Harder They Come (Deluxe Edition) [Original recording remastered, Soundtrack, Deluxe Edition]

Jimmy Cliff | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 5, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 1968
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered, Soundtrack, Deluxe Edition
• Label: Hip-O Records
• ASIN: B0000AKY4I
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,429 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #48 in Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Jamaica

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. You Can Get It If You Really Want - Jimmy Cliff

2. Draw Your Brakes - Scotty

3. Rivers Of Babylon - The Melodians

4. Too Many Rivers To Cross - Jimmy Cliff

5. Sweet And Dandy - The Maytals

6. The Harder They Come - Jimmy Cliff

7. Johnny Too Bad - The Slickers

8. 007 (Shanty Town) - Desmond Dekker

9. Pressure Drop - The Maytals

10. Sitting In Limbo - Jimmy Cliff

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Israelites - Desmond Dekker & The Aces

2. My Conversation - The Uniques

3. Do The Reggay - The Maytals

4. Viet Nam - Jimmy Cliff

5. I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash

6. Reggae Hit The Town - The Ethiopians

7. Double Barrel - Dave & Ansel Collins

8. It Mek - Desmond Dekker & The Aces

9. Sweet Sensation - The Melodians

10. Let Your Yeah Be Yeah - Jimmy Cliff

See all 18 tracks on this disc

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Re-Issue !, August 5, 2003

By 

R. J. Morris (Worthington, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

Years ago I saw the movie, the Harder They Come, later picked up the soundtrack which was a great collection of the best Reggae stars at that time. This lead me to buy more Toots, Dekker, etc and make an extended compilation that I've listened to with great pleasure over the years. Now, as my original cassette tape is wearing out, comes the re-issue of the movie music AND with the second CD, lots of the extras I'd put on my tape years ago. I guarantee that lovers of this great music will be more than satisfied with this new double CD set. If you also get the 1975 Bob Marley & the Wailers "Live" you'll be set for life.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Double the reggae essentialness, March 3, 2006

By 

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

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

The original version of this film soundtrack is the single most influential reggae album in the genre's history, and the most listenable reggae record from beginning to end. That's always been a bit surprising, given that the film's director selected the tracks in a harried weekend of picking-and-choosing among songs that struck a personal resonance. It's doubly amazing that the songs fit the film so perfectly, and that Chris Blackwell was able to weave the tracks from various artists into such a perfect, cohesive album. This is the essential introduction to reggae music, and a collection whose spirit and musicality simply never ceases to amaze.

Hip-O's 2-CD deluxe reissue couldn't really double the magic of the album's original dozen tracks, but the eighteen additions do help flesh out reggae's 1968-72 period. Highlights include Desmond Dekkar's anthemic "Israelites," Johnny Nash's pop-crossover "I Can See Clearly Now" (as well as his take of Bob Marley's "Guava Jelly"), the Maytals' biographical "54-46 (That's My Number)" (as well as their catchy sing-along "Pomp & Pride"), The Melodians soulful "Sweet Sensastion," and Jimmy Cliff's alternate take, "The Bigger They Come The Harder They Fall."

The packaging includes song lyrics, notes from director Perry Henzell and producer Chris Blackwell, and liners from reggae writer David Katz. The sound quality is sharp throughout. The deluxe edition is a bit pricey as an introduction (especially considering the nice-pricing of the original single disc), but worthwhile for anyone who's loved the original vinyl to death. [©2006 hyperbolium dot com]

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Album to Set the Stage For Reggae, November 30, 2004

By 

Spencer Pennington (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

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

While Bob Marley & the Wailers put the reggae genre at large in the mainstream of music, Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" set the stage for Marley in 1972, creating America's first real cult-following of the Jamaican music with songs like Jimmy Cliff's title track, "The Harder They Come," and "Many Rivers to Cross".

The original soundtrack featured featured five songs by Jimmy Cliff from the film in which he played the lead role along with other songs by Toots & the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, the Melodians, and Scotty with songs like "Pressure Drop," "007 (Shanty Town)," "Rivers of Babylon," and "Draw Your Breaks". The soundtrack showed reggae at its finest from 1967-1972.

The deluxe edition offers plenty of bonus material from many of the same artists on the original soundtrack and other artists as well, such as Eric Donaldson, Johnny Nash, Dave & Ansel Collins, and the Ethiopians. "The Harder They Come" set the stage for reggae in America, so if you want to find out where it all began, purchase the deluxe edition of "The Harder They Come," a crucial addition to any reggae collection.