Messenger, The

The otherwise helpful liner notes sort of dance around the issue of exactly when these tracks were released, but basically what you need to know is that this 16-song anthology is drawn from his recordings at the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. This was the period that saw him emerge as an international hitmaker with "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" and "Vietnam," the first two songs on the disc. At this point Cliff was laying down a sort of reggae-soul-pop crossover mix, and while this work has been underestimated by critics, it was quite important in exposing reggae to a lot of non-Jamaicans. More importantly, it's good music, not diminished at all by the clean production values and pop elements that helped put it over to a wide audience. "You Can Get It If You Really Want" and "Many Rivers to Cross" are the best known of the other songs here, but it's a consistently pleasant collection. Mostly comprised of Cliff compositions, some clever and socially conscious lyrics are integrated into the smooth production and cheerful arrangements. ~ Richie Unterberger|