The heart of the soundtrack comes from performances by the film's star, reggae singer Jimmy Cliff. Only the title track "The Harder They Come" was recorded by Cliff specifically for the soundtrack, with three earlier songs by Cliff added. The remainder of the album is a compilation of singles released in Jamaica from the period of 1967 through 1972, assembled by the The Harder They Come director and co-writer, Perry Henzell, from songs by favored reggae singers. In addition to Cliff, these artists include The Melodians, The Slickers, DJ Scotty, and seminal early reggae stars Desmond Dekker and Toots and the Maytals.
The soundtrack album played a major part in popularizing reggae in the United States and the world beyond, the film itself preventing the genre from remaining an isolated phenomenon in Jamaica. In 2003, the album was ranked number 119 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album also appears on greatest albums lists from Time and Blender, and was named the 97th best album of the 1970s by Pitchfork Media.
Tracklist:
01. You Can Get It If You Really Want (Jimmy Cliff) Jimmy Cliff 2:40
02. Draw Your Brakes (Derrick Harriott, Texas Dixon, Keith Rowe) Scotty 2:57
03. Rivers of Babylon (Brent Dowe, James McNaughton) The Melodians 4:16
04. Many Rivers to Cross (Jimmy Cliff) Jimmy Cliff 3:02
05. Sweet and Dandy (Frederick Hibbert) The Maytals 3:01
06. The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff) Jimmy Cliff 3:41
07. Johnny Too Bad (Trevor Wilson, Winston Bailey, Hylton Beckford, Derrick Crooks)
The Slickers 3:04
08. 007 (Shanty Town) (Desmond Dekker) Desmond Dekker 2:43
09. Pressure Drop (Frederick Hibbert) The Maytals 3:44
10. Sitting in Limbo (Jimmy Cliff, Guillermo Bright-Plummer) Jimmy Cliff 4:57
11. You Can Get It If You Really Want (Jimmy Cliff) Jimmy Cliff 2:43
12. The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff) Jimmy Cliff 3:07
Media Info:
Bitrate: 320 kbps
Channels: joint stereo
Samplerate: 44100
Encoder: LAME 3.99
MPEG-1 layer 3
**tyvm and all due respect to zin and all those who care enough to share