Joe Strummer's posthumous Mescaleros' album appears 10 months after the former Clash man's shockingly premature death, lovingly completed and produced by band members Scott Shields and Martin Slattery.
'Streetcore' revolves around the twin Strummer passions of rock'n'roll and reggae beats with a dash of the lone folk balladeer for added pathos and good measure. The 'world-music' excursions of the previous 'Global - A Go Go' album are less in evidence and 'Streetcore' is a sharper, leaner collection for it.
The single, 'Coma Girl', with its tale of Glastonbury nights, is already set to become a dewy-eyed, annual festival soundtrack, reaffirming Strummer's love of the madness that kicked-off each June in his adopted West County backyard. 'Get Down Moses' and 'Long Shadow' showcase his love of reggae and folk musics. 'Arms Aloft' with its subtle chord changes explodes into probably the greatest (only?) rock anthem ever written about Aberdeen. Sad then that we'll never see Strummer, fingers to temple, scratching away at that battered old Telecaster to this classic testament to the lure of life on the road by one of its most committed live performers.
Elsewhere, Marley's 'Redemption Song' lays Strummer bare, acoustic, accordion and voice somehow lent weight by the singer's sad demise - a reminder of his, admittedly middle class, 'struggles' against ignorance and apathy in the late 70s. 'All In A Day' sprints, all overdriven and sing-along chorus across Strummer's cross-cultural rap, the Mescaleros proving they can be a garage band when called upon. 'Burnin' Streets' is a mature update of the classic 'London's Burning' - this time custom built for TV theme land - but its more radio-friendly arrangement is no less compelling for that. It's not the real Strummer though.
Shields and Slattery have expertly constructed 'Midnight Jam' around clips of Joe's BBC Radio series, 'London Calling', in which his name checks are woven into a seductive soundscape that has more than a hint of Enoesque U2 about it. Which leaves a re-working of Bobby Charles' 'Before I Grow Too Old' as an apt finale with its life affirming tale of a man in a hurry to experience all he can.
Strummer's energy, enthusiasm and single-mindedness were both infectious and awe-inspiring and we should all be thankful for that. From the 101'ers to the Mesacleros... Joe, we will miss you.
by Andy Strickland