Joe Strummer, Mescaleros - Streetcore
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Free Music Notes for Streetcore
Free Music Review: Oh Joe..... Why did you have to go??
Hit: 5 Stars
So many great musicians have left their marks across the history of the music I (and millions more)love. The King, John&Paul(no last names necessary) Jimi, Kurt and many other greats.
Joe Strummer deserves a spot when listing the ones who changed the music world for the better. If by some chance you are reading this review with out benefit of knowing who Joe was or his life story, then you need to get some Clash CDs and do some internet reading. Joe and the Clash meant the world to many of us and I write this review of Joe's last album before his sudden passing with the heaviest of hearts. The Clash was THE BEST punk group ever, because they were the most musically talented. Many punk fans think that the point of punk was /is simply fast and furious. While that is certainly part of the appeal, there is another aspect that is more important. Independence! freedom from those who would pigeon hole you and tell you that you must continue to play music this way. Punk was first and foremost a big SCREW YOU! to the established music industry that had forgotten that rock music was born in rebellion. The fast and furious style is the manifestation of the anger of guys who are developing musically. The Clash matured into a great band that like a roman candle lite the world for a short time.
After the candle burned out the members went down the paths that life took them. Joe continued to do various things i.e. soundtracks,a little acting and even put out a great first solo album (89's "Earthquake Weather) in the late 90's he began to work again on albums with a new band (The Mescaleros) two wonderful albums of music full of various styles were produced ("Rock Art and the X-Ray Style" and "Global A Go-Go") Then the hammer fell. In December 2002 Joe was lost to all his present fans and his future fans. This album was completed by his friends and band members as a final tribute to a truncated life.
It is the finest memorial I could ever dream to be, for a man who just loved music. Don't take my word for it, read other reviews and go to various web sites to read of his passion. However if you really want to know his love and passion, then REALLY listen to his music. You will find all the love Joe had for music, in his music.
The songs on the album have been discussed in other reviews, so read them for a better understanding, as some people have written some beautiful things about Joe's final salute. All I want to say is that this is such a shame because the albums shows that Joe was really getting into a groove and what the future might have been. If you're a fan of Joe Strummer and you don't have this album, shame on you, GET IT NOW!! If you are becoming a fan then you can't miss with this FINE work.
The only fault I would have is not a fault at all. You see if you're like me and you think the world of Joe, when the album reaches it's climax you may feel sadness as Joe sings a cover of "Silver and Gold" a song lamenting the need to do so much in life before it ends.
Joe sings the line "going to take a trip around the world, going to kiss all the pretty girls,going to do everything silver and gold.....and I 've got to hurry up before I grow to old" This song now chokes me up when I hear it and think of Joe and that is my only fault with this beautiful album.
Joe may have had a weak heart physically, but the soul of his heart was a SUPERNOVA.
Free Music Review: This is why he's the only man that matters!
Hit: 5 Stars
It's hard to believe that it's been almost a year since Joe Strummer passed away. Streetcore is Joe Strummer's last gift to the world and what a gift it truly is. Joe was one of the last true rock and roll rebels still making music like he was in his 20's, not a middle aged man. His live shows were legendary and I will never forget seeing grown men with tears in their eyes as Joe took the stage in 1999 for his first U.S. show in 10 years. While the last two albums with the Meskies take alot of time to grow on you (there are still some songs I wanna like but just can't get into them) Streetcore automatically grabs you from the opening of Joe's first real rocking song since It's A Rockin' World on the Cheif Aid soundtrack to the bittersweet tearjerking end of Silver And Gold. The album is a beautiful, bittersweet reminder of Joe Strummer and the amazing talent this man possesed. No other human being has mixed so many different genres of music and can pull it off like Joe has. Streetcore in my opinion is Joe's best post Clash album since Earthquake Weather (hopefully someday soon EW is re-released). Streetcore explores many different sounds but doesn't get too far out there like Global A Go Go did. Almost half of the album is filled with either acoustic ballad-ish songs (an amazing cover of Bob Marley's Redemption Song, Long Shadow, which was written for Johnny Cash and the already mentioned breathtaking closer, Silver And Gold) or slower enchanting songs (9-11 inspired Ramshackle Day Parade, Burnin' Streets, which is kind of a updated London's Burning and Midnight Jam, which was one of Joe's favorite tunes but sadly was without vocals so snippets from Joe's London Calling BBC radio show was added). Get Down Moses is the only reagge influenced track on the album. Arms Aloft is a nice little rocker and All In A Day sounds alot like something Mick Jones would've done with B.A.D..
While this is the final full length album from Joe the fourthcoming Johnny Cash box set will feature a duet with Joe and the late Man In Black on a cover of Marley's Redemption Song and i'm sure that it will make the song even more special and bittersweet than it already is. It's still hard to believe that this is it. This will be the last Joe Strummer studio album. Streetcore shows the band taking a different direction and ready to make a name for themselves in the music world. Sadly we won't get to see how great Joe and the Meskies truly could've been together though with Streetcore Joe gives us one more reason to say that he is the only man that matters and proves why he is a true musical icon. R.I.P. Joe!
Free Music Review: The Punk Returns
Hit: 5 Stars
After hearing "Global A-Go-Go," I was impressed, but I wasn't looking for a world mix this time. Imagine how pleased I was when the opening track, "Coma Girl" started out with Joe back at it.
As the guitars guide us to bounce our heads and tap our feet, Joe's lyrics paint a picture and take us away. "I was crawling through a festival way out west." he calls, and we can see it. As he then sees the coma girl and as the rain sets in.
