All The Peace Makers Turned War Officers
Junior Murvin – Police And Thieves Island Records – 12WIP 6539 Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Single, UK, 1980 info Junior Murvin's Police And Thieves has to be one of the most memorable pieces of reggae songwriting ever. Urgent lyrics delivered with the gentleness of Murvin's unmistakable Curtis-Mayfield-in-JA falsetto and the production magic worked up by Lee Perry on the Upsetters' backing track combine to make something special. It's one of the reggae songs that everyone would know if there was any justice in this world. Of course, the lack of justice in this world inspired the lyrics when Junior Murvin and Scratch wrote this in 1976, then quickly recorded the single at Perry's Black Ark studio. The lyrics tell of gang violence and even worse police brutality. The words were clearly spilling out of the Kingston headlines of the day, but they've also tragically proven timeless. New versions of this still get cut every few years, easily translating to different c...