The Harder They Come

We got to see Jimmy Cliff on his UK tour over the summer. Absolutely blinding! I dunno how old he is, but the man exudes energy, a phenomenal performer.

Reading the sleeve notes to the new CD, I see that Chris Blackwell planned on Jimmy Cliff being the first reggae superstar. But JC left Island Records for EMI, and along came a certain Robert Nesta Marley.

I might well have to get this then - he was totally MINDBLOWING at Glastonbury - my high point musically of the entire fest.

The man is a genius - and of course the sun and happy vibe just made everything even more amazing....

__________________________
Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.

I think he's 54, please let me look that good when I am his age - fat chance. I saw him this year in Sheffield (Leadmill) and he is awesome with a really fantastic band. I recall he made a really fantastic entrance. Picture the scene, the band are playing a brief medley of his key tunes, you are unsure of what he will open with or whether he plans to appear at all, then suddenly out he jumps resplendent in yellow...'You can get it if you really want...' Amazing!

Hi

My biggest regret this year is not going to see Jimmy Cliff at the Leadmill this year. I could have seen him for free but I totally forgot which day he was on & didn't get my act in gear.

I am a big fan of his music. I have some of his original 7" UK releases from his Ska days that came out on Island records. Hurricane Hattie & King of Kings are two of my favourites from that era.

By the late 60's/ early 70s he was the No1 reggae star that had international success. Only Desmond Dekker could match him in that period.

A few turning points, I think hindered his career. One was the death of Lesslie Kong, his producer throughout most of his career. Two, was leaving Island records. If he had stayed he could have hit the heights like Bob Marley.

'The Harder They Come' is an excellent album & great film. He puts in a very good performance. I don't have the deluxe version so I'll look out for it.

Dean

Weren't the tempo changes in that medley incredible? I knew it was going to be a stormer from then on.

And he was really feeding off the crowd at Glasters - can't remember if they had the Medley thing going on or not at the start, but when he hit out with "You can get it if you really want" we KNEW it was going to rock - he was so full of energy and was really really digging it - no "going through the motions" here

__________________________
Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.

As a result of this thread, I'm listening to the album (not the 2-CD thingy) with the windows open and a nice breeze blowing through.

Good times.

WHERE can you get the 2disc set? Tried in HMV on Saturday and no surprise - they couldn't find it on their system...

__________________________
Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.

quote:

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Originally posted by domfjbrown:
WHERE can you get the 2disc set?

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This won't help you at all, but I got mine at Circuit City in Boynton Beach, Florida! Did you try online? Make sure it says "deluxe edition".

Davie

2-CD set at Amazon UK

AHA! It's an import... I will see how the dosh situation is going at the end of the month (very very turbulent at the mo - blooming christmas bah humbug!)

__________________________
Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.