Live Review: Jimmy Cliff

The rather long queue outside Corner Hotel sees a really diverse crowd gathering to catch Jamaican reggae legend Jimmy Cliff.

Inside, a couple of DJs spin some sweet reggae grooves that have the crowd feeling pretty irie. The man of the moment takes to the stage to thunderous applause, looking dazzling in a shiny gold tracksuit, and gets down to business with a version of Bongo Man played on bongos, drums and a big bass drum. The glorious gospel vibes morph into a cover of Rivers Of Babylon that simply knocks the crowd out with its powerful, emotional punch. Over the next couple of hours Cliff delivers a masterclass in rootsy, reggae-infused rock and pop. Now well into his 60s, the charismatic Cliff simply explodes with smiles and energy as he performs much-loved classics and a seemingly endless string of his hits that push an optimistic message of peace, love and happiness. 

The mood in the room is overwhelmingly euphoric as Cliff and his amazing eight-piece band deal You Can Get It If You Really Want and Wonderful World, Beautiful People. Minimal effort is required to provoke the crowd to sing along, participate in call-and-responses and engage in lots of random waving of arms. Stone cold classics like Many Rivers To Cross and his famous covers of Johnny Nash’s I Can See Clearly Now and Cat Stevens’ Wild World almost instantly silences and astonishes the crowd. Amazingly Cliff’s distinctive croon is unchanged and he sounds as vital tonight as he does on all those vintage records of his. With more than 30 albums to his name, Cliff settles on The Power And The Glory (1983) from which to drop Roots Woman and Journey before dealing the sunny tropical vibes of I Am The Living. The Harder They Come is the obvious feel-good highlight. Closing the main set, One More off Cliff’s much lauded 2012 comeback album has the crowd begging for just one more song. 

Encores kick off with the old protest song Vietnam updated to ‘Afghanistan’. Cliff subsequently showcases an unreleased song called Goddess, which is awash with saccharine romantic intentions, before the relentless groove of Reggae Night kicks in. Tonight’s set celebrates Cliff’s illustrious career, which dates back to the late ‘60s, and in the process proves the timeless power of rootsy West Indian music.