They say punk’s not dead, and apparently that’s true, because even though one of the genre’s most influential musicians passed away in 2002, a full album of unreleased Joe Strummer songs is being issued as part of a career-spanning archive called Joe Strummer 001. The material has been lovingly restored and remastered by Peter J. Moore, who has worked with everyone from Neil Young and Bob Dylan and His Band to Joni Mitchell and Neko Case.
Strummer co-founded the Clash in 1976, and their decade-long career together played a critical role in counter-culture music scenes both in the U.K. and the United States: London Calling was released in 1979 at home but a month later in the states, leading to its being lauded as best album of the 1980s by the then-relevant Rolling Stone.
Joe Strummer 01 (with art taken from Strummer’s driver license) features much more of the artist’s demos and “hidden tracks” discovered by Peter Moore, and will be released in September on Ignition Records. Formats include CDs and vinyl, or the super-obsessed can opt for the mother lode: a limited-edition super deluxe box set that includes four heavyweight vinyl, a 7” single, a cassette tape, a hardcover book, an enamel pin, prints and stickers.
The tracks include an alternate version of “Burnin’ Street” by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros called “London Is Burning,” which is available to stream now.
Preorder the entire compilation here.
Photo by Julian Yewdall/Getty Images
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