Today marks the release of Joe Strummer 001, a new box set devoted to the solo work of The Clash frontman, who passed in 2002. Subscribers of Apple Music and Spotify can stream select songs from the project below.
The expansive box set encompasses Strummer’s recordings with the 101ers and The Mescaleros, as well as his soundtrack work. Much of the curation comes via his widow, Luce, who’s been archiving the remains of his writings and tapes. Joining her was artist Robert Gordon McHarg III, who previously worked on The Clash’s Sound System box set. All the tracks were restored and mastered by Grammy winner Peter J. Moore. Previously, we’ve heard “London is Burning”, an alternate take of “Burnin’ Street” off his final Mescaleros album Streetcore, and “Rose of Erin”, a 1993 song from the film When Pigs Fly.
(Read: The Clash’s Top 20 Songs)
“The themes of these songs resonate. I kept thinking, ‘Wow, he was so ahead of his times, but also current, and aware of the past at the same time,” McHarg III of Strummer in an interview with Rock Cellar. “It’s almost like past, present and future is all rolled up into one in everything he touched.”
The box set will be available in a number of formats, including a limited edition deluxe box set that will feature vinyl pressings, a 7-inch vinyl single, a cassette, an art print, collectibles, and an accompanying book featuring rare, unpublished photographs, memorabilia, reviews, and technical notes. “The idea behind the book is that it’s an A4 notebook done as if Joe had designed it himself, telling his story,” McHarg III said in a press release.
Orders are ongoing here.
Joe Strummer 001 Artwork:
Joe Strummer 001 Tracklist:
Side 1:
01. Letsagetabitarockin
02. Keys To Your Heart
03. Love Kills
04. Tennesse Rain
05. Trash City
06. 15th Brigade
Side 2:
01. Ride Your Donkey
02. Burning Lights
03. Afro-Cuban Be-Bop
04. Sand Paper Blues
05. Generations
Side 3:
01. It’s A Rockin’World
02. Yalla Yalla
03. X-Ray Style
04. Johnny Appleseed
Side 4:
01. Minstrel Boy
02. Redemption Song
03. Over The Border
04. Coma Girl
05. Silver & Gold
Side 5:
01. Letsagetabitarockin (demo)
02. Czechoslovak Song / Where Is England (demo)
03. Pouring Rain (previously unreleased)
04. Blues On The River (previously unreleased)
05. Crying on 23rd (previously unreleased)
06. 2 Bullets (previously unreleased)
Side 6:
01. When Pigs Fly
02. Pouring Rain
03. Rose of Erin (previously unreleased)
04. The Cool Impossible (previously unreleased)
05. London Is Burning (previously unreleased)
12-Inch Single:
01. US North (previously unreleased)
7-Inch Single:
01. This Is England (demo)
02. Before We Go Forward (demo)
Cassette:
01. U.S. North Basement Demo (previously unreleased)
