Jimmy Cliff is reggae’s second-most-famous singer, tied with about 20 other people who aren’t Bob Marley, but his stature is mostly based on music he made 40 years ago. Tim Armstrong, who mixed punk and reggae in Rancid, attempts to relaunch Cliff by connecting legacies and influences. So Cliff covers “Ruby Soho,” a Rancid song, and The Clash’s “Guns of Brixton,” which refers to Cliff’s role in The Harder They Come. Cliff ’s ghostly tenor – less robust but still cheerful and defiant – gets tangled in the verses of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” chosen because Dylan and Cliff share a mutual admiration. Sacred Fire succeeds more as a history lesson than as music.

Listen To "Guns of Brixton":

Related
• Videos: Jimmy Cliff at Rolling Stone Live
• Reggae King Jimmy Cliff Takes Back His Crown

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.