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Streetcore
10/20/2003 10:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Rob O'Connor
Since the definition of much rock 'n' roll is to find an unorthodox way to make your marginal talents into something special, Joe Strummer was rock n' roll to the core. Like many of his generation, Strummer aped James Dean and lived to express the adolescent truth long into adulthood. Streetcore is the album he was working on when he unexpectedly died at 50. His singing is a bit improved and the playing throughout is heartfelt and strong, if no longer enjoying the context of the fight and fury of the Clash. He still attacks reggae with a passion (Bob Marley's "Redemption Day" here), and he wants all men to lift their voices higher and march toward the light. A weather-beaten eternal optimist, Strummer has no one singular defining trait to establish his sound beyond his coarse howl of a voice. And sometimes (try the opening "Coma Girl") that's enough to get by.
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