Description

1976 UK press with gatefold cover

In 1973, when the movie The Harder They Come was released, reggae was not on the radar screen of American pop culture. This astonishingly energetic, passionate and fiery soundtrack features 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. This album of Jamaican music that came out in the rocksteady era really changed the situation for reggae music. 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. Even if all songs on this collection are excellent, some truly stand outs, like 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. This is the early days of reggae before it all became homogenized and bastardized by the slick Bob Marley machine. Wonderful, passionate, life affirming stuff that really cant come much better than this.

Track list:
1. Jimmy Cliff -You Can Get It If You Really Want
2. Scotty -Draw Your Brakes
3. The Melodians -Rivers Of Babylon
4. Jimmy Cliff -Many Rivers To Cross
5. The Maytals -Sweet And Dandy
6. Jimmy Cliff -The Harder They Come
7. The Slickers -Johnny Too Bad
8. Desmond Dekker -Shanty Town
9. The Maytals -Pressure Drop
10. Jimmy Cliff -Sitting In Limbo
11. Jimmy Cliff -You Can Get It If You Really Want
12. Jimmy Cliff -The Harder They Come