Many of the songs on this recording paint an image on us in the same way, in "Get Down Moses" as he shouts "Get down Moses, down here in the street / the blood is washing down all the gravel to our feet." With gritty sounds and images of the old punk scene ("Arms Aloft") or a quiet acoustic ballad that takes you far, far away, to a place where Jonney Cash and Strummer both cast a long shadow ("Long Shadow"): it's an album that gets to you.
Of course a stand out track remains Strummer's cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." As a heartfelt protest song, it takes wings in Sturmmer's deep, emotional voice. This recording Strummer may have sung with a political motive in mind, but now it will always be remembered as Joe Strummer's Redemption, and it could make you cry to think about it.
And while you're at it, listen to "All in a Day" (it's funnier if you work retail and actually have to wear a vest to work). Or "Burning Streets", with lyrics that reach back to The Clash ("London is burning / Don't tell the queen"), or even on "Midnight Jam," which Strummer didn't quite finish, you can hear him quote himself in the spoken word background, you can hear echos of "London Calling," "Radio Clash," and "White Riot." There's "Ramshakle Day Parade" which Strummer wrote about 9/11. And then, the swan song: "Silver & Gold," (origionally by Bobby Charles): if you don't cry one time you may not be human.
Every track is worth it. And the band makes a political statement with the album: a call for the return of truth and justice, a call that the masses should take up and cry out in the streets, if we weren't paralyzed with grief. This album is truly great, and only Joe Strummer could have done these songs just right. Listen, remember, grieve, and feel good about punk, and the music again.
Thanks for everything Joe. We miss you. Rest in Piece.
Free Music Review: RIP Joe
Hit: 5 Stars
Punk legend Joe Strummer was working on his fourth solo album when he died suddenly in December 2002 of a heart attack. The former frontman of the Clash did manage to complete 10 songs that stand as some of the greatest music he ever recorded. With his band, the Mescaleros, Strummer created a masterpiece and it has the same passion and energy since the London Calling days of the Clash. And it's diverse too, with just 10 songs at 41 minutes! "Coma Girl," the first track, flat out rocks, and his natural blend of rock and punk are also in songs like "Arms Aloft" and "All in a Day." "Ramshackle Day Parade" and "Burnin Streets" are rock anthems, and rather leftist political songs (imagine "London Calling" or "Lost in the Supermarket" meets Springsteen's "Born to Run."), and he reveals his acoustic side with a moving rendition of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" and his own folk song, "Long Shadow." "Midnight Jam" is a rock jam, sort of like one you wuld find on Sandinista! and Combat Rock, minus the reggae and the dub. "Silver & Gold" is a humorous finale to what should have been a new beginning, with folk and lounge influences.As much as this is a cohesive piece of work, and as much as it was a victory for Strummer, Streetcore is also an intensely bitterwseet listen. It doesn't feel complete, due to his sudden demise, and Strummer still seemed like he still had volumes to say and many things to accomplish. Unlike other posthumous efforts, like George Harrison's "Brainwashed" and Warren Zevon's "The Wind," this is definitely incomplete. Yet Zevon and Harrison knew that the end was near (both battled cancer) and both were surprisingly subtle when they said farewell. in Strummer's case, hwoeverm his voice was still fiery and passionate, and he still had music left to create. Especially in "Ramshackle Day Parade" and "Redemption Song" his voice reosnates more than it ever had, and it makes his passing even more tragic. Regardless of the tragedy, this is an awesome eulogoy to one of the most influential and significant voices in rock music, and his visions of how effective music can be are clearly defined and fully realized on Streetcore.
Free Music Review: Joe Strummer's last effort may have been his best
Hit: 5 Stars
Joe Strummer's Streetcore is one of the best albums ever. After a few rather poor recordings during the 90's, Strummer came back with this rock-masterpiece. It sounds as good as any of his efforts with the Clash or the 101er's. The sound of the album hits some risky area near rock and reggae, yet it couldn't be classified as either. It is something magical only Strummer could possibly conjure.
Why, exactly, does this record rock so hard? The songs, of course. The album starts off with a rollicking track titled "Coma Girl", and it is definitely one of Strummer's best moments. Exactly what he means by the rather bizarre lyrics he sings throughout the song is anybody's guess, but the music is pure, genre-clashing (excuse the unintentional pun, Clash-fans) excellence, and the whole album has only two slightly-mediocre tracks (even they aren't that bad, to be honest). Those two are "Redemption Song" and "Silver and Gold". The first is a cover of the famous Bob Marley song, and although the second doesn't fit in with the rest of the CD, the lyrics on that particular track are chillingly prophetic, and therefore acceptable. Strummer sings, "I'm going to do everything silver and gold, and I got to hurry up before I grow too old,". It really makes you understand that Strummer knew that the end was near (Strummer tragically died shortly after the album's release).
This album is timeless, and for Clash / Strummer fans everywhere, it is a strangely (yet strongly) emotional experience. It is essential in every Clash library, and even those who aren't huge Clash fans will appreciate its classic-rock sound. Finally, as a hard-core Clash / Strummer fan myself, I rate this album better then any Clash album except their self-titled debut and London Calling. It's the best album I've heard in years, and I don't think I could say enough nice things about it in a million years. An indescribable, modern, rock masterpiece (how so many Clash fans denied its existence upon its initial release is beyond mortal comprehension, in my opinion). I rate it a solid 5 stars. It's perfect.