Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore January 23, 2008

Rating:

After seeing The Future Is Unwritten over the holiday break, I decided to investigate the musical world of Joe Strummer. Weirdly enough, I started with Streetcore, a posthumous album released one year after he suddenly passed away in December 2002.

This album combines a set of songs with very distinct styles: pure rock (such as All In A Day), reggae-ish songs (such as Get Down Moses), and acoustic (like Long Shadow or Redemption Song). I started listening to it, and have been playing it again and again, really appreciating each of those different styles.

This album really feels like a closing chapter on Strummer’s life though, which is somewhat troubling. First, there are multiple references to songs by The Clash: London is burning in Burnin’ Streets, This is London calling in Midnight Jam.

Second, there are lines like:

You cast a long shadow
And that is your testament

Somewhere in my soul
There’s always rock and roll

in Long Shadow or the following which closes the album in Silver And Gold:

I’ve got to hurry up before I grow too old.

Streetcore really makes you feel sad that Joe Strummer had to go so soon.

Listen to: Get Down Moses

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Listen to: Long Shadow

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Click here to buy Streetcore by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros.