Light bounces off the walls of the bright Wrensilva Listening Studio in West Hollywood, and sparkles through glasses of golden Blackwell Rum punch. With rum punches in hand, friends and fans of Wrensilva admire the eclectic record collection lining the showroom.
But Marley was eager and persevering. On Marley’s disposition, Blackwell reminisced, “He wasn’t difficult at all, he was quite the opposite—he was always the first person sitting on the bus with the band.” To get over the hurdles of popular radio listenership, their collaboration would require an angle from which they could familiarize the sounds of reggae music.When asked about his intention to bring reggae to the ears of a rock audience with The Wailers, Blackwell reflected, “Bob was somebody whose lyrics and what he sang about had a lot of meaning, and I thought that that could touch people.” To further catch listeners’ attention, Marley and Blackwell amplified the use of guitar to pepper the album’s production, givingCatch a Firethe extra edge needed for its delivery to mainstream rock listeners.