One of my first musical memories was being enchanted by the sounds of Operation Ivy. Growing up a chub-ish poser that hung out with the skater kids in the Highlands, in the early 90s, the only LP Operation Ivy issued Energy had just been recently re-released. Needless to say it made its way to me like KFC’s Chicken Littles. If I was lucky a few times a week, when truly blessed it ran every summer day repeatedly, or there was those unfortunate times when I missed out for days at a time. It was and still is majestically infectious.
What does this have to do with Reggae legend, Grammy-winning musician, actor, singer, songwriter, producer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Jimmy Cliff? His latest endeavor, the LP Rebirth, has already spawned the single ‘One More’ which is truly amazing, true to form, and produced by Operation Ivy’s (and Rancid front man) Tim ‘Lint’ Armstrong. It’s as if Cliff’s musical resilience has partnered with Armstrong’s own, to form a beasting hybrid of ‘Take Warning’, ‘Unity’ (written by Armstrong) and Cliff’s ‘The Harder They Come’. ‘One More’ has been getting regular airplay on local gem 91.9 WFPK, but what is most remarkable is that Cliff is performing on Wednesday, July 4th, here in Louisville as part of Fifth Third Bank’s Waterfront Independence Festival.
For the love of everything sacred, don’t miss this one. It bodes to be quite the time with MojoFlo and Midnight Star warming things up. Most amazingly it’s FREE, doors open at 5, so does the Coors Light Beer Garden, and fireworks will reign to close the evening and we’ll be quite lucky to get ‘One More’.
Photo credit: http://www.jimmycliff.com/photos/
Further Credit: http://www.waterfrontindependencefestival.com/
