The Harder They Come (soundtrack)
| The Harder They Come | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | July 7, 1972 |
| Recorded | 1967–1972 |
| Genre | Rocksteady, ska, reggae |
| Length | 39:55 |
| Label | Island |
| Producer | Various |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
The Rolling Stone Record Guide |  [4] |
The Harder They Come is the
Mango Records SMAS-7400.[5] It peaked at No. 140 on the Billboard 200
.
In 2021, the album was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry.[6]
Recordings
The heart of the soundtrack comes from performances by the film's star,
DJ Scotty, and seminal early reggae stars Desmond Dekker and Toots and the Maytals
.
Two songs are repeated on side two to end the album. The second version of "You Can Get It If You Really Want" is a dub version of the song mostly minus a few vocals, while the second version of "The Harder They Come" is an alternate take.[9]
Reception and legacy
In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said the soundtrack "collected the best songs of artists whose music was either unavailable or not rich enough to fill an LP".[10]
The soundtrack album played a major part in popularizing reggae in the United States and the world beyond, the film itself preventing the genre from remaining an isolated phenomenon in Jamaica.]
On August 5, 2003,
bonus disc
continued the idea of the original soundtrack itself, compiling additional singles from the early days of reggae, titled Reggae Hit the Town: Crucial Reggae 1968–1972.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | " The Maytals | 3:01 | ||
| 6. | "The Harder They Come" | Jimmy Cliff | Jimmy Cliff | 3:41 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Johnny Too Bad" | Trevor Wilson, Winston Bailey, Hylton Beckford, Derrick Crooks | The Slickers | 3:04 |
| 2. | "007 (Shanty Town)" | Desmond Dekker | Desmond Dekker | 2:43 |
| 3. | "Pressure Drop" | Frederick Hibbert | The Maytals | 3:44 |
| 4. | "Sitting in Limbo" | Jimmy Cliff, Guillermo Bright-Plummer | Jimmy Cliff | 4:57 |
| 5. | "You Can Get It If You Really Want (partial instrumental)" | Jimmy Cliff | Jimmy Cliff | 2:43 |
| 6. | "The Harder They Come (alternate)" | Jimmy Cliff | Jimmy Cliff | 3:07 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Israelites" | Cherry Oh Baby" | Eric Donaldson | Eric Donaldson | 3:02 |
| 12. | "Monkey Spanner" | Winston Riley, Ansel Collins | Dave and Ansel Collins | 2:45 | |
| 13. | "54-46 (That's My Number)" | Frederick Hibbert | The Maytals | 2:58 | |
| 14. | "It's My Delight" | Brent Dowe, Trevor McNaughton | The Melodians | 3:14 | |
| 15. | "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" | Jimmy Cliff | Jimmy Cliff | 3:15 | |
| 16. | "Pomp and Pride" | Frederick Hibbert | The Maytals | 4:28 | |
| 17. | "Guava Jelly" | Bob Marley | Johnny Nash | 3:15 | |
| 18. | "The Bigger They Come the Harder They Fall" | Jimmy Cliff | Jimmy Cliff | 3:12 |
Personnel
|
|
Reissue personnel
- Dana Smart – supervisor
- Pat Lawrence – executive producer
- Vartan – reissue art director
- John Bryant – cover illustrator
- Gavin Larsen – digital mastering
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (Editors). The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1st edition, Random House/Rolling Stone Press, 1979, p. 569.
- ^ The Harder They Come. UMG 440 089 495-2, 2003, liner notes, p. 26.
- ^ Schuessler, Jennifer (March 24, 2021). "Janet Jackson and Kermit the Frog Added to National Recording Registry". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ Katz, David. UMG liner notes, p. 12.
- ^ Henzell, Perry. UMG liner notes, p. 3.
- ^ Greaves, Rob (February 13, 2020). "Cream of The Crate: Album Review #107 – Jimmy Cliff (and others): The Harder They Come". Toorak Times. Retrieved August 18, 2020 – via Tagg.
- ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 17, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Miller, Jim, ed. The Rolling Stone Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. New York: Random House, 1980, p. 447.
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 22 September 2020.
- ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
- ^ "All-TIME 100 Albums". Time. 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
- Pitchfork Media. 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
