Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros "Rock Art and the X-Ray Style" Hellcat Records 80424-2 1999 (49:48)
Tony Adams (6:33)
Sandpaper Blues (4:27)
X-Ray Style (4:34)
Techno D-Day (4:07)
The Road to Rock 'n' Roll (3:59)
Nitcomb (4:31)
Diggin' the New (3:08)
Forbidden City (4:46)
Yalla Yalla (6:57)
Willesden to Cricklewood (6:46)
Joe Strummer is of course best known as front man for The Clash in the late 70s to mid 80s. Over the past 15 years he's put out a solo album and various tracks on soundtracks ("Sid and Nancy", "Permanent Record", "Grosse Point Blank") and compilations (the most recent being "It's A Rockin' World" with friends on the "Chef Aid: The South Park Album"), acted in some movies and been a family man. "Rock Art.." is his first full fledged solo album since 1989's "Earthquake Weather". Per usual for everything Strummer does "Rock Art.." is as eclectic as him, drawing on: rock, ska, blues, dub, mariachi, Caribbean, acoustic and even bits of electronica. If you go into this album expecting "White Riot" or "Rock the Casbah" you'll be shocked and probably disappointed, not to mention stupid. These are solid, catchy pop tunes with a lush assortment of instrumentation including scratching, pedal steel, keyboards, programming, piano, organ, Spanish guitar, melodica, saxophone and, of course, the one and only Strummer voice. All of the songs are melodic and most are rather mellow save for some rockin' moments in "Techno D-Day" and "Diggin' the New", though nothing is as heavy as the classic Clash rockers. "Rock Art.." was a pleasant surprise since I really had no idea what to expect from Strummer after such a long absence ... this ended up making my favorites of '99 list. It was a long wait but it sure was worth it, especially for the hardcore Clash/Strummer faithful out there. The cd comes with a brightly colored double sided 5 panel insert with all the lyrics and minimal caveman like art. I sure hope Strummer doesn't disappear again after this ...
Strummerville
Joe Strummer
and the Mescaleros at Hellcat Records
Where did I get this cd? - from a local Best Buy.