Hanging Fire

Last updated
Hanging Fire
Hanging Fire.jpg
Studio album by
Jimmy Cliff
Released1988
StudioHouse of Music, West Orange, New Jersey
Genre Reggae
Label Columbia [1]
Producer Khalis Bayyan, Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff chronology
Club Paradise
(1986)		Hanging Fire
(1988)		Images
(1989)

Hanging Fire is an album by the Jamaican reggae musician Jimmy Cliff, released in 1988. [2] [3] It was a commercial disappointment. [4]

Contents

The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Reggae Recording". [5] Its first single was "Love Me Love Me". [6] Cliff supported the album with a three-month tour of North America. [7]

Production

The album was produced mostly at Tuff Gong Studios, with other work finished by Cliff in Africa. [8] Cliff then took the songs to Khalis Bayyan, of Kool and the Gang, who remixed and overdubbed them. [9] [10]

Cliff recorded with the Oneness Band, in Jamaica, and with two popular Congolese bands in Congo. [10] [8] Cliff was inspired to record in Congo after opening for Steve Winwood there, on a 1986 tour. [11] The song "Reggae Down Babylon" condemns apartheid. [12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [15]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [16]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]

The Washington Post wrote that the songs "aren't traditional reggae by any stretch of the imagination, but they successfully fuse the best aspects of reggae—the syncopated beat, the populist lyrics and the hypnotic melodies—with enough technological muscle and polish to thrive on a North American dance floor." [10] The St. Petersburg Times thought that the album "is about as commercial and pop-oriented as reggae can get without losing sight of its folk roots." [18]

The Boston Globe called Hanging Fire Cliff's "best effort of the '80s," writing that "his voice has returned to its crystalline purity." [19] The Los Angeles Times deemed the album "bland and characterless." [15] The Toronto Star noted that the album "shows the singer taking two steps back to the traditions of Africa—and one side-step into the soppiest of pop." [20]

AllMusic wrote that the album "shows him effectively mixing his own quick-step version of the music with general pop trends." [13] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide considered that "mediocrity from Cliff may not be so unsettling had he not once reached greatness." [16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jimmy Cliff

No.TitleLength
1."Love Me Love Me"4:24
2."Hanging Fire"5:23
3."Girls and Cars"5:02
4."She Was So Right for Me"4:43
5."It's Time"5:21
6."Reggae Down Babylon"4:23
7."Hold Tight (Eye for an Eye)"4:22
8."Soar Like an Eagle"5:30

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kool & the Gang</span> American R&B, soul and funk band

Kool & the Gang is an American R&B, soul, and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, Woodrow "Woody" Sparrow, and Ricky Westfield. They have undergone numerous changes in personnel and have explored many musical styles throughout their history, including jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco, rock, and pop music. After settling on their name following several changes, the group signed to De-Lite Records and released their debut album, Kool and the Gang (1969).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Cliff</span> Jamaican musician, singer and actor

James Chambers, OM, known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toots and the Maytals</span> Jamaican musical group

The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Ranglin</span> Jamaican guitarist and composer

Ernest Ranglin is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One and Island Records. Ranglin played guitar on many early ska recordings and helped create the rhythmic guitar style that defined the form. Ranglin has worked with Theophilus Beckford, Jimmy Cliff, Monty Alexander, Prince Buster, the Skatalites, Bob Marley and the Eric Deans Orchestra. He is noted for a chordal and rhythmic approach that blends jazz, mento and reggae with percussive guitar solos incorporating rhythm 'n' blues and jazz inflections.

Joseph Benjamin Higgs was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson. He was a popular artist in Jamaica for four decades and is also known for his work tutoring younger musicians including Bob Marley and the Wailers and Jimmy Cliff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toots Hibbert</span> Jamaican musician (1942–2020)

Frederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he performed for six decades and helped establish some of the fundamentals of reggae music. Hibbert's 1968 song "Do the Reggay" is widely credited as the genesis of the genre name reggae. His band's album True Love won a Grammy Award in 2005.

<i>Heart Dont Lie</i> 1984 studio album by La Toya Jackson

Heart Don't Lie is the third album released by American singer-songwriter La Toya Jackson. Released in 1984 by Epic Records, this album is her most critically acclaimed and commercially successful album to date, peaking at #149 on the Billboard 200 and #65 on the Top Black Albums chart.

<i>Kool and the Gang</i> (album) 1969 studio album by Kool & the Gang

Kool and the Gang is the debut studio album by funk band Kool & the Gang. The album was released in December 1969, and reached No. 43 on the Billboard R&B albums chart.

<i>Sweat</i> (Kool & the Gang album) 1989 studio album by Kool & the Gang

Sweat is the eighteenth studio album by the band Kool & the Gang, released in 1989 following a three-year gap between albums. James "J.T." Taylor, Khalis Bayyan and Robert "Spike" Mickens had departed, and this album showed a refocused band.

