Catch A Fire (Remastered 2013)

Bob Marley’s 1976 album <i>Rastaman Vibration</i> marks the moment when the Jamaican singer transformed from an emerging reggae star into an international pop icon, creating a world-conquering sound out of the three elements he namechecks on the album’s second song: “Roots, Rock, Reggae”. Marley’s mastery is untouchable on keening, lovestruck ballads like “Cry to Me” and gritty, urban tales like “Johnny Was”; he even finds a way to incorporate a Haile Selassie speech into a slinking, intense riddim on “War”.