Amazon.co.uk Review: It can't have been easy collating Streetcore after Joe Strummer died. One can only imagine the all-pervading sense of sadness, the ghosts and memories that haunted the control room. Yet the Mescaleros' Scott Shields and Martin Slattery have done a fine job, keeping their own egos at bay, allowing the great man to take centre-stage and reveal that he had rediscovered some form. "Get Down Moses" is a deep, dubby Clash special, with Strummer testifying to his undying love of youth and the outcast and a big keyboard swirling overhead. "Long Shadow" is a hobo folk song, "Ramshackle Day Parade" crosses Bob Dylan and the Beatles and "Arms Aloft" is a pumped-up, slightly psychedelic rocker.
Best, though, are the moments when Strummer goes quiet. Bob Marley's "Redemption Song", recorded with Rick Rubin and given a provocative Irish flavour, ideally suits the man's heartfelt vocals and freedom-fighting reputation. "Silver and Gold", another cover, wherein Strummer considers the positive actions he must take before age overcomes him, is made cruelly poignant by circumstances. Yet this is not a sad album; rather, it's happy proof that musicians can still ride the freight train, not simply the gravy-train, that they can still mean something. It's an important lesson to relearn, and there was never a finer teacher. --Dominic Wills
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Great Album Assembled from Guide Vocals and Demos
All great artists generally leave enough material for a posthumous album of some sorts, generally a pork scratching type affair which rarely adds anything to the existing cannon. I think the opposite is true here and that this is greatest of the three albums that The Mescaleros recorded and possibly better than anything Joe recorded with The Clash. I think that taking Joe out of mixing/mastering stages has left his band to complete the album without Joe vetoing anything that he might think commercial ... Read More
Rating: - Not "Joe" Enough For You?
To put a label on what is "Joe" or not is ridiculous. His days in the Clash were straight punk. His movie soundtrack career was a shift to a more mature sound. After teaming up with the Mescaleros, Strummer combined his punk roots with funk, blues, reggae, etc. Streetcore was his next evolution, representing an even more eclectic sound. To say this album was not "Joe" shows a great misunderstanding for the man's life work. All in all, Streetcore is a great album; one of the best I own and easily my favorite ... Read More
Rating: - street score 0
I was very very disappointed with this album. I went straight to redemption song and managed about 10 seconds before moving to another track to try and sooth my goose pimples of disgust and embarrassment that this has been releassed in the first place.Unfortunately every track I tried sounded tired, washed up and like it had been written by a 12 year old.
The music on this album appears to be another scraping of a barrel once the legend has passed. I hope to god that this rubbish is not seen as ... Read More
Rating: - All Receivers To Boost...
To look at Streetcore as just the final album by the legendary Joe Strummer would be a grave injustice. This eclectic set of songs ranging from punk (Coma Girl) reggae (Get Down Moses) country (Long Shadow) to rock (All In A Day) is a refreshing listen.
Under the circumstances this album was released, its hard not to be poignant when listening to Streetcore particularly Ramshackle Day Parade and Silver and Gold, but this is a very positive record.
Rating: - I better hurry up before I grow too old...
5 stars because there isn't a track on here that isn't either excellent or fitting for the man or his legacy.
"Coma Girl" is vibrant and involved. "Long Shadow" (meant for Johnny Cash) is stunning.
Stand-out tracks are "Ramshackle Day Parade" which builds into a magnificent wall of sound and the cover of 1950s R&B standard "Silver and Gold" which is very moving in its simplicity and context.
A cover of "Redemption Song" is risky but somehow the man pulls it off.
10 songs that conclude ... Read More
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