Search - Joe Strummer :: The Future Is Unwritten

STRUMMER UND DRANG

DELETED | Los Angeles | 07/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When the ancient Greeks were creating their myths, Gods and heroes, they had men like Joe Strummer in mind. Epic entities possessed of such intense power and influence that their cult alone could sway the course of mortal men. Dionysus thought flutes could cease all worry. Strummer's guitar thought you weren't worried enough. The most appealing thing to me about Greek mythology is that their Gods were flawed and their heroes doomed. Give me a God with a God-complex and I'm a believer. A tale of an effed-up fallen hero? We will tell that story till the end of days.



I'm glad Joe didn't go out like Sid or Kurt, but his passing was reported with a barely audible whimper. He deserved better. How many statues of Apollo are there? Joe never caused a plague. His aim was true. Release the doves!



There's a rumor going 'round that ..Julien Temple has made a documentary about Strummer called "The Future Is Unwritten". For reasons that defy understanding, it isn't being screened in the U.S. until November (maybe). Meanwhile, it's been playing in Europe for months. Just to rub a cake of salt into the wound of the frothy mouthed faithful, the soundtrack to said film HAS been made available in the states of disgrace.



Well...that'll do. It's easily the most riveting bunch 'o' songs I've heard all year. Back in the early eighties Strummer orchestrated a pirate-radio broadcast from a London rooftop, RADIO CLASH. It was probably pretty great but I wouldn't know because I never heard it. Nor did I have the opportunity to listen to his BBC shows from 1999-2002. What "The Future Is Unwritten" soundtrack offers is a chance to experience a bit of what those shows were like. You can play the U.K. version of The Clash debut until the needle turns to dust (and you should), but you won't get closer to the soul of the man than you will here. If you follow the arc of Joe's music...from the 101ers to The Clash to Latino Rockabilly War and the Mescaleros through to his last solo work on Hellcat...you see a man searching for a sound. A fearless sonic explorer. A man with an exotic aural appetite. Joe was an exemplary musicologist. He would have exhausted Harry Smith.



What if...you could sit in a room with Joe Strummer and have him play you some of his favorite records? How much would that be worth? Julien Temple, Ian Neil, & Alan Moloney have scoured those old broadcasts and assembled a jaw-dropping example. Running the gamut from Elvis Presley's "Crawfish" (from what is, for my money, the finest soundtrack ever...King Creole) to the live MC5 version of "Kick Out The Jams" to Eddie Cochran & Woody Guthrie...from Bob Dylan to Nina Simone. If you've never heard Tim Hardin or Ernest Ranglin before, you will certainly be seeking them out upon hearing this.



Lest you think Andres Landeros' jaunty "Martha Cecilia" might taint your Mohawk, there's a healthy dose of the Strummer music arc I spoke of. A blistering (how else to describe The Clash?) demo take of "White Riot"...a Manna-from-heaven never before released Clash song "(In The) Pouring Rain"from a 1984 Seattle show...The 101ers classic "Keys To Your Heart"...Joe's indescribably beautiful instrumental "Omotepe"...and not only that, kids...but interspersed between all this are little sound-bites and introductions from the Punk Rock Warlord himself!



Whereas the Strummer/Cash duet on Marley's "Redemption Song" had reduced me to tears (3 ghostly heroes on THAT song? I defy you not to cry) a few years ago, this album is filled to the brim with life-affirming discovery and awe-inspiring passion...and F&*# YOU if that's not punk rock. The hell it ain't!

"

Great mix of some music not heard much plus some old favorit

betsy | NYC | 01/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I like this, and the film I saw on IFC, i brought the cd after watching the movie,, there is quite a mix, some old stuff you can tell was not done in a studio but it has a nice feel not too polished like old stuff a bit scratchy but it adds to it"