Hanging Fire

Hanging Fire
Studio album by
Jimmy Cliff
Released1988
StudioHouse of Music, West Orange, New Jersey
GenreReggae
LabelColumbia[1]
ProducerKhalis 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]

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 primarily 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 the Congo.[10][8] Cliff was inspired to record in the 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[13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[14]
Los Angeles Times[15]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[16]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[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

  • Jimmy Cliff - lead and backing vocals
  • Alex Williams, Mark Attalla - guitar
  • Khalis Bayyan, Manuel Herrera - keyboards
  • Randy Weber - synthesizer
  • Kendal Stubbs - drum programming

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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b "Hanging Fire". AllMusic.
  14. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 419.
  15. ^ a b Snowden, Don (19 June 1988). "Cliff + Kool = Bland". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 66.
  16. ^ a b 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.