May 10, 2007

Joe Strummer

The Future Is Unwritten

7 / 10 Most posthumous releases are as useful as whipping out a Ouija board and asking the deceased what they think of Hadouken!. But this soundtrack to Julien Temple’s biopic is based around Strummer’s 1999-2002 radio show on BBC World Service and it makes you wish you’d actually bothered listening. So alongside classic cuts from The Clash and, er, cuts from Strummer’s later project The Mescaleros, we get some telling insights into the man – from the obvious (MC5, Eddie Cochran) to the sublime and surprising (Nina Simone, Ernest Ranglin). But what makes this essential are the radio links of Strummer in John Peel mode.
When asked how he’d like to be billed on a TV interview. Clash? Mescaleros? “I’d like you to write ‘Punk Rock Warlord’,
with ‘Warlord’ being one word.” We’re totally not worthy.

Dan Martin

Rate this album

Average rating

Be the first to rate this album

NEW! For the latest music videos and backstage interviews, check out our brand new sister site, NME Video.