FLAC: https://we.tl/t-KhbTaYAD4p64e2Ea
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-3Ex4mENquM01s4z5
As was the case with ‘Doesn’t Make It Alright’ (Got it Covered #2) this was another instance where cover version followed hot on the heels of an original. Jamaican born Junior Murvin recorded ‘Police and Thieves’ (or ‘Police and Thief’ in its original form) with Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry in the producer's ‘Black Ark’ studios in May 1976. The recording featured a veritable who’s who of Jamaican reggae with Boris Gardiner, Ernest Ranglin and Sly Dunbar contributing to the recording. In typical Perry fashion, the track was recorded in on afternoon and the record was released in the same month. It was a hit upon release in Jamaica, but this success was eclipsed by the popularity of the song in the UK after Island Records issued the single in July of ’76. Murvin’s version was to become the musical back drop to the Notting Hill Carnival riots that occurred in August in which long standing tensions between the police and the black community culminated in running battles through the streets of Notting Hill, multiple arrests and the hospitalisation of a hundred police officers. The 1976 riots were subsequently woven into the fabric of The Clash story… providing as they did the inspiration for the debut single ‘White Riot’, the artwork on the reverse of ‘The Clash’ album and front cover of a later EP entitled ‘Black Market Clash’ which featured Clash collaborator Don Letts walking towards police lines on the day of the trouble.
‘Police and Thieves’ in the hands of The Clash was originally a rehearsal room workout that was never intended for release but ultimately the band recorded the track for inclusion on the first album where it provides a radical departure from the fire and fury of its companion tracks. Its inclusion also was the starting point of the band’s recorded association with reggae. Interestingly, according to the song’s entry in Wikipedia, neither Murvin or Perry were initially fans of The Clash’s interpretation of the song, with the singer stating "They have destroyed Jah work!" whilst Perry believed that The Clash had ‘ruined’ the song. Both men were to come around to Police and Thieves à la Clash in time.
The Clash’s interpretation is a significant revision of the original. At over six minutes long it is also an epic in comparison with the two minute punk roars that the band were known for at the time of its recording. The vocals are worlds apart too, with Murvin’s falsetto delivery being replaced by Strummer’s gravelly bark bourn of cigarettes and poor dentition! As such ‘Police and Thieves’ meets my stated criteria of a worthwhile cover version. It alters the song sufficiently and in such a way that the band made it their own. That is not to say that it is better but there are good grounds for an argument as to who did it best and in this there are arguments on both sides to be had. With ‘Police and Thieves’ and ‘(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais’ The Clash laid claim to a uniquely British fusion of punk and reggae which remains a huge part of their legacy.
