Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Joe Strummer, Dark Horse Records/BMG Music 2022.
To celebrate what would have been the 70th birthday of the legendary Joe Strummer (of The Clash, Mescaleros, and solo fame), BMG Music has released a box set of his work with his second band, The Mescaleros.
The box set includes unreleased tracks, demos and outtakes, alongside remastered editions of the complete Mescaleros catalogue.
It also includes exclusive new interviews and never seen before images, reproductions of hand written lyrics, and much more.
They are being released under George Harrison’s (The Beatles) Dark Horse label which in effect unites two legends together on the project.
George Harrison championed creativity and his label continues this process long after his death.
All of the albums have been remastered by three-time Grammy Award winner Paul Hicks who worked with The Beatles, John Lennon (solo work), The Rolling Stones, and David Bowie.
You don’t get any better than this.
The issue date for the collection is 16 September.
The Mescaleros were the band Joe formed after the demise of The Clash and in a way, they were the most creative period of his career.
When asked about the band Joe commented that “Fame is an illusion and everything about it is a joke. I’m far more dangerous now because I don’t care.”
The weight of expectation he felt with The Clash was lifted from his shoulders.
He’d experienced fame and now he was happy to move on and just enjoy playing music.
Despite the huge success of The Clash, Joe produced some of his most important and exciting work with The Mescaleros.
The reception that he got from the fans and the music press was a complete validation of his decision to walk away from stardom.
Joe Strummer was a multi-faceted artist; punk poet, musician, composer, actor and smasher of musical and cultural boundaries.
His songs called out social injustice and gave a voice to the plight of the working-class.
They are as vital and urgent today as the day they were written.
