Description
Jimmy Cliff – Humanitarian – Compact Disc
Humanitarian places Jimmy Cliff’s unmistakable voice inside a late-1990s production while keeping the concerns that had shaped his work for decades—dignity, community, perseverance, and the possibility of change. Released in 1999, the album is not content to live entirely on the reputation of “Many Rivers to Cross” or The Harder They Come. Cliff writes for the present, surrounding himself with musicians and producers who understand reggae’s history but are willing to use contemporary rhythm programming, brighter keyboards, and crossover arrangements. His singing remains the center: clear, urgent, and able to carry optimism without sounding naïve.
The title song appears twice, first in a buoyant ska arrangement and later in a slower version that gives its message a different weight. That framing is important. The opening take moves with communal energy, horns and rhythm pressing the words forward; the later reading asks the listener to sit with them. Between those versions, “Rise Up” and “Giants” continue the album’s emphasis on resolve. Cliff has always been especially effective when addressing public questions in personal language, and these songs avoid turning social conviction into abstraction. The melodies remain direct enough to carry beyond the lyric sheet.
The production credits reflect the record’s broad reach. Sly Dunbar, Clive Hunt, Daniel Lanois, Pete Rock, Handel Tucker, and Cliff himself contribute to a program that moves among roots reggae, ska, polished pop, and rhythm-driven contemporary sounds. “Come Up to My Love” and “How Long” lean toward intimacy, while “Let’s Jam” welcomes a more celebratory pulse. “Keep the Family” returns to Cliff’s long-standing belief that private relationships and public well-being cannot be separated. The changing production styles make the disc varied, but his phrasing and moral clarity hold it together.
Several choices underline Cliff’s gift for interpretation. The Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” a song already shaped by pop’s idea of Jamaican rhythm, comes back through the voice of one of reggae’s foundational international stars. “You’ve Got a Friend” closes the album with warmth rather than spectacle, allowing Cliff’s generosity as a singer to carry a familiar composition. Elsewhere, “The Hill,” “I Walk with Love,” and “I’m in All” approach uplift from different angles—spiritual, romantic, and communal—without abandoning the album’s steady rhythmic foundation.
Humanitarian is best understood as a mature Jimmy Cliff album rather than a retro exercise. It joins the seasoned authority of his voice to the changing sound of reggae at the end of the century, and its range reflects an artist who had long crossed borders between Jamaican music, rock audiences, film, and world pop. The disc offers both movement and reflection, with fourteen tracks that repeatedly return to responsibility and connection. For listeners who know only Cliff’s classic early recordings, it provides a valuable later chapter; for longtime fans, it shows the same resilient spirit working in a new production environment.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic but promo cut in spine
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