Sunday 12 August 2012

Jimmy Cliff - Rebirth

One More From Jimmy

As many reviewers have noted, this is a buoyant and joyous record by the 64 year old Jimmy Cliff. I'm no reggae aficionado, and a number of songs on this album have strong pop elements, but its Jamaican roots and Cliff's distinctive vocal are as catchy and movement-making as one would expect from such an accessible new offering by the popular reggae great. His voice is often at its best pushed to its highest register where the slight strain is not disguised, as on the beautiful Cry No More and the pulsating Bang. It is equally hypnotic when repeating the sounds of a wordless chorus, as on Children's Bread or Rebel Rebel. Opening track World Upside Down sounds like it has been transported straight from the 70s in both its reggae rhythms and lyrical musings on the state of the world. This is followed by a stand-out reggae beat in One More with its punchy brass and rousing background vocals.


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