The Messenger - Jimmy Cliff

Aren't 'Best Of' albums great? By collecting all of an artists greatest achievements in one place it saves you the bother of having to do any research yourself. Why risk, or indeed endure, the more thorny and problematic parts of someone's recorded history when you can gather all the best bits in one place. Sure you mighty miss out on some hidden gems but at least you'll be spared the experimental xylophone phase. Wouldn't it be great if it was like that in real life? Imaging being able to edit out on the fly the bits you didn't like; fast-forwarding through queues in the supermarket, put Monday mornings on double speed and delete any embarrassing moments. Err maybe that is not such a good idea as once you start skipping stuff it's difficult to stop. Before you know it you'd be at the stage with food dribbling out of your mouth, mumbling incoherently and forgetting what you did ten minutes ago. Ah no wait that was last night.....

Not that any of this would be a problem for the career of the peerless Jimmy Cliff. It is incomprehensible that I only own a greatest hits CD but there you are. Tut tut indeed. As expected with a 'Best of' album, there is not a single bad track but perhaps more surprisingly is the sheer quality of the songwriting. 'Wonderful World / Beautiful People' and 'Vietnam' set the tone for the rest of the album. Upbeat and joyous despuite the serious subject matter it's a great opening track and a taster for what the album contains; the best that reggae-soul has to offer. The album closes with what has to be amongst the best songs ever written. 'Many Rivers To Cross' is  a masterpiece and a great end to the collection.

On the programme 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks' there is a section where less-than famous people line up with look-a-likes. Great mirth-making ensues whilst the guests try and guess which one is the real deal. On one particular occasion Jimmy Cliff was the subject and when Phil Jupitus was asked to point to who he thought was the real Jimmy Cliff without hesitation he pointed straight at Jimmy Cliff. When he was asked how he could be so sure he replied indignantly, 'Because that's Jimmy Cliff!'. A tip for the BBC, if you are really going to make a game of trying to pick up a pop star from a line up, don't pick one of the greatest reggae stars!