I can't think of cops without robbers, the pairing being as intrinsic as salt and pepper, fish and chips and rock and roll. So, for me, the no brainer is this iconic song from the 1970s. Given, too, it is barely a month since the producer, one Lee 'Scratch' Perry, departed this earth, it seems as good a time as any to give it centre stage.
Police and Thieves/Junior Murvin (1976)
A supreme distillation of both reggae and dub, anyone unfamiliar with either couldn't fail to appreciate and understand the complex simplicities at work here. A beautiful melody, sung in a delightful falsetto without an an ounce of strain or grating, the sturdy skanking undercurrent, a perfect storm of controlled concern. But burbling in the middle distance is the stuff of genius, Perry fading aspects of the backing so subtly in and out, the barest hint of echo raising a presence intermittently. Sometimes dub is so full on and so frightening as to scare a first time rider: this is surely the song for sceptics to listen to. Of course, if you want and need a little more, there is the full on dub version: check in at about 4 minutes here, where all the studio shenanigans gets the full treatment, yet still leaves the majesty of Murvin's vocal intact. However, this is neither the time of the place to celebrate Perry, this is Murvin's gig. (Check back in to our yearly Obituary thread, at the end of the year, for that pleasure.)
Solomon/Junior Soul (1972)
Murvin, too, is no longer with us; he died, at the age of 67, in 2013. But 'Police and Thieves' was certainly not all he left behind him, even if most of his other hits were local only to the West Indies. Like so many on these islands, he was influenced by black American soul music, and, given the timbre of his voice, it is little surprise that it was Curtis Mayfield who most floated his boat. Trying, unsuccessfully, to get in with the bigger JA studios, he first found some recognition, as Junior Soul, with 'Solomon', above, in 1972. It was clear he had a stand out voice, even if the song is a little weak and generic. Four years later he again auditioned for greater attention, this time being picked up by Perry's Black Ark studio, and with whom he together wrote the set of songs released as the 'Police and Thieves' album. This was 1976, and it was released worldwide on Chris Blackwell's Island records. Hindsight places it as at the pinnacle of Perry's productions, with the ultimate backing musicianship of the Upsetters, the Black Ark houseband, with stalwarts such as Sly Dunbar, Boris Gardner and Ernest Ranglin contributing. Anyone unfamiliar and beginning to be intrigued by the dub reggae palette could do a lot worse than to invest in this LP. Should invest, rather. It actually took until 1980 for the titular song to become a major hit, based, in part, on soundtrack appearances. Murvin then continued to work with Perry, moving on to work with other producers and with other studios, if never quite repeating this earlier success. Here are a couple of later gems, tho', each with their respective dub workouts. Wise Man was his last recording, in 1998.
Cool Out Son/Junior Murvin (1979)
Wise Man/Junior Murvin (1998)
By now, I dare say some may be itching for their vague recollections of where else they know the featured song from, perhaps, in part, prompted by Jordan's recent post here. I refer, of course, to the Clash, seminal punks turned musical roots polymaths, who, on hearing the song in its original format in 1976, took it to heart and included it on their eponymous 1977 debut album. Eschewing the term white reggae, they categorised it as punk reggae. Murvin, apparently, loathed it: "they have destroyed Jah's work". Nevertheless, if intriguingly, it became the inspiration for Bob Marley to write his song, 'Punky Reggae Party'. Almost included by accident and an afterthought, 'Police and Thieves' became one of the band's most popular songs.
Police and Thieves/The Clash (1977)
And that wasn't the end of the song, there having been a plethora of subsequent covers, although the quality has been, let's say, variable. One of the more interesting was when the Orb, the UK psy-ambient electronica outfit, got together with Lee Perry. Their joint 'Orbserver in the Star House' project is, on occasion, an unwieldy and indulgent piece of work, but has a number of moments where their disparate worlds collide in alignment, and the revisioning of 'Police and Thieves' is certainly one of those moments.
(Well, it's different, but I always love this crazy shit.)
Police and Thieves/The Orb with Lee 'Scratch' Perry (2012)
The original and best. (Yup, get the whole album, you know you want to.......)
