Maybe this is just me, but for some reason I don't feel that Jimmy Cliff, despite his undeniable talent, has ever recieved the recognition he desevers. He has always occupied an odd position in reggae music, mainly because he predates it significantly, and his commericial and intenational success has always been a bit spotty. Despite this, he truly is Jamaica's first international superstar. He might not be the king of Reggae like Bob Marley, but he was one of the founding fathers of the genre and helped bring it to a new level.
That being said, Hip-O has put together a near perfect anthology, which showcases many of Jimmy's greatest songs. Throughout his career, Jimmy has hopped around and recorded for many, many different record labels, but Hip-O has managed to collect a thorough body of the artist's work. For the first time, we get a good sense of Jimmy's career as a whole, because these songs date from 1962-1993, and reveal how rock steady of the 60s became reggae in the 70s. The songs are mainly all organized in chronological order, so Disc One contains mostly songs from the 60s, and some from the 70s. Disc Two is made up of songs from the 70s and 80s. So as you can see, this Anthology shows the complete evolution of one of the greatest artists in the history of Jamaican music. If you love reggae, and if you love Jimmy Cliff, I highly recommend getting this album. One Love...

Don't know why Jimmy Cliff's brand of reggae appeals to me so much more than the better known Bob Marley's, but there's something about Cliff's soaring voice, downright stirring and inspiring lyrics, and lilting tunes that continues to grab my ear. Maybe it's got something to do with being introduced to his music long ago at a college showing of his film "The Harder They Come" (still well worth viewing today). I'm not surprised that Bob Dylan calls Cliff's "Viet Nam" the best protest song ever written. It's typical of the songs included in this really tuneful collection: lyrics that actually say something, rather than the typical mother-my-dog silliness of most "pop" music; irresistable tunes that grab your ear and heart and never let go. So I'm also not surprised that it was Jimmy Cliff's music that led Paul Simon to embrace "world music" and even journey down to Jamaica to record with the same skilled musicians with whom Cliff recorded.

Each song is a small work of art. Disk 1 features his most familiar music. The songs on Disk 2 take a few listenings to grab you, but grab you they do. Whether his youthful "Miss Jamaica," one of Cliff's earliest recorded songs, or the rousing "The Harder They Come," or the wistful "Sitting in Limbo," Cliff simply delivers some of the most appealing, yet intelligent, songs you'll ever hear.

This dual CD collection "Anthology:Jimmy Cliff", is truly a masterpiece by one of the best Reggae artist every to stand before this musical genre ~ Cliff spills over with material dealing with political, cultural and spiritual struggles of his Jamaica "WONDERFUL WORLD, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE" is just the tip of the iceberg.

Would consider Jimmy Cliff a legend with a unique style that does not run along the usual Reggae scene ~ just listen to "YOU CAN GET IT IF YOU REALLY WANT", steals the show hands down ~ "I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW", clear and crisp style comes shining through, wonderful song and great rendition.

Hats off to Hip-O Records for this 42 track essential, best of, ultimate and greatest hits of these timeless classics ~ "MANY RIVERS TO CROSS", "THE HARDER THEY COME" and "I AM THE LIVING", are stand out favorites of mine ~ they don't get much better than this ~ gotta love it!

Total: 2-CD-Set ~ Hip-O Records 67662 ~ (7/01/2003)

Jimmy Cliff is a master, and his music is fantastic, but this is not the album to go after. Although a nice double cd set, the second half of the second CD is entirely music produced well past Jimmy Cliff's prime. The first CD and the first half of the second CD are excellent classic reggae. It covers a wide range of his career, which for these parts, serves the listener very well. But in his later years, the beats start to fall apart and music acquires a rather synthetic feel. Jimmy Cliff is a very talented artist who created beautiful music, but I would recommend a different album such as Jimmy Cliff's "Jimmy Cliff"

Excellent wide selection of his music. Contains quite a bit of older songs, and newer ones would have been prefered