The Harder They Come [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Soundtrack]

Jimmy Cliff | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 26, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Soundtrack
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B00005LZWR
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,564 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #15 in Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Jamaica
  • #100 in Music > Pop > By Decade > 1970s

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jamaican filmmaker Perry Henzell made reggae an integral player in his gritty 1973 saga of a renegade Kingston singer who becomes a modern Robin Hood, casting one of the style's earliest stars, Jimmy Cliff, in the lead, and filling this soundtrack--here presented in a remastered version--with classics from Toots & the Maytals ("Pressure Drop," "Sweet and Dandy"), Desmond Dekker ("Shanty Town"), the Melodians ("Rivers of Babylon"), and the Slickers ("Johnny Too Bad"). Cliff himself gets pole position, however, getting in the first ("You Can Get It If You Really Want") and last ("The Harder They Come") words in this first-rate reggae primer, which also features Cliff's enduring "Many Rivers to Cross." --Sam Sutherland

Product Description

Japanese digitally remastered reissue of 1973 soundtrack, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. Featuring music mostly performed by Jimmy Cliff but also including tracks from Melodians, Maytals, The Slickers & Desmond Dekker. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still rockin after all these years, September 17, 2000

By 

Sean M. Kelly (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Harder They Come (1973 Film) (Audio CD)

Your search ends here, folks.

As a fan of the Jamaican forms of music for most of my life, I can assure you that in very few, if any, places, will one find a better cross-section of rocksteady, vocal trio, rude boy, and reggae music than on this classic film soundtrack.

The music of the legends- Desmond Dekker, the king of rocksteady; Toots and the Maytals, masters of Ska, rocksteady and reggae; the Melodians, one of the premier rocksteady vocal trios of all time; and Jimmy Cliff, the master himself- spearheaded the film, and the careers of the players on this disc.

Bob Marley fans will argue that Marley is the most influential reggae master of all time. This may very well be true, but this soundtrack is the master of all reggae cds. The blend of styles perfect, the muisc tight and groovy, the vocals exquisite- Jamaican music from this period at its best.

If you own one representative of Jamaican music, this would have to be it, but hopefully this soundtrack will lead you down the paths of mssrs. Dekker, Toots, the Melodians, and Cliff..and allow you the opportunity to explore and fall in love with, all that Jamaican music has to offer.

So stop reading this and get this soundtrack and buckle yourself in, because once the journey starts, you won't want to stop.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary reggae, October 3, 2002

By 

Westley (Stuck in my head) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Harder They Come (Audio CD)

I'm one of those relatively few people who prefer Jimmy Cliff to Bob Marley...and this CD is one of the primary reasons. I'm not a huge reggae fan, but this soundtrack is simply one of the best CDs I've ever heard. Every song is a classic. Four of Jimmy's best songs are one this one - "You Can Get It," "Many Rivers to Cross," "Sitting in Limbo," and "The Harder They Come." Even non-reggae fans are likely to recognize "Many Rivers to Cross," which I think is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded.

In addition to Jimmy's incredible contributions, several other important reggae acts make an appearance. Scotty scores with "Draw Your Brakes," which has the memorable chorus "stop that train, I want to get off." Desmond Dekker (who had the first ever US reggae hit single with "Israelites") has a song as does the Slickers ("Johnny Too Bad," which was later covered by UB40). This CD is widely credited with popularizing reggae in the United States, and for that distinction alone, it deserves to be considered a true classic. Plus, it's just great music.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An awe-inspiring primer to Reggae music, April 3, 2000

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Harder They Come (1973 Film) (Audio CD)

This 1973 release has probably introduced far more Americans to Reggae than any other ten Reggae discs put together. It's also one of the very best compilation albums, of any genre, I've ever heard.

Anchoring the disc are several Jimmy Cliff gems: "You Can Get it if You Really Want" (in two versions, one without the vocals on the verses), "The Harder They Come" (two different versions), the soulful, gospel-influenced "Many Rivers to Cross", and a great pop track, "Sitting In Limbo."

Also included are Scotty's slow Reggae-train rhythm of "Draw Your Brakes", The Melodians harmony laden "Rivers of Babylon", The Maytals' "Sweet and Dandy" and their incredible version of "Pressure Drop" (the only problem with which is that it isn't about 40 minutes longer), The Slickers' "Johnny Too Bad" (with those great wails that always made me think the Jordanaires were vacationing in Jamaica and had a little too much to smoke), and Desmond Dekkar's "Shanty Town" (not quite capturing the top-10 grab of "Israelites", but fitting in here just fine).

A classic from start to finish.