Junior Murvin - Cool Down The Heat

1LP Vinyl - VPGSRL7118

Junior Murvin understood this power intimately. Best remembered for his breakthrough hit “Police and Thieves,” produced in 1976 by Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and later covered by The Clash, Murvin’s high register became the sound of the summer in Jamaica and England, both countries caught in intense racial unrest. But the track—an instant earworm—reached far beyond reggae, later soundtracking Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and influencing countless artists who recognized its balance of beauty and protest.

Cool Down The Heat offers a newly compiled collection of Murvin’s 1980s recordings, remixed and updated by King Jammy, the dub master and legendary producer who helped pioneer digital reggae with “Under Me Sleng Teng.” The album opens with its title track, launching digi-dub gunshot sounds before Murvin’s falsetto slides in with commanding reassurance. “The sound of the gun echoes everywhere/ The coming of Jah, you know it’s near/ My gosh, cool down the heat.” His voice delivers prophecy through trembling vocal cords, turning warning into prayer.

Condition:

Media: Mint (M)

Sleeve: Mint (M)

Track List: 

A1. Cool Down The Heat
A2. World Inflation
A3. Come From Far
A4. Ism Schism
A5. No Bed Of Roses
B1. Police And Thieves
B2. Cool Out Son
B3. Dancehall Girls
B4. Zoops
B5. Lion Mouth