Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come (Mono & Stereo)
Rarity - Sealed
COMPILATION
Vocals & Written by Jimmy Cliff (A1, A4, A6, B4-6), Scotty (A2), The Melodians (A3), The Maytals (A5, B3), The Slickers (B1), Desmond Dekker (B2)
1 LP, Gatefold jacket
Limited Edition
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : Black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Mono (A5, B2) & Stereo (A1-4, A6, B1, B3-6)
Studio
Record Press : Record Industry
Label : Simply Vinyl
Original Label : Island Records
Produced by Jimmy Cliff (A1, A4, A6, B4-6), Leslie Kong (A3, A5, B2-3), Byron Lee (B1), Derrick Harriott (A2),
Originally released in 1972
Reissued in February 2000
Tracks:
Side A
- You Can Get It If You Really Want
- Draw Your Brakes
- Rivers Of Babylon
- Many Rivers To Cross
- Sweet And Dandy
- The Harder They Come
Side B
- Johnny Too Bad
- 007 (Shanty Town)
- Pressure Drop
- Sitting In Limbo
- You Can Get It If You Really Want
- The Harder They Come
Awards:
Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time - Ranked 174
Reviews:
« In 1973, when the movie The Harder They Come was released, reggae was not on the radar screen of American pop culture. The soundtrack went a ways toward changing that situation. It is a collection of consistently excellent early reggae songs by artists who went on to thrive with reggae's increased popularity, and others for whom this is the most well-known vehicle. Jimmy Cliff is both the star of the movie and the headliner on the soundtrack. He contributes three excellent songs: the hymnal "Many Rivers to Cross," "You Can Get It If You Really Want," and "The Harder They Come" (the latter two are repeated at the end of the album, but you probably wanted to hear them again anyway). Interestingly, the better production values of his songs actually seems to detract from them when compared to the rougher, but less sanitized, mixes of the other tracks. All the songs on this collection are excellent, but some truly stand out. Toots & the Maytals deliver two high-energy songs with "Sweet and Dandy" and "Pressure Drop" (covered by the Clash among others). Scotty develops a mellow, loping groove on "Stop That Train" (not the same as the Wailers' song by the same name) and the Slickers prove on "Johnny Too Bad" that you don't have to spout profanity or graphic violence to convey danger. The Harder They Come is strongly recommended both for the casual listener interested in getting a sense of reggae music and the more serious enthusiast. Collections don't come much better than this. » AllMusic Review by Toby Ball
Ratings:
AllMusic : 5 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.76 / 5