In 1973, when the movie The Harder They Come was released, eggae 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 eggae songs by artists who went on to thrive with eggae'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 eggae music and the more serious enthusiast. Collections don't come much better than this.
30 years ago, Director/Producer Perry Henzell created one of the most popular films to come out of Jamaica. The Harder They Come was a triumph for the Jamaican culture and it gave an honest look at life within the ghettos of that part of the world. It also became a legendary cult film. Ivan (Jimmy Cliff) is a country boy looking for fame and fortune in the big city of Kingston, Jamaica. He has ...
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When the film The Harder They Come dropped in 1973, the whole reggae scene was primarily a Jamaico-British thing and didn't really pick up here in the states until a few years later...During my freshman year at university (and a decade or so before the world wide web was introduced) I got turned on to the the film, starring reggae singer Jimmy Cliff, whereupon I discovered that "*Mango's Sound...
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The Harder They Come soundtrack was one of the first albums I remember listening to, and I never get sick of it. When Willie Nelson did put out Countryman , a reggae album, I was very skeptical. It turned out to be a solid album, and I think he did a great job with this song. So here it is. Jimmy Cliff vs. Willie Nelson Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come Willie Nelson - The Harder They Co...
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If you've never seen the movie get it, NOW.The Harder They Come is a 1972 Jamaican crime film directed by Perry Henzell.It stars reggae singer Jimmy Cliff, who plays Ivanhoe Martin, a character based on Rhygin, a real-life Jamaican criminal who achieved fame in the 1940s. Martin is a poor Jamaican man in search of a job, before finally getting one as a reggae singer. Upon the verge of a hit rec...
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When the film The Harder They Come dropped in 1973, the whole reggae scene was primarily a Jamaico-British thing and didn't really pick up here in the states until a few years later...During my freshman year at university (and a decade or so before the world wide web was introduced) I got turned on to the the film, starring reggae singer Jimmy Cliff, whereupon I discovered that "*Mango's Sound...
More >
30 years ago, Director/Producer Perry Henzell created one of the most popular films to come out of Jamaica. The Harder They Come was a triumph for the Jamaican culture and it gave an honest look at life within the ghettos of that part of the world. It also became a legendary cult film. Ivan (Jimmy Cliff) is a country boy looking for fame and fortune in the big city of Kingston, Jamaica. He has ...
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I know some people are obssesive about soundtracks. They love the scores, the composers, the exclusive tracks, but what if you were asked to name your top 5 soundtracks? What would you say? Would you go with a score? Would you cite the album that has a rare cut from one of your favorite bands? Would you look at the soundtrack as musically cohesive? Did it go along well with the movie itsel...
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Jimmy Cliff OM (born James Chambers, 1 April 1948, St Catherine, Jamaica)[1] is a Jamaican reggae musician, best known among mainstream audiences for songs like "Sittin' in Limbo", "You Can Get It If You Really Want It" and "Many Rivers to Cross" from The Harder They Come, a film soundtrack which helped popularise reggae across the world.[2]Contents [hide]1 Career 2 Acting career 3 Cover versio...
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My wife has been a UB40 fan for their entire career, and so I have come to know them very well . Labour of Love from UB40 is a great album that I've listened to countless times, and recently I bought a Jimmy Cliff album. Normally when you listen to the original versions of tracks, they can be disappointing. As time progressed so tracks have become more and more detialed with multiple layers...
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MIAMI — Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff was in a Kingston recording studio when Perry Henzell, a Jamaican director whose company made commercials, came into the session to meet him."He said, 'I'm...
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 "The Harder They Come")