Sometimes, when there’s a theme with almost limitless possibilities, the best course is to jump on the first song that jumps into your head. If that were the case here, I’d be writing about The Buzzcocks’ “I Don’t Know What To Do With My Life.” But I’m not (yet, at least). My second thought was “(What’s So Funny) ‘Bout Peace Love and Understanding,” since I heard Nick Lowe sing that live the other day. But I have already written about that song in detail at Cover Me. (Did you know that Cover Me has a Patreon site? Check it out!)
Scrolling through the official J. David iTunes library (yes, I still have one. And an aol.com email address. Proves I’m an early adopter), I came across a bunch of possibilities, but stopped cold when I came to “Be Thankful For What You Got.” You know, that great, smooth, 1970s soul song, with the memorable line, “Diamond in the back / sunroof top / digging the scene with a gangster lean," sung by….by….Curtis Mayfield? Nope. The singer is William DeVaughn, who wrote the song, originally as “A Cadillac Don’t Come Easy,” while working full-time as a government draftsman. Luckily, he changed the title, or I couldn’t be writing about it here.
DeVaughn took the song to Omega Sound in Philadelphia, maybe a step above a vanity studio, and paid $900 of his own hard-earned money to record it. Omega Sound, however, had connections with members of the MFSB group of studio musicians, who backed up many great acts, including Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O’Jays, the Stylistics, the Spinners, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Paul, and had hits on their own, notably “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia).” MFSB sax player John Davis liked the song, suggested a jazzy, smooth, soulful arrangement, booked Sigma Sound Studios and enlisted some of his fellow MFSB members to play on the track.
DeVaughn, a Jehovah’s Witness, had a couple of minor hits after “Be Thankful,” but appears to have not fully committed to a music career. Which is a shame, because he has a great voice, and could really write a song.
First of all, let me say that I feel absolutely no guilt about this selection.
People Get Ready was the first song I thought of for this weeks theme. I didn’t post it until now, because I wanted to save it for Inauguration Day. As I watched our new president address the assembled masses on the Mall, I knew that I made the right decision.
Curtis Mayfield was inspired to write People Get Ready in response to Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech in 1963. The song debuted two years later. Taken literally, the lyrics are religious, telling of the dream of a heavenly reward. But it is easy to interpret the song as an expression of the dreams of the Civil Rights movement here on earth. And indeed, People Get Ready became an anthem of the Civil Rights movement. Bob Marley also adopted the song for the struggles in Jamaica. The song has come to represent the dreams of oppressed people everywhere. The success of Barack Obama is, to many, the embodiment of those dreams.
Eva Cassidy’s version of People Get Ready was all but unknown until after her death from melanoma in 1996. So, when I hear her version, I am brought back to the notion of heavenly reward.
Special Announcement: keep your eyes on my blog, Oliver di Place. I should have my first album review up later this week or early next week.
Curtis Mayfield - Little Child Running Wild [purchase]
Superfly isn't the greatest movie, but I defy anyone to come up with a better, funkier soundtrack. The obvious move here is to go with "Pusherman," the most recognizable tune from the film and a stone-cold classic in its own right. But, I'm opting for the first cut from the album, "Little Child Running Wild." This might be Mayfield's finest moment as a producer and arranger (in collaboration with Johnny Pate), skillfully integrating Hammond B-3, strings, congas, drums, tenor sax, and wah-wah guitar. Lyrically, "Little Child" is a masterpiece of social commentary, a sympathetic narrative of inner city dysfunction that is, sadly, still relevant. As a bonus, I've tacked onto the beginning of the track an excerpt from a Mayfield interview, recorded a few years before his death in 1999. I think it nicely contrasts the intensity of the subject matter with the sensitivity of his artistic methodology.
Curtis Mayfield is one of the few members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who have been inducted more than once - first with the Impressions in 1991 and again as a solo artist in 1999. The lowdown about the tune from allmusic:
Mayfield's fragile falsetto voice continues to get hit with doses of tape echo throughout the seven-plus minute track, a technique that influenced reggae/ dub producers like Lee "Scratch" Perry. It is a caustic rack, especially as the first single from Mayfield's solo career, but it did well on the charts, reaching number three on the R&B charts and 29 on the pop charts.
I'm glad to have occasion to post this, one of Curtis Mayfield's most overlooked songs.
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