Forgotten Treasure: Junior Murvin (Junior Soul) “Rescue the children”
Junior Murvin is well known for the title track of his first album, the massive “Police & Thieves“. The song has been covered by The Clash in 1977 and most recently by Zara McFarlane who did her own beautiful smooth version of this classic. No other tune from him got even close to having the same recognition.
My personal favorite track from Murvin is without a doubt the freshly reissued “Rescue the children“, thanks to the good folks at Dub Store records. This is a completely different version than the one you can find on his first album, the track “Rescue Jah Children” (link) produced by Lee Scratch Perry.
On this one, recorded in 1974, the falsetto voice he’s known for is displayed perfectly over the heavy rhythm provided by Derrick Harriot. All that combined with lyrics that still feels right on point in today’s society and the result is one of his best performance’s ever. Another version (link) from 1976 also produced by D. Harriot exists, but it’s not as good as the original.
You can get the 7” Vinyl on the Dub Store Records bandcamp page. Don’t sleep on this one, if you have some love for roots reggae music like I do, you need it in your collection!
Track taken from the most recent edition of the Fresh Taste monthly radio show on Brooklyn Radio. Check it here!
Fresh Taste #19 by Brooklyn Radio on Mixcloud
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