Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros: Global A Go-Go

The Clash started as a punk band that indulged occasional excursions into reggae; by the end, bandleaders Joe Strummer and Mick Jones had also tried out rockabilly, rap, funk, salsa, dub, and all manner of sometimes-obscure ethnic music. After the group's core split up, Jones practically abandoned his punk roots in favor of the dance experiments of Big Audio Dynamite, while Strummer made a brief stab at keeping a back-to-the-bash version of The Clash going, then retreated to the studio for 15 years to write and record Latin-flavored acoustic music for movie soundtracks. In 1999, Strummer suddenly reemerged as the frontman for a new band called The Mescaleros, whose debut album Rock Art And The X-Ray Style sounded like a near-sequel to The Clash's Combat Rock, complete with jumbo-sized melanges of rock, soul, and worldbeat. The group offers more of the same sprawl on Global A Go-Go, a laid-back record in which Strummer spouts abstract political analysis over mid-tempo grooves and eclectic instrumentation. "Cool 'N' Out" opens with Strummer's voice in radio-broadcast mode before his backing players add slashing, distorted electric guitar, rumbling sax, rhythmic synth stabs, and a clatter of percussion that builds in intensity as Strummer free-associates rhymes about G7, the promise of punk, and the biblical creation story. The title track similarly begins with a reference to wire-service bulletins; settles into a rhythm that alternates African and Spanish styles as Strummer sings about Buddy Rich, The Who, Big Youth, and Nina Simone; and then finally collapses in a cacophony that includes the intonations of a Russian choir. "Bhindi Bhagee" employs violin, flute, and nimbly picked guitar to support lyrics that relate a menu of international foods, then a litany of musical styles. Global A Go-Go remains locked in this pattern, this perpetual shift from "Now hear this!" to "What the hell" It's a busy, boisterous record, full of unfinished thoughts, untenable arrangements, and overlong songs, but it's also curiously moving. Strummer has the charm of a sweetly befuddled enthusiast, unable to restrain his influences or his ideas, and unable to decide which of his favorite sonic ingredients to stir into the dish.