Album review: Jimmy Cliff, Rebirth

By COLIN SOMERVILLE
Published on 15/07/2012 00:00

It would be entirely appropriate to place Jimmy Cliff next to Bob Marley in reggae’s grand scheme of things. He has never rivalled the latter’s iconic status as a marketable commodity in the music business, but can look back on a career spanning top 40 singles success and the groundbreaking film The Harder They Come.

Jimmy Cliff

Rebirth

UMC B008CDQ5L0, £12.99

Rating: ***

Teaming up with Rancid’s Tim Armstrong is not a reggae reflection of what producer Rick Rubin brought to Johnny Cash’s later work, but revitalises the 64-year-old Cliff just the same. The opening World Upside Down is classic underdog melodious snarling, and even when struggling to hit the high register on Bang, the powerful emotion conveyed crackles with undiminished commitment.

Reggae Music is as good as anything written about the culturally rich genre, while One More is a gritty companion piece to Marley’s One Love. “I’ve got one more story to tell,” rasps Jimmy, but you just know he has many more than that.

Children’s Bread is the type of protest song which drew admiration from Dylan back in the day, when Cliff was the authentic Jamaican pop voice, covering Cat Stevens’ Wild World. The album was recorded in London during last year’s riots, lending greater poignancy to a tasty version of Guns Of Brixton, which does The Clash proud.

Colin Somerville

Download this: Reggae Music, Ruby Soho