Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years Boxset Out Now
Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years is available now HERE
“If you think you miss Joe Strummer now, by the time you get to the end of this boxset, you are really going to miss the guy. What an impact, what an amazing musician, what an amazing human being, a great artist, and this boxset perfectly captures the man, the music and the moment, I’m so glad this came out.”
--HENRY ROLLINS
This richly curated boxset was executive produced by Joe’s widow Lucinda Tait and produced by David Zonshine and features exclusive new interviews with Joe’s friends, collaborators and Mescaleros band mates. The 4CD 72-page book boxset and 7LP with 32-page book, special edition packaging and exclusive 12”x12” art print editions, come in the same year we celebrate what would’ve been Joe’s 70th birthday and honoring the 20th year of his passing. The first-ever comprehensive collection highlighting Joe’s work with his post-Clash band, The Mescaleros, the collection includes remastered editions of all three of the band’s studio albums by three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks (The Beatles, John Lennon, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie), plus 15 rare and unreleased tracks spanning the first demos Joe wrote for the Mescaleros, including ‘The Road To Rock ‘N’ Roll (Demo)’, as well as the previously unreleased ‘Ocean Of Dreams’, featuring Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols on guitar, and outtakes of several tracks of Joe’s final recordings with the band, including ‘Coma Girl’, ‘Get Down Moses’ and ‘Fantastic’.
Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years collects together Rock Art and the X-Ray Style (1999), Global A Go-Go (2001), and the posthumous Streetcore (2003), along with Vibes Compass, a brand-new compilation of 15 B-sides and rarities, including early demos of some of the first tracks Joe wrote for the Mescaleros such as ‘The Road To Rock ‘N’ Roll’, ‘X-Ray Style’, ‘Techno D-Day’, as well as the previously unreleased ‘Secret Agent Man’ and the original recordings from Joe’s last ever sessions, including outtakes of ‘Get Down Moses’, ‘Coma Girl’ and the song ‘Fantastic’. All of the albums are packaged with extensive new liner notes, unreleased images, and four reproduction lyric sheets and chord charts from the Strummer archive.
While best known as the front man for The Clash, Strummer produced some of the most exciting work of his career with The Mescaleros. “There’s so much great music that Joe left us in his archive,” says Strummer’s widow and Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years Executive Producer, Lucinda Tait. “We started this work last year with ‘001’, so to focus on Joe’s work with The Mescaleros was the natural second step on ‘002’ because those songs he made with them just seemed to resonate so strongly and reinvigorated his connection with his audience at a level he hadn’t experienced since his days with The Clash.
“He was so excited to work with the Mescaleros and the reception he got from the press and fans was incredible, it gave him a whirlwind of energy and confidence and he was creatively fulfilled and happy.
“His words are so beautiful and honest and together with the Mescaleros some fantastic tunes were created and to listen to some of the tunes recorded as outtakes for me was really special.”
2022 marks twenty years since the passing of the legendary Joe Strummer. Punk poet, musician, composer, actor, and style icon, Strummer spent his life smashing musical and cultural boundaries both as the singer of The Clash and as a solo artist. His songs sound as urgent and vital today as when they were written. Calling out social injustices and giving a voice to the struggles of the working class, Strummer’s politically charged lyrics struck a chord with legions of fans and the press alike, with Rolling Stone calling The Clash “the greatest rock & roll band in the world.” He famously once said, “Without people, you’re nothing.” Through his art, Joe Strummer played his part in shaping the musical landscape of the world and with it left an unrivaled and timeless legacy.
JOE STRUMMER 002: THE MESCALEROS YEARS
TRACKLISTING
Rock Art and the X-Ray Style
1. Tony Adams
2. Sandpaper Blues
3. X-Ray Style
4. Techno D-Day
5. The Road to Rock 'N' Roll
6. Diggin' The New
7. Nitcomb
8. Forbidden City
9. Yalla Yalla
10. Willesden To Cricklewood
Global A Go-Go
1. Johnny Appleseed
2. Cool ’N’ Out
3. Global A Go-Go
4. Bhindi Bhagee
5. Gamma Ray
6. Mega Bottle Ride
7. Shaktar Donetsk
8. Mondo Bongo
9. Bummed Out City
10. At The Border, Guy
11. Minstrel Boy (full-length version)
Streetcore
1. Coma Girl
2. Get Down Moses
3. Long Shadow
4. Arms Aloft
5. Ramshackle Day Parade
6. Redemption Song
7. All In A Day
8. Burnin' Streets
9. Midnight Jam
10. Silver and Gold
Vibes Compass
1. Time And The Tide
2. Techno D-Day (Demo)
3. Ocean Of Dreams (feat. Steve Jones)
4. Forbidden City (Demo)
5. X-Ray Style (Demo)
6. The Road To Rock ‘N’ Roll (Demo)
7. Tony Adams (Demo)
8. Cool ‘N’ Out (Demo)
9. Global A Go-Go (Demo)
10. Secret Agent Man
11. All In A Day (Demo)
12. London Is Burning
13. Get Down Moses (Outtake)
14. Fantastic
15. Coma Girl (Outtake)