Hip-O Records
1999
Jimmy Cliff: The Ultimate Collection
About This Album
Not a career-spanning overview, as opening number "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" dates from 1969, seven years into Jimmy Cliff's career, but this is an excellent trawl through his past nonetheless. Ultimate Collection should really have kicked off with "Waterfall," his first international hit (number one in Brazil), but "World" brought him success in the both in the U.K. and U.S., and apparently that's all that counts. Nevertheless, the set follows the reggae star down the years, through hit singles and across crucial album tracks, and bringing it all bang up to date with "Rise Up," a number from Cliff's 1999 Humanitarian album. However, there's one yawning gap -- 1982 to 1988, when Cliff was signed to the Columbia label. Half this collection is given over to the early reggae years, as Cliff's mentor and producer Leslie Kong and his British label Island groomed him for international success, although there was always a tension between the singer/songwriter Island head Chris Blackwell wanted to transform Cliff into and the reggae hero Kong was busily creating. In the end, Cliff was left behind by both; Blackwell transferred his enthusiastic attentions to Bob Marley, while Kong died unexpectedly in 1972.
Track List (try tracks 1,3,9,10,11 and 18)

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