Police And Thieves : Deluxe Edition

ジャマイカの音楽シーンで最も重要なルーツ・レゲエ・ヴォーカリストのひとり、Junior Murvinが1977年の名盤がDEXLUXE EDITIONで登場。レゲエ・ミュージックで最も有名な楽曲のひとつでもある「Police And Theives」も収録された今作、レコーディングはLee 'Scratch' Perry所有で名高いキングストンにある"Black Ark studio"で行われた。シンガー、プロデューサー共に創作面でピークを迎えた時期で、当時の雰囲気、大西洋を挟み同時発生し、社会調和を乱していた市民暴動、社会不正義という時代のテーマ見事に捉えていた。オリジナル収録曲の他に、ダブ/インストゥルメンタルなどBlack Ark Studioブランドによる未発表音源を収録。

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."

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. Junior Murvin sings in a fierce and beautiful falsetto, a voice which 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 some issues -- 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. ~ Rick Anderson