Junior Murvin Police & Thieves CD

Junior Murvin, along with co-writer/producer Lee Perry, created a certifiable reggae classic in "Police and Thieves." Covered by The Clash and symbolic of its time (the mid-1970s) musically and politically, the song is the centerpiece of an album considered by reggae fans to be one of the greatest albums of the genre.

Murvin sings powerful, intense lyrics with a sweet-sounding falsetto voice (recalling Smokey Robinson), while Lee Perry frames the songs with dark, almost haunted tempos, sharp guitar work and seemingly bottomless reverb. Murvin mixes British/Jamaican angst and fury with gospel fervor, and the tunes stick with you long after the CD stops.

This is one of those albums that winds up on just about every list of essential reggae recordings, and with good reason. Like Max Romeo's War Ina Babylon (which is equally essential, and can be considered a companion to this one), it was recorded under the auspices of Lee "Scratch" Perry at his legendary Black Ark studio, and is saturated with Perry's trademark dense, murky sound. Murvin sings in a fierce and beautiful falsetto, a voice that lends a unique weight to such dark masterpieces as "Lucifer," "Roots Train," and the title track (which was later recorded by the Clash). Perry surrounds Murvin's voice with great washes of echo and reverb and keeps the tempos slow and intense, giving the album an almost Biblical feel. Ignore the goofy album art on the CD reissue -- there is nothing lighthearted about any of these songs, nor is there a single wrong note or misplaced effect. There may be eight or ten perfect reggae albums in existence, and this is certainly one of them. [The 2003 reissue of Police & Thieves adds expanded liner notes, photos, and five tracks to the original running order. "Childhood Sweetheart" and a cover of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready, " retitled here "Rasta Get Ready," are previously unreleased. "Memories" is the B-side of the "Police & Thieves" single. Also included are extended mixes of "Bad Weed" and "Roots Train," which features additional vocals by Dillinger.] ~ Rick Anderson

Additional Tracks

Recorded at Black Art Studios, Kingston, Jamaica. Includes liner notes by Brian Blevins and David Katz.

Personnel: Junior Murvin (vocals); Robert "Billy" Johnson (guitar); Dirty Harry Hall, Herman Marquis (horns); Winston Wright, Errol "Tarzan" Nelson (keyboards).

Liner Note Author: David Katz.

Recording information: Black Ark Studios, Kingston, Jamaica.

Unknown Contributor Roles: George Faith; Cedric Myton.Q (4/00, p.112) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...an all-time reggae classic....possessed the right mix of biblical ire and righteous indignation to make any West London rebel envious..."
Mojo (Publisher) (9/03, p.120) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...The title cut to Murvin Smith Junior's Island label debut has it all....Bonus tracks are equally strong..."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.100) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[With] Murvin and The Upsetter at their roots-skanking peak. Easily one of the best releases of the year."