330) Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Streetcore

Sunday December 22^nd, 2002, was a crap day. Through the years I had always hoped That Petrol Emotion, The Smiths and The Clash would reform, it was possible as all original members from all three of these groups were still with us but that day in 2002 Joe Strummer died and the world became just a bit more depressing.  When he died, I had just turned thirty-two and he was fifty, so I thought he was getting on a bit but now at fifty-four I realise he was just a nipper.

We did not get much from Joe musically from when The Clash limped to their end in 1986 but in 1999, he discovered his mojo and formed The Mescaleros, and we had three albums over a five-year period. I saw them each time they played Glasgow. He was clearly the boss and seemed to have come to terms with his past as we were treated to new songs and many a classic from his days in The Clash.

We do not know if Streetcore was the way Strummer would have wanted as the record was completed by Mescaleros Martin Slattery and Scott Shields after his death but wherever he is he must have been proud of the job they did.

Coma Girl opens the record just Joe’s vocals and electric guitar before the bass kicks in and the band lead us into the chorus. On the first two records The Mescaleros and experimented with several sounds, Streetcore was a return to his rock n roll routes, and this song shows he was up for it and had so much more to give, great opening.

We then move into a rock, reggae groove of Get Down Moses with added saxophone, cornet, and organ, it grooves from start to finish.

Arms Aloft get your foot pumping when the chorus kicks in with a brilliant effect on his vocal and the band he had enlisted show they were with him all the way and back him beautifully on backing vocals on the emotional Ramshackle Day Parade and All in a Day try and it’s difficult not join in with the multiple “Hey, Hey’s,” powerful guitar and drums throughout.

Burnin’ Streets, he tells us that London is burning, he may have done that before, but this is nothing like the genius of that early full throttle song, mellow and assured. Mature, dare I say.

Midnight Jam is an instrumental where Shields and Slattery have taken spoken words from Strummer’s radio show, it’s a clever idea but possibly doesn’t merit over five minutes.

I have heard people say Strummer could not really sing, to that I say sod off (articulate I know). Listen to the three acoustic numbers on this record. Long Shadow (written for Johnny Cash) and a cover of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song, and the record ends on Silver and Gold with his old friend Tymon Dog joining on violin. His voice is unique and strong and full of emotion and is a wonder to hear his voice so naked. The record ends with Joe stating, “ok that’s a take.” 

Maybe if he had lived we would have one day got a Strummer acoustic album, no ignore that because that makes his passing even worse as this record shows Joe had plenty more to say and twenty three years after his passing myself and many more still miss the man and his music.  

8.5/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Arms Aloft