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The Harder They Come is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name, released in 1972 in the United Kingdom as Island Records ILPS 9202. It was issued in February 1973 in North America as Mango Records SMAS-7400. It peaked at No. 140 on the US 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. The heart of the soundtrack comes from performances by the film's star, reggae singer Jimmy Cliff. Only the title track "The Harder They Come" was recorded by Cliff specifically for the soundtrack, with three earlier songs by Cliff added.[3] The remainder of the album is a compilation of singles released in Jamaica from the period of 1967 through 1972, assembled by The Harder They Come film director and co-writer, Perry Henzell, from songs by favored reggae singers.[4] In addition to Cliff, these artists include the Melodians, the Slickers, DJ Scotty, and seminal early reggae stars Desmond Dekker and Toots and the Maytals.
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Reviews
The Harder They Come is the soundtrack for the eponymous film. This album contains a lot of songs by Jimmy Cliff, but also by other reggae greats. This leads to a fantastic album full of reggae and stocksteady classics: "You Can Get It If You Really Want", " Draw Your Brakes" (by Scotty), "Rivers of Babylon" (by The Melodians), "Many Rivers to Cross", "The Harder They Come", "Johnny Too Bad" (by The Slickers) and "Pressure Drop" (by The Maytals).
Some absolute classics on this album. Probably one of the best reggae albums I’ve heard, and I can see why it’s considered such an important record. A great mix of upbeat, infectious tracks and more soulful moments. I’ve never actually seen the film, but now I definitely want to.
This is a classic soundtrack. I listened to the 2003 reissue with MORE good stuff. The album is a soundtrack from the classic Blaxploitation movie of the same name. Never seen the movie, but I think I needs to! Easy 5/5
Truly iconic, one of the best soundtrack albums ever
Was expecting to go into this one not liking it, as reggae isn’t my genre of choice, but there was a good blend! I’m sure with the context of the film it may been lifted even more.
Really liked this one
I mean, a clear 5 stars, obviously, but ... I thought we weren't having movie soundtracks on this list? Or is that just the list in the book? Such a great album, it should have made the original cut, if it was allowed under their self-imposed rules.
Not really "an album" - more a semi-cohesive collection of really good tracks. I like it.
Fun collection of songs! Never heard of the film so no idea what context they would be played in but it was great. My personal rating: 4/5 My rating relative to the list: 4.5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No
Rocksteady, ska, reggae. BSO de la película. Me ha gustado. Un 4.
Though I certainly recognize the name I'm not that familiar with Cliff's music. I was surprised by how soul-oriented a lot if it was. Deep roots of its genre and era: nothing to complain about here.
Don't know the movie. But this soundtrack is a fun collection of reggae songs
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: You can get it if you really want, Rivers of Babylon, The harder they come, Pressure drop
Noice. 4 stars.
Familiar with a few of the songs on here, but had no idea this was a movie soundtrack or that it was THE reggae album that helped popularize the genre outside of Jamaica (just for that, seems like an absolute gimme pick for the original list). Musically, not my favorite reggae album from the user list, but still fun (also a good genre to have more of). Strong 3/5.
I liked this more than I anticipated... I'm not a big reggae person but this had more appeal than a lot of reggae albums I've listened to.