had to establish Marley as to reach a rock audience.

    I think some dudes misunderstood my use of the word "now". Now means that if you don't already own it you can "now" check it now. According the liner notes these are mixes as completed in JA circa 71-72.
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    this has been out for awhile.

    Around five years.

    It was never clear to me how "authentic" the JA mix was; my understanding is that it was actually done pretty recently.

    Regardless, I think it vastly superior, if only for removing the guitar and clavinet overdubs and putting some of the bass back in. Harmony vocals are also more prominent and there's at least one standout cut that was presumably left off the official release because the multi-part vocals were too reminiscent of guys in matching suits with coordinated dance steps, rather than of the singer-songwriter/lone figure with a guitar that Blackwell must have known he had to establish Marley as to reach a rock audience.

    I think some dudes misunderstood my use of the word "now". Now means that if you don't already own it you can "now" check it now. According the liner notes these are mixes as completed in JA circa 71-72.

    Take a look at the fine print in the credits--there's been discussion of this on a number of reggae-oriented boards.

    While there may have been a Jamaican mix that circulated contemporanously with the original US/UK release, I believe the disc in that package has had some additional and more recent tweaking.
  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    I see nothing in the liner notes that would indicate later remixing of these tapes other than that they were mastered in 2001, which would make sense since they had not been released before.
  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    Well, 39 burns later I think I'll throw in my 2 cents. I agree with Prime. I like the original mix more. Blackwell very much improved the tracks by adding the atmospherics. I think the layering takes the songs a level deeper, adding a sense of dread or warmth depending on the tune. What is odd is that the Wailers were coming our of their most influential period, working a lot with Scratch. Those sides (including earlier versions of CAF tracks) have a power that is undeniable which the band's JA CAF mixes just don't seem to capture. The one exception is Concrete Jungle which I think really shines on the JA mix. I'm a little baffled why they left All Day, All Night off. It sounds right at home with the rest of the songs.

    As a bonus for playing the pepsi challenge, I am linking a fav LP by a band that took much from the Wailers, including their name. For all you who feel dirty talking about BMW on the strut, take a Soul and Power shower.
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