Police & Thieves [Bonus Tracks] Junior Murvin

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CD - Remastered / Bonus Tracks

  • Release Date: 03/25/2003
  • Original Release: 1977
  • Sales Rank: 43,763
  • Label: DEF JAM
  • UPC: 044006307824

Listener Rating: (2 ratings)

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  • Overview
  • Tracks
  • Editorial Reviews
  • Customer Reviews
  • Details & Credits
Track List
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Police & Thieves [Bonus Tracks]

1LISTENRoots Train 3:43
2LISTENPolice and Thieves 3:52
3LISTENSolomon 2:56
4LISTENRescue Jah Children 3:47
5LISTENTedious 5:01
6LISTENFalse Teachin' 4:07
7LISTENEasy Task 3:49
8LISTENLucifer 3:14
9LISTENWorkin' in the Cornfield 3:47
10LISTENI Was Appointed 3:53
11LISTENChildhood Sweetheart previously unreleased / Bonus Track 2:55
12LISTENBad Weed Bonus Track / Discomix 8:19
13LISTENRoots Train Bonus Track / Extended Mix 9:03
14LISTENMemories Bonus Track 8:46
15LISTENRasta Get Ready previously unreleased / Bonus Track 3:13

About this Artist

Editorial Reviews

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, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

  • Listener Rating:
  • Ratings: 2Reviews: 2

Police & Thieves [Bonus Tracks]by Anonymous

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December 08, 2006: Mix a a singer with a marvelously elastic falsetto with a superb group of musicians and a genius producer at the top of his game and you get Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves"...I have been dipping back into the music I listened to as a teenager (a perorogative the rapidly aging...) and among the great albums of the 70's heyday of reggae this one still stands above other ostensible masterpieces as "Party Time!" by the Heptones and "Heart of the Congos" by the Congos...this is deep rebel music that comes across like silk and steel, and is as timeless as Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisted" or the first Clash album (where of course you can find a sledgehammer cover of this album's title track). This version comes with rare and hard to find (looooong)mixes and dubs of some of the best tracks...even without the extras this is a true "Desert Island Disk". Where is music as deep and real as this being produced today???

Police & Thieves [Bonus Tracks]by Anonymous

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June 03, 2003: Though many know Murvin’s landmark title song through its cover by The Clash, the original, featured here among the album’s ten cuts and a quintet of equally worthy bonus tracks, shows just why this song so intrigued British punks. The entire album, one of the best produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry at his Black Ark studio, is rife with the sort of socially charged songs that found resonance half way around the world. ¶ Life in mid-70s Kingston, factionalized by poverty, and the oppression of highly divisive political and police institutions, is at the root of Murvin’s exceptional set of songs. His dark contemplations of Rastafarian life, and the plight of blacks worldwide, is matched by Perry’s thick, heavily reverbed production. Even the drums and cymbals are heavily flanged for additional rhythmic effect. It’s not necessarily the most accessible sound in reggae, but it’s certainly among the most powerful. ¶ Island’s latest reissue adds five bonus tracks to the original ten, including a remix of "Roots Train" that features an extended toast from Dillinger, a reworking of the "Police and Thieves" backing track as "Bad Weed," a rare 12" titled "Memories," a previously unreleased track titled "Childhood Sweetheart," and Murvin’s rewrite of Curtis Mayfield’s seminal "People Get Ready," rechristened "Rasta Get Ready." For anyone who didn’t notice up front (and it would be difficult not to), the latter tips one of Murvin’s primary vocal influences.