| Various Artists - Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten |
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| Music Disc Reviews Audio CD | |
| Written by John Sutton-Smith | |
| Friday, 01 June 2007 | |
performance: 9 sound: 7 release year: 2007 label: Epic/Legacy reviewed by: John Sutton-Smith Thirty years ago this spring, “White Riot,” the debut single from the Clash, was released in the U.K., setting off a musical firestorm of politically-conscious punk rock that has never been equaled or imitated. Frontman and lyricist, Joe Strummer was really the political compass for the Clash, and his stature and influence only continued to grow in the post-Clash years until his death in 2002. British film and video director Julien Temple (Absolute Beginners, The Great Rock ‘n Roll Swindle, The Filth and the Fury, among many others) has chronicled Strummer’s life – the turbulence and turmoil, the tragedy and triumph – in a new biographical documentary called Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, and its soundtrack stands up very much on its own as a musical testament to Strummer’s remarkable times. The 25-track album features early Clash demos (produced by Temple in 1977) of “White Riot” and “I’m So Bored With the USA” and a live version of “(In the) Pouring Rain” – all previously unreleased, along with the thunderous dub single “Armagideon Time.” Tracks from all three of Strummer’s other bands include “Keys to Your Heart,” the first single by Joe’s first band, the 101’ers, “Trash City,” a track from his L.A.-based combo Latino Rockabilly War, and a couple from the Mescaleros, his final group, that mixed rockabilly, reggae, punk and Latin flavors into Strummer’s socialist mix. The soundtrack chronicles Strummer’s musical influences with insightful selections from Woody Guthrie and Dylan, Eddie Cochran and Elvis, as well as a generous mix of Joe’s beloved reggae from the likes of U-Roy (a brand-new recording of his classic “Natty Rebel”) and Jamaican guitar legend Ernest Ranglin. Other tracks point to the breadth of his taste and creative instincts – the inimitable soul of Nina Simone’s “To Love Somebody,” the exquisite folk of Tim Hardin’s “Black Sheep Boy,” and the revolutionary rock of Detroit’s MC5’s “Kick Out the Jams.” You can hear a little of the influence of all these artists in the eclectic oeuvre of the Clash Even more so in some of Strummer’s other projects one can hear the multi-ethnic influences of Latin composer Andres Landero and, going the other way, Algerian vocalist DJ Rachid Taha, in his take on “Rock the Casbah” (produced by Gong’s Steve Hillage). The soundtrack is punctuated by interview excerpts from Strummer and Clash drummer Topper Headon, adding to the cinematic sensibility of the record, while the sheer scope of artists gathered here makes it a powerful musical time capsule, making it more than simply a great collection of music. Sound With the verbal interpolations and the variety of music, from the simple folk to the raw unvarnished punk, this collection comes across as a soundtrack in the very real sense. It is telling a story. The diversity of the music might seem jarring, but in the context of Joe Strummer, it all comes together in a primal and passionate panoply of roots rock. Having said that, the early punk recordings have their own urgency and character; in line with Guthrie and Cochran, there is a roughness and garage sensibility to the tracks, and a raw passion that sears through each performance. Yet even through the folk, Latin and reggae segments, the sound seems to hew to an overall vision, the unparalleled soul and spirit of Joe Strummer. Like this article? Bookmark and share with any of the sites below.        |
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