Rewind: 1972 - The Harder They Come Soundtrack Released

Dedicated to Marie from Montreal 

The Harder They Come - Soundtrack

Released 7th July 1972

Island Records

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

2."Draw Your Brakes" - DJ Scotty.

3.  "Rivers of Babylon" - The Melodians.
4. "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 .
11. "You Can Get It If You Really Want" - Jimmy Cliff.
12. "The Harder They Come" - Jimmy Cliff .

Only the title track was specifically written for the film by Jimmy Cliff, the other three tracks were earlier singles of his. The remaining tracks that make up the album were chosen by Perry Henzell (the Director and Co-Writer of the Film) from Singles that had been released in Jamaica between 1967-72 and includes Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, The Slickers, DJ Scotty, and The Melodians.

The album gave Reggae a voice in the USA when it was released there in 1973 (reaching the lower reaches of the Billboard Chart). Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 500 Albums of All Time places The Harder They Come Soundtrack at #119. 

The album actually contains a few of my favourite Reggae tunes (Johnny Too Bad, Pressure Drop, Sweet and Dandy, and Many Rivers To Cross) and it still stands up as great Reggae Album and one of the best Soundtracks ever (in my opinion).

I had read somewhere a couple of years ago that plans were underway to remake the film and that filming was due to start in 2013, not sure what became of that but this year word came that Jimmy Cliff would reprise his role as Ivanhoe Martin in the Jamaican Crime Drama.