<i>Gangland</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Kool & the Gang

Gangland is the twenty-first studio album by the band Kool & the Gang, released in 2001 following a five-year gap between albums. The album was a compilation of rappers backed by Kool and the Gang remaking some of the band's songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Bell (musician)</span> American musician (1951–2020)

Ronald Nathan Bell, also known as Khalis Bayyan, was an American composer, singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, saxophonist and co-founding member of Kool & the Gang. The band recorded nine No. 1 R&B singles in the 1970s and 1980s, including its No. 1 pop single "Celebration". The group is honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

<i>Jahmekya</i> 1991 studio album by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers

Jahmekya is a studio album by the reggae group Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, released in 1991.

<i>Cliff Hanger</i> (album) 1985 studio album by Jimmy Cliff

Cliff Hanger is an album by Jimmy Cliff, released in 1985 through CBS Records. In 1986, the album won Cliff the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording.

<i>Rebirth</i> (Jimmy Cliff album) 2012 studio album by Jimmy Cliff

Rebirth is an album by reggae artist Jimmy Cliff released in July 2012. It won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album and was included in Rolling Stone's '50 Best Albums of 2012'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reggae Night</span> 1983 single by Jimmy Cliff

"Reggae Night" is a 1983 single by reggae artist Jimmy Cliff, from his album The Power and the Glory. It was released by Columbia Records in the US, Canada and Mexico and in most European countries on CBS Records. Written by Amir Bayyan and La Toya Jackson, it became an international hit for Jimmy Cliff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Douglas (musician)</span> Jamaican Grammy Award-winning musician

Paul Douglas is a Jamaican Grammy Award-winning musician, best known for his work as the drummer, percussionist and bandleader of Toots and the Maytals. His career spans more than five decades as one of reggae's most recorded drummers. Music journalist and reggae historian David Katz wrote, “dependable drummer Paul Douglas played on countless reggae hits."

<i>Too Wicked</i> 1990 studio album by Aswad

Too Wicked is an album by the British band Aswad, released in 1990.

<i>Unity</i> (Shinehead album) 1988 studio album by Shinehead

Unity is an album by the rap and reggae musician Shinehead, released in 1988.

<i>Soy Loco por Ti America</i> 1987 studio album by Gilberto Gil

Soy Loco por Ti America is an album by the Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil. It was released internationally in 1988.

<i>The Power and the Glory</i> (Jimmy Cliff album) 1983 studio album by Jimmy Cliff

The Power and the Glory is an album by the Jamaican musician Jimmy Cliff, released in 1983. "Reggae Night" was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best Reggae Recording" category.

References

  1. ↑ Popoff, Martin (September 8, 2009). Goldmine Record Album Price Guide. Penguin.
  2. ↑ "Jimmy Cliff Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Saunders, Michael (3 June 1988). "World Beat Weekend a Musical Mix of Many Cultures". Features Showtime. Sun-Sentinel. p. 16.
  4. ↑ Manuel, Susan (September 23, 1988). "Strumming a new Gibson on a patio 32 floors above Honolulu, reggae king Jimmy Cliff was making a song about what was on his mind". USA Today.
  5. ↑ "Jimmy Cliff". Grammy Awards. November 23, 2020.
  6. ↑ Burliuk, Greg (16 Apr 1988). "Hanging Fire Jimmy Cliff". Magazine. Whig-Standard. p. 1.
  7. ↑ Brodeur, Scott (20 June 1988). "Jimmy Cliff Blend Reggae, Fight for Rights". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E4.
  8. 1 2 Thompson, Dave (January 5, 2002). Reggae & Caribbean Music. Hal Leonard Corporation.
  9. ↑ DeVault, Russ (May 28, 1988). "Jimmy Cliff on the edge – Reggae messenger fired up about world issues". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. L23.
  10. 1 2 3 "Afunkular Cliff Clear and Kool". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Reggae Superstar". Deseret News. August 5, 1988. p. W6.
  12. ↑ Heim, Chris (1 Aug 1988). "Message Rings Clear in Cliff's Eclectic Music". Chicagoland. Chicago Tribune. p. 5.
  13. 1 2 "Hanging Fire". AllMusic.
  14. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 419.
  15. 1 2 Snowden, Don (19 June 1988). "Cliff + Kool = Bland". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 66.
  16. 1 2 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 244.
  17. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 141.
  18. ↑ Hall, Ken (10 Apr 1988). "Inviting reggae with a pop beat". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2F.
  19. ↑ Morse, Steve (17 June 1988). "Cliff's New Album Is a Winner". Arts and Film. The Boston Globe. p. 40.
  20. ↑ Stoute, Lenny (1 July 1988). "Shepherd leads reggae flock". Toronto Star. p. D12.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.