Forces of Victory
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Forces of Victory
| type = Studio album
| artist = Linton Kwesi Johnson
| cover = Forces of Victory (album cover).jpg
| alt =
| released = 1979 (UK)
| recorded = 1978
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = {{flatlist|
| length = 32:47
| label = Island
| producer = {{flatlist|
- Linton Kwesi Johnson
- Dennis Bovell}}
| prev_title = Dread Beat an' Blood
| prev_year = 1978
| next_title = Bass Culture
| next_year = 1980
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/forces-of-victory-mw0000200416|title=Forces of Victory - Linton Kwesi Johnson | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}
|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide
|rev2Score = A−{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: J|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=J&bk=70|accessdate=February 27, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}
|rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=4 |page=657}}
|rev4 = Record Mirror
|rev4score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine|title=Linton Kwesi Johnson: Forces of Victory |last=Skorecki |first=Alex |date=9 June 1979 |magazine=Record Mirror |page=17}}
|rev5 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
|rev5score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |pages=374–375}}
|rev6 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
|rev6score = 9/10{{cite book |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |date=1995 |publisher=Vintage Books |page=202}}
}}
Forces of Victory is the debut solo album by Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/linton-kwesi-johnson-mn0000289629/biography|title=Linton Kwesi Johnson | Biography & History|website=AllMusic}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/mar/08/featuresreviews.guardianreview11|title=Interview: Linton Kwesi Johnson|date=March 8, 2008|website=the Guardian}} It was released in 1979 on Island Records.
The album peaked at No. 66 on the UK Albums Chart.{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/3118/linton-kwesi-johnson/|title=LINTON KWESI JOHNSON | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company|website=www.officialcharts.com}}
Production
The album was produced by Linton Kwesi Johnson and Dennis "Blackbeard" Bovell.{{cite web |title=Pop Go the Holidays (With Jazz, Reggae and Rap) -- Hits and Live Albums; LINTON KWESI JOHNSON: 'INDEPENDANT INTAVENSHAN' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/18/movies/pop-go-holidays-with-jazz-reggae-rap-hits-live-albums-linton-kwesi-johnson.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=17 May 2021}}{{cite magazine |last1=Hermes |first1=Will |title=Classic Reggae |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=Oct 2018 |issue=1320 |pages=88–89}} Bovell, Lloyd "Jah Bunny" Donaldson and Webster Johnson were members of Matumbi.
Critical reception
AllMusic wrote: "Dramatic and intense to the point of claustrophobia, Forces of Victory is not simply one of the most important reggae records of its time, it's one of the most important reggae records ever recorded." Trouser Press wrote that "Johnson’s voice gains greater range and expressiveness while his poetry speaks of dire truths, and sounds increasingly complex, compact and expert."{{cite web |title=Linton Kwesi Johnson |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/linton-kwesi-johnson/ |website=Trouser Press |access-date=17 May 2021}}
Track listing
All tracks by Linton Kwesi Johnson
- "Want Fi Goh Rave" – 4:20
- "It Noh Funny" – 3:42
- "Sonny's Lettah (Anti-Sus Poem)" – 3:50
- "Independent Intavenshan" – 4:20
- "Fite Dem Back" – 4:27
- "Reality Poem" – 4:44
- "Forces of Viktry" – 4:56
- "Time Come" – 3:28
Personnel
- Linton Kwesi Johnson - vocals
- Floyd Lawson (tracks: 1, 5), Vivian Weathers (tracks: 2-4, 6-7) - bass
- Lloyd "Jah Bunny" Donaldson (tracks: 1-4, 7), Winston "Crab" Curniffe (tracks: 5-6, 8) - drums, percussion
- John Kpiaye - lead and rhythm guitar
- Julio Finn - harmonica
- Rico - trombone
- Dick Cuthell - flugelhorn
- Dennis Bovell (as "The Invisible One"), Webster Johnson - keyboards, piano
- Everald "Fari" Forrest - percussion
- Dennis Bovell, Vivian Weathers, Winston Bennett - additional voices
;Technical
- Dennis "Blackbeard" Bovell, John Caffrey - engineer
- Dennis Morris - photography
- Zebulon Design - design