BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS Catch A Fire (Holy Grail 1973 Jamaican first press limited edition 9-track LP, uniquely pressed on CLEAR BROWN HASH SMOKE VINYL, issued on the colour Tuff Gong label, with the Island catalogue number, A4-U/B4-U matrices & 'STERLING' stampers in the run-outs, as well as the earliest 'BML-2001B 4-U' matrix stamp crossed out in the Side B run-off groove. During this time in Jamaica, some record plants experimented with colour vinyl effects but the quantities are unknown & very few examples of this near mythical 'Clear Smoke Vinyl' pressing appear for sale on the market. Each pressing is known to be super limited & unique. What's interesting here is that the only copies we have seen before of this, what's been dubbed the 'Clear Smoke Vinyl' edition of this Wailers masterpiece, have had black wisps as a smoke effect within the clear surround of the vinyl. This particular pressing is transparent but with a full on brown HASH SMOKE like effect when held to light! The smoke stain effect gets darker on the run-ins & run-outs & could well be one of the earliest mispressings. A mispress can occurr when changing the pressing plates from one colour to clear vinyl, the result being, a few having a mixture of colours ending up with this brown almost hash like effect, actually a perfect tone to compliment the album. There are also TWO Side 2 labels either side, though there are clearly five tracks on Side A & four on Side B - the record plays as per normal & sounds wonderful as well it should. We guarantee you won't find another one like this... Better still is the condition. Housed in the original lightly textured card picture sleeve, this is a stunning copy of Marley's historic first album for Island Records. The cover is easily in Excellent condition with just minor shelf wear, clean panels, no tears & all print is legible, especially along the spine. The uniquely coloured vinyl is Excellent to Near Mint with barely any signs of play either side. FIRE, indeed & a complete one-off! ILPS-9241)
#Top 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.