My girlfriend likes to tell people that I know everything
about music, to which I smile and shake my head and secretly hope that nobody
asks me to tell them the names of all the Rolling Stones albums or quote lyrics
to songs by the Smiths (to be fair, I can’t stand the Smiths but that’s a
different story). The thing is, I’m no good with facts or figures and I don’t
like the approach to music that some people have where they just have to have
‘classic’ albums by ‘seminal’ artists in their collection to make it
worthwhile. I’d rather stumble across great music in my own time and that’s
exactly what’s happened with your man Joe Strummer. Now, of course I knew who
he was and all about the Clash but I’ve never taken the time to seek out his
other work so I was more than a bit chuffed when two 10 year anniversary remastered
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros albums flopped on to my doormat.
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| Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Global A Go-Go |
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Global A Go-Go
(Remastered) – Hellcat Records
First up was ‘Global A Go-Go’ which is full of treats,
delights and surprises. Kicking off with the stripped-down folksiness of
‘Johnny Appleseed’, you suspect Arcade Fire may have listened to more than a
little Strummer before they launched their assault on the musical world. Title
track, ‘Global A Go-Go’, lilts with a reggae beat, swirling guitars and the
many voices of Joe Strummer before breaking in to an African rhythm infused
chorus overlaid with multi-instrumentation and a sense of joyous inclusivity.
This album is a great example of World Music in the truest sense of the phrase
as performed by a musician who has travelled to the four corners of the globe
to select the best ingredients – a bit like Lloyd Grossman but without the
inexplicable accent. Titles like ‘Bhindi Bhagee’, ‘Shaktar Donetsk’ and ‘Mondo
Bongo’ confirm the albums international feel and cement Strummer’s reputation
as a musical innovator. Here is a man who was the driving force behind one of
the world’s greatest and most politically virile punk bands but who was also
intelligent to recognise that each culture has its own musical heritage to pass
on stories, to protest against injustice and to get people dancing. As an
example, ‘At The Border, Guy’ starts off like a piano lead 90s dance tune
straight outta Manchester before incorporating relexad West Indian rhythms and
West Coast American organs. But most impressively, it’s the 17 minute opus of
‘Minstrel Boy’ that ends the album that is the most mind blowing experience in
terms of coming out of the mind of a man largely known form writing sub 3
minute punk blasters. ‘Minstrel Boy’ starts off as a wistful, Celtic lament
full of fiddles and military drums before building in to the kind of crescendo
you would expect at the end of a large scale musical production for the Olympic
opening ceremony or some other similar one-off event. ‘Global A Go-Go’ is the
musical memoir of a musician and music fan who has travelled, seen, heard and
embraced the music that our messed up world has to offer and should be on the
curriculum for all music departments the length and breadth of the country - or
at least free to download for everyone under the age of 16 as an educational
tool.
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| Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Streetcore |
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (Remastered) –
Hellcat Records
‘Streetcore’ shows a more direct connection between Strummer’s
newer work and his more widely known output with the Clash. Opener ‘Coma Girl’
is a bonafide singalong hit with a crowd pleasing chorus whilst ‘Get Down Moses’
sees Strummer in full blown preacher mode mixing lilting dub beats with swathes
of organ and some seriously soulful horns. ‘Long Shadow’ is pure Dylan and ‘Arms
Aloft’ is a wondrous homage to the highs and lows of touring featuring the
beautifully British lyric “May I remind you of that scene, we were arms aloft
in Aberdeen”. Strummer has always been fascinated with all kinds of music and
on his version of Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ he pays tribute to the powerful
storytelling abilities of music – although it is slightly odd listening to a
middle class white man singing a song about the Black slave trade. It kinda
works though. For me, the stand out track is the winding, meandering ‘Midnight
Jam’ which starts off like a WWII broadcast telling the world that this music
is coming straight out of London, London Calling indeed, and all the
multicultural joy contained therein. It’s not so much that this is the best
song on the album but more that it clearly shows off Strummer’s love of being a
musician and the satisfaction he gets from simply creating and performing music
with a group of like minded people for a anyone willing to listen.
The live bonus tracks at the end of this collection are just
that, a real bonus. Versions of ‘Rudi, A Message To You’, ‘Blitzkreig Bop’ and ‘Yalla,
Yalla’ all go to show what a consummate performer, entertainer and storyteller
Strummer was. Whether they are his words or someone else’s, this man knows how
to weave a tale and enthral an audience. The really telling sign that this is a
good album though is that it’s been stuck in my car stereo for weeks as I can’t
bring myself to take it out to sit down and write about it. Discovering
Strummer’s latter day output has been a real treat and I hope the late, great
man is resting in noise. Lots of lovely, eclectic noise in that great jam
session in the sky.