CD Odyssey Disc 371: Jimmy Cliff

After a couple straight albums of morose dirges, I was needing something jumpy. Enter...reggae.

Disc 371 is...The Harder They Come

Artist: Jimmy Cliff, and a few others

Year of Release: 1973

What’s Up With The Cover?: A series of scenes that I think (based on limited knowledge) are from the movie of the same name. Whatever the origin, it is a groovy cover, and would make a great poster.

How I Came To Know It: "The Harder They Come" is one of those reputation albums; its reputation is so large, and it is cited as an inspiration by so many other artists, that I had to give it a try to see what the fuss was all about. Of course I took my sweet time getting around to it, and only got this record in the last couple of years.

How It Stacks Up: I only have this one Jimmy Cliff album. As soundtracks go, I have 23 or 24, depending on how you count. I'd have to put this one top four of those.

Rating: 4 stars.

Earlier tonight, I had a discussion with Sheila about where I file this album. Like a lot of music collectors, I am obsessed with keeping my albums properly sorted. While I've been tempted over the years to re-arrange in more creative manners, a la John Cusack in High Fidelity, I have so far stuck to the less creative, but more functional decision to go with the alphabet.

Even so, this creates decisions on where something should go. Does "Steve Miller Band" go under the S or under the M? Does Shane MacGowan and the Popes go under "Shane MacGowan" or "The Popes"?

In the case of "the Harder They Come" I had it filed under C for Jimmy Cliff rather than soundtracks. I'm not sure why I went that way, although when pressed I argued that the cover said "Jimmy Cliff" on it, not "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack." Still, of the twelve tracks, only six are Jimmy Cliff. The other songs are performed by fellow Jamaican artists like the Melodians, the Maytals and the Slickers (great names all).

I think deep down, though, I filed it among the regular artists as a sign of respect. I tend to dismiss soundtracks as sort of bastardized byproducts, generated as secondary markets for the films they support. Not that I'm overwise about it; I have a couple dozen soundtracks, and another half dozen scores. It is just that "The Harder They Come" the soundtrack seems to have cast a much longer shadow than the film of the same name.

This record was a joy to listen to, and my only regret was that it was so short I got through it in a single day. I was sorely tempted to keep it in my MP3 player for another day just to get another listen, but the Odyssey waits for no man.

I am not a devotee of reggae music. In fact, to this point I've only done two other entries with that tag attached. The one is "Smokin' the Goats" by One, which is more a pop/reggae crossover than true reggae, and the other is "Black Market Clash" which made the list for a few reggae tracks dressed up as punk. The only other reggae I've ever owned was a tape of Bob Marley's "Legend" purchased through Columbia House.

This album makes me regret my dearth of reggae, and is an excellent gateway to the style. The instantly recognizeable reggae beat is infectious. To resist bobbing your head to this stuff would require some fused vertebrae.

The record begins with "You Can Get It If You Really Want It" (another version of which makes an appearance at Track 11). "You Can Get It..." is a song of boundless optimism, the more so considering its origins are found in the poverty stricken streets of 1970s Jamaica. It's message is simple: you can get it if you really want it, but you must try. Simple in theory, but a lot tougher to maintain that sunny disposition when you're at the bottom.

Even better, is the more aggressive "The Harder They Come," which is a seamless amalgam of the defiant and angry disenfranchised young man and a genuine propensity for forgiveness. The singer even takes time to say a prayer that his oppressors be forgiven, "they know not what they've done."

On this listen, I was also drawn in to the slower songs. "Many Rivers To Cross" starts with an organ and maintains a reverent gospel edge throughout its sad lament, making you weary and inspired at the same time. The reggae beat is so subdued that the song is really more soul than anything.

The reeggae on "The Harder They Come" reminds me of soul music, in that the lyrics themselves are very basic, but when sung right they are so filled honest emotion that they draw you in. That infectious beat helps a lot as well.

"Sitting in Limbo" features a rolling steady beat and penny whistle that would be equally at home as British folk pop (the good kind). This record brings you a Jamaican sound, but the music is universal, and the record finds common connections to other sounds of the period throughout.

Finally, it was great to hear the originals of a number of songs I'd heard first as remakes, notably "Johnny Too Bad" (Steve Earle), "Pressure Drop" (The Clash) and "Rivers of Babylon" (Boney M and Steve Earle again). In every case, the original was better, although the Clash give the Maytals a run for their money on "Pressure Drop."

For a record so replete with scenes of a hard-scrabble life, "The Harder They Come" filled me with a joyful optimism after only a couple listens. Good music will do that.

Best tracks: You Can Get It If You Really Want, Many Rivers To Cross, The Harder They Come, Johnny Too Bad, Pressure Drop, Sitting In Limbo