{"id":7619,"date":"2021-04-19T10:32:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T14:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?p=7619"},"modified":"2022-03-08T08:44:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T13:44:16","slug":"joe-strummer-assembly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/joe-strummer-assembly\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Strummer <br>Assembly"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Joe-Strummer-Assembly.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-7620\" src=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Joe-Strummer-Assembly.jpg\" alt=\"Joe Strummer, Assembly\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Joe-Strummer-Assembly.jpg 250w, https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Joe-Strummer-Assembly-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a>As much as music has always meant to me, I\u2019ve never been one to get too emotional over the passings of the people who make it. (Unless, it\u2019s someone I know personally, of course.) But when Joe Strummer died in 2002 at only 50 years of age, I shed tears. For as long as I can remember, Strummer, as singer\/guitarist in The Clash and the group\u2019s moral\/political compass, had provided a soundtrack on a continuous loop throughout my life. The Clash\u2019s first five albums, and to a much lesser extent the sub-par, \u201cnot really The Clash\u201d <i>Cut the Crap<\/i>, are intrinsically woven into my musical upbringing. Joe\u2019s voice and that of his songwriting and guitar-slinging counterpart Mick Jones have long been fused into my synapses, and The Clash\u2019s music is as familiar to me as the sound of my own heartbeat.<\/p>\n<p>As such, Joe\u2019s death felt as if someone I was once very close to was suddenly gone. I hadn\u2019t spent much time with the records he made later in his life with the Mescaleros, but I was fortunate to see him play live with that group a few years before he passed away. It was the only time I ever saw him in the flesh, and there were moments that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, moments that reminded me why The Clash was once \u201cthe only band that mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><i>Assembly<\/i>, released by Dark Horse Records, the label begun by George Harrison and recently resuscitated, is a 16-track reminder that Strummer remained a vital musical force right up until the time of his death. The albums he made with the Mescaleros were the logical progression of his multi-culti musical worldview, and it\u2019s the music\u2014two albums-worth released while he was alive and a third released posthumously\u2014he made with them that provides the bulk of this double-album set. <i>Assembly<\/i> begins with \u201cComa Girl,\u201d a track that blends the soulful rock &amp; roll with which Strummer grew up with touches of reggae and a lyrical nod to Dylan, a constant influence on Strummer. It sounds like quintessential Strummer, but what <i>Assembly<\/i> proves is that Strummer was multi-dimensional, even in his blending of influences. \u201cTony Adams,\u201d from <i>Rock Art and the X-Ray Style<\/i>, juxtaposes a big backbeat with electronic flourishes, a terse reggae riff, and mournful sax into something wholly unique and yet seemingly once again quintessential Strummer.<\/p>\n<p>If this set proves anything, it\u2019s that Strummer was like a shark: constantly moving. \u201cSleepwalk,\u201d the one cut from his autonomous solo record, <i>Earthquake Weather<\/i>, is a sleepy, flamenco-tinged reverie unlike anything else on the record, while \u201cLove Kills,\u201d his contribution to the <i>Sid &amp; Nancy<\/i> soundtrack, is completely different in a completely different way, its metallic riff and mechanized beats contrasting sharply with the rest of the record. Aside from a recently unearthed acoustic rendition of Clash-staple \u201cJunco Partner\u201d and a couple of live recordings of Joe with the Mescaleros (\u201cI Fought the Law\u201d and \u201cRudie Can\u2019t Fail\u201d), there\u2019s not much new here. But that doesn\u2019t matter. <i>Assembly<\/i> lives up to its name by assembling a top-notch compendium to remind us of our departed hero. Joe Strummer\u2019s legacy is multifaceted and this record shows that he never once rested on his laurels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As much as music has always meant to me, I\u2019ve never been one to get too emotional over the passings of the people who make it. (Unless, it\u2019s someone I<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[2476,2474,1444,2475],"class_list":["post-7619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-past-perfect","tag-dark-horse-records","tag-joe-strummer","tag-past-perfect","tag-the-clash"